The Scout: The best of the weekend's First XV rugby

Guy Lansdown of Hamilton Boys' High School. Photo / Supplied

Want to know who the next Beauden Barrett or Kieran Read will be? In his weekly column for the Herald, schoolboy rugby expert Herschel Fruean singles out the best First XV matches of the weekend, and some rising stars to watch. Fruean will travel New Zealand looking for the best talent the country has to offer, preview the big games every Friday, provide a wrap of all the results on Sunday, and rank the top 15 First XV teams (based on their performances throughout the season) every Monday morning.

There were big scores all over the board in the Otago competition this week, highlighted by Otago Boys' High School 1st XV's 108-3 win over Otago Combined. Southland Boys' High School overpowered Otago Boys' 2nd XV 50-29, while King's High School beat South Otago High School 70-0. Mt Aspiring College won 24 - 18 over St Kevin's College and Dunstan High School beating Wakatipu High School 29 - 10.

They now split into three grades with Otago Boys' 1sts, Southland Boys', King's and John McGlashan in the top grade, while the 2ndgrade consists of Dunstan High School, Otago Boys' 2nd XV, Waitaki Boys' and Mt Aspiring College. The 3rd grade is South Otago High School, Otago Combined, St Kevin's College and Wakatipu High School.

In the various competitions around the country, winning at this time of the year is everything as they look towards challenging for their respective titles.

In the 1A competition, Auckland Grammar top the standings with King's College, St Kentigern College and Sacred Heart College rounding out the top four. Kelston Boys', St Peter's College, De La Salle College and Mount Albert Grammar follow in that order.

The Super 8 competition has been close all year, with only Hastings Boys' High School remaining unbeaten so far. They only have two more games for the season and are looking to stay undefeated and win it all this year. With Tauranga Boys' College and Hamilton Boys' High School the last two games on the schedule, it isn't going to be an easy run home. Hamilton sit second on the ladder and will need to keep winning to be sure they stay there.

Fionn McKenna of Auckland Grammar. Photo / Supplied

In the central North Island, this year has been very different, but even throughout the season. Wanganui Collegiate sit atop the standings with just a one-point lead over St Paul's Collegiate. St Paul's meet Feilding High School who are desperate to make it back into the top four after falling to seventh in the standings. They're not far off the top four, but must win their last three games. Francis Douglas Memorial College and Wesley College will feel the pressure in the run home as they try to hold onto their current spots in the top four.

In Wellington, St Patrick's College Town is at thetop of the table undefeated, Rongotai College is second, Scots College is third and St Patrick's College Silverstream is fourth. They will be the top four teams at the end of the regular season, but the order in which they finish is still up in the air with home field advantage on the line in the coming weeks.

The last big competition is the UC Championship down South where St Andrew's College remain top dogs and everyone is chasing them for the regular season crown. It's going to be a tight run home, with every team in the competition still a chance to make the top four.

Finally, Westlake Boys' High School are sitting pretty at the top of the North Harbour competition, with the other three spots in the top four still up for grabs. Whangarei Boys' are sitting in a great position second on the ladder and shouldn't run into too much trouble in confirming their spot in the top four,while positions three through six could see plenty of changes in the final rounds.