School Rugby 2025
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@Nepia said in School Rugby 2025:
@WoodysRFC said in School Rugby 2025:
@Nepia said in School Rugby 2025:
@Bovidae said in School Rugby 2025:
@WoodysRFC I'd rather a team that hasn't won the Top 4 before win it.
Who hasn't won the Top 4 - Westlake and
FijiFielding Agricultural High School?I'm going to go for Westlake as Hastings used to have a preseason match against them back in the day.
Mate, put aside your petty provincial rivalries for a second, and think of the one team there without any dedicated rugby program, that operates on the smell of an oily rag, pulling from a ridiculously small player pool, without so much of the whiff of a scholarship, I'd have supported Hastings if the shoe was on the other foot.
I was replying thinking you were meaning FAHS, but you're meaning Southland Boys right? They're more akin to Napier Boys than Hastings, boarding houses for your poaches, more than 1k students.
Also, it's not provincial rivalries, I'm with @Bovidae in (now that Hastings can't win) I'd rather see a new champion, not a two in three years dynasty of a southern powerhouse boarding school.
Mate, Southland Boys is the Hastings of the South, with the very wealthy and greedy Dunedin schools being the Napiers / Lindisfarnes. We're akin to brothers, you and I. I'll count on your support come finals time, as you know it in your heart to be true. Southland Boys are the Hastings of the South, going up against the powerful, well resourced, evil empires of the North. Just open up your heart.
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@WoodysRFC said in School Rugby 2025:
@Nepia said in School Rugby 2025:
@WoodysRFC said in School Rugby 2025:
@Nepia said in School Rugby 2025:
@Bovidae said in School Rugby 2025:
@WoodysRFC I'd rather a team that hasn't won the Top 4 before win it.
Who hasn't won the Top 4 - Westlake and
FijiFielding Agricultural High School?I'm going to go for Westlake as Hastings used to have a preseason match against them back in the day.
Mate, put aside your petty provincial rivalries for a second, and think of the one team there without any dedicated rugby program, that operates on the smell of an oily rag, pulling from a ridiculously small player pool, without so much of the whiff of a scholarship, I'd have supported Hastings if the shoe was on the other foot.
I was replying thinking you were meaning FAHS, but you're meaning Southland Boys right? They're more akin to Napier Boys than Hastings, boarding houses for your poaches, more than 1k students.
Also, it's not provincial rivalries, I'm with @Bovidae in (now that Hastings can't win) I'd rather see a new champion, not a two in three years dynasty of a southern powerhouse boarding school.
Mate, Southland Boys is the Hastings of the South, with the very wealthy and greedy Dunedin schools being the Napiers / Lindisfarnes. We're akin to brothers, you and I. I'll count on your support come finals time, as you know it in your heart to be true. Southland Boys are the Hastings of the South, going up against the powerful, well resourced, evil empires of the North. Just open up your heart.
I just threw up in my mouth after reading that - but I'll support you over Rotorua.
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@Nepia The people running the FAHS programme are local people. 3 are members of the school staff and 4 are parents/members of the public.
Every single lad in the side was under 18 at the start of January as per NZ SS rules.
The core of that side have been in the side two years. The Captain started playing when he was in year 10As it was Massey/Palmy turned on a glorious day as it often does these days - and the fact is that the Hastings side was unfit. They were gassed by halftime. Never seen so much walking.
Careful with stones in glasshouse.
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@Nepia Two of the team - who have been with FAHS for two years are from Fiji.
Another Fijian lives in Feilding with his parents who work as a teacher and meat processing operator and have lived in Feilding for 4 years.
Winger with a double banger name is Maori and African.
But yeah - we know that Hastings is a proper local only school eh.
Nope they not. Seen the paper work. -
@BMR323 said in School Rugby 2025:
@Nepia Two of the team - who have been with FAHS for two years are from Fiji.
Another Fijian lives in Feilding with his parents who work as a teacher and meat processing operator and have lived in Feilding for 4 years.
Winger with a double banger name is Maori and African.
But yeah - we know that Hastings is a proper local only school eh.
Nope they not. Seen the paper work.No need to get so defensive, the Fijians was a joke (but they were bloody good in that match though), and I always make fun of how old the Whitelocks looked. And then you've thrown up arguments to stuff not even mentioned ...
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That Rotorua team is quite incredible, played the conditions in both games perfectly too. From a Southland perspective re semis and 3/4 playoff, very happy with performances from Jimmy Taylor, Presley McHugh, Hammond-Siolo, Mason Coulthard, Luka Salesa, Josh Cairns, and Jack McKeay. Both midfielders went well too. Be interesting to see who kicks on to the three U18 rep teams.
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Just getting round to watching the Sunday games. One player that’s consistently impressed me this season has been the Rotorua tighthead, Cody Renata. Seems to always play 80 minutes, looks very solid in the scrum, has an incredible work rate around the field and even presents a real breakdown threat.
During the final, Renata also produced one of the best pieces of play I’ve seen from this First XV season, tackling the Feilding first five, Tyrese Tane, 5 metres from the Rotorua try line.
Renata with the try-saving tackle and the all-important second effort
It was as much the timing of the play as the effort. Feilding had all the momentum and would tie the game if Tane scored, yet Renata is able to stop him, immediately gets back on his feet and initiates the counter-ruck. Rotorua would get the penalty and score at the other end just a few minutes later, firmly steering the game in their favour.
It's good to see the most hardworking pack in First XV rugby get their rewards with a National Championship.
My First XV team of the season
This isn’t so much who I expect to be picked for the rep sides, but just who I thought were good when watching them play. As I’ve said before, I’ve not seen any 1A games and only the two Westlake games at the Top 4, so that’s why there’s no Auckland players there (with the exception of Cornelius). I fully expect players like Siale Pahulu, Nico Stanley and a whole host of 1A players to make the rep sides.
I quite like the side, even if I don’t think it’s a particularly stacked cohort this year. But there’s plenty of good talent in the side as well as more than its fair share of grunt. The only positions I’m not really convinced of are halfback and second row, both of which have lacked real standouts, in my view, throughout the season across the Super 8, Miles Toyota Championship, Wellington First XV, Southern Schools and Central North Island competitions (hopefully there are some quality locks and halfbacks in the 1A).
For the locks, players like Blake Robinson (CBHS), Hunter Weaver (RBHS), Brad Meek (SPC) and Ryder Thompson (St. Pats Silverstream) have looked good with their work rate and physicality but are often lacking in height. Cornelius, on the other hand, has plenty of height but can be (too) passive in the tackle. I’ve paired him with Coulthard from Southland Boys’, who looks like a very aggressive tackler and solid ball carrier.
As for the loose forward mix, I’ve shifted Te Ariki Rogers to the openside because he excels in his breakdown work, is a terrific support player and likes to chop tackle. Raviyawa brings the soft skills on attack and Mailulu is just the biggest blindside running around.
The backline is filled with ball players, with Francis Afolaufou being the best crash-ball merchant that I’ve seen (again, in the respective comps). Etuale has lightning feet, Morey has a good offload game and Owen is both combative and cerebral. Guerin hasn’t been as impactful this season but still has his outstanding pace and vision on attack.
There are 4 players from Rotorua, 4 from Southland Boys, 3 each from Feilding, Hamilton and Christchurch Boys’, 2 from Kings’ HS and single representatives from St. Peters, St. Thomas of Canterbury, and Palmy Boys. There’s no players from the Wellington comp, although both Elijah Solomona and Heath Tuifao could easily fit into this side. St. Pats Silverstream also has 3 of the more promising U16s in the country: first five Fletcher Cooper, lock Ryder Thompson and tighthead prop, Vaitupu Vaitupu.
All in all, a very entertaining First XV season and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rep sides are going to go.
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@Bovidae said in School Rugby 2025:
I was disappointed with Raviyawa in the SF as he seemed to spend most of the time out wide and therefore didn't have as much impact as he should have. The Westlake and Rotorua halfbacks both looked good in the games I watched.
I agree that Raviyawa went missing for much of the semi-final, not only staying on the wing but making some poor decisions as well. He was better in the final, in my view, showing some nice touches out wide.
Raviyawa does make sense to me as an edge forward: he's fast, can beat defenders and has an offloading game. He's difficult to defend out there and he also doesn't strike me as a player who just wants to smash into his opposite. But it can be a frustrating watch when the forwards dominate possession in the middle and one of your best players is barely involved.
Agreed that the Rotorua and Westlake halfbacks were good. I suppose my point on the halfbacks was that there wasn't really anyone who massively stood out, in the way, for example, Sinton did for Tauranga last year. Not a lot of halfbacks who dominated with their leadership and play this year or, at least, not that I noticed.
