School Rugby 2025
-
-
@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.
-
I checked and the RBHS halfback (Arthur-Pep Chisholm) isn't even amongst the Chiefs U18 Dev camp list, so maybe not rated that highly or still quite young. RBHS's strength in recent years has been their forwards, and in particular their lineout drive. Of the form team you selected, the one RBHS loose forward you didn't choose (Jake Hutchings) was in the NZS squad last year, so would be a very good chance again. Their hooker Bronson Van der Heyden was in the Barbarians U18s along with Fakava. They could be the NZS hookers this year.
-
@Bovidae said in School Rugby 2025:
Of the form team you selected, the one RBHS loose forward you didn't choose (Jake Hutchings) was in the NZS squad last year, so would be a very good chance again. Their hooker Bronson Van der Heyden was in the Barbarians U18s along with Fakava. They could be the NZS hookers this year.
Hutchings indeed has a very good chance of making the NZS team, perhaps a better one than someone like Te Ariki Rogers who I think is still a Year 12. But I wasn’t always convinced of some of Hutchings’ decision-making and I thought his general work rate could improve as well. He’s definitely not a traditional openside, neither in the defensive nor in the breakdown sense. Should be a good blindside, though.
Bronson Van der Heyden is a good player. Probably a better thrower than either Fakava or Salesa and works hard around the field. But I was impressed with the physicality of both Fakava and Salesa, they look very strong in contact.
-
Dam he looks like his dad...
-
-
They have had a long term issue with bullying in the Hostels.
Wesley College principal says progress overshadowed by past issues - Franklin Times
Wesley College Principal Brian Evans says the South Auckland school is being unfairly portrayed in some reports that describe it as “embattled.” Evans says the label does not reflect the school’s reality or the hard work undertaken by its community to evolve and improve. “That term is unfair and...
-
Back to an even number of teams. Matamata is the next best 1st XV in the Waikato outside of HBHS and the other CNI schools.
Matamata College Joins Central North Island (CNI) Rugby Competition for 2026
The Central North Island (CNI) Rugby Competition is proud to announce the inclusion of Matamata College into its competition lineup for the 2026 season. This exciting development marks a new chapter for both Matamata College and the CNI Rugby community, further strengthening the competition’s commitment to fostering high-performance schoolboy rugby across the Central North Island -
Matamata was an absolute power house rugby school in my day (George Simpkin).
Remember Murray Taylor hitting the big time straight of school. Then did his knee, and that was kinda fatal in those days, never quite the same afterwards.
