2023 School Rugby
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@Bovidae I saw the last bit of the Wellington College v Christ's College game on YouTube and Christ's College came very, very close to scoring a try one minute before full time. Some desperate defence from Wellington College prevented that.
@Stargazer As per above I did indeed manage to find time to sneak along to Strathmore for the Scots v Jaffas game and @Magpie_in_aus will not be impressed. His team got absolutely annihilated 61 - 26 (halftime 42 - 07) but that doesn't really indicate the vast difference between the sides. Something like a sixty point margin would not have been surprising given the home sides dominance. Lindisfarne looked waaaaaaay smaller and younger with just four capped players starting compared to about ten or twelve Scots guys and some of the visiting team looked to be nothing more than fifth formers or possibly even fourth formers. The size disparity was telling with, after taking away their tighthead, the remainder of the Lindisfarne pack would collectively weigh less than the Scots front row. The Jaffa loosehead looked to be about the same size as the Scots halfback is another example. Out in the backs the size disparity was not quite so pronounced but several of the visitors looked like they could double as Under 65kg grade players (and that's only possible after having a decent feed just before weigh-in)
Having said that I am unaware whether the starting Lindisfarne side today was their strongest but I suspect the same may have also applied to Scots as neither starting lineup looked remotely likely to get within 30 points of any decent Super 8 team and that's not counting the dropped or poor passes along with misdirected kicks by both teams and in Lindisfarne's case their missed tackles.
On a brighter side (apart from the frost having melted) they never raised the white flag nor dropped their heads even after looking at the scoreboard when it read 56 - 07 so credit to them for that. On the darker side was the posted kick of time of 10.15am turned out to be more like 10.37am so maybe playing at the time teams like the Under 13s would normally play set the benchmark for the standard of play to be seen! All in all nothing exciting to remember the game for when sitting back in your rocking chair in your 80s reflecting on memories of games witnessed in the past. -
@Bovidae @Stargazer I managed to sneak along to the school and caught both games. I can recommend viewing the Wanganui Collegiate v Nelson College game to everyone. It was a game that included an awful lot of free flow running back play from all parts of the field, especially from Wanganui where their midfield backs, Tali Ioasa and William Johnston, cut a merry caper. Their two locks (Ratanui Latus and Oscar Mabin) and No 8 (Timothy O'Leary) also shone in a thoroughly enjoyable match. To me it was by far the better game to watch. Apart from Nelson College being about ten minutes late onto the field that is!
Wellington have not had a very good season too date and it sure showed (apart from the first minute or two) throughout the first half against Christ's College where they were way behind in all aspects of play as well as the scoreboard. A Well Coll try right on the break was completely against the run of play but the crowd (some of them very vocal) got behind them after the break and things turned around as their confidence grew. Momentum is a hard thing to stop once a team has got it going and Christs College certainly could do nothing about arresting the initiative and looked pretty shell shocked at the final whistle. How close was it when they drove over right on time? It certainly was a close call but from where I was standing (about the 22 on that side of the field so pretty adjacent) I got the impression that it could have gone either way with a held up call most likely. So it proved and there was a massive surge from the terraces onto the field from the joyous home supporters who could scarcely believe that they had won!
@Stargazer I see the Jaffas are away at Scots College over in Strathmore tomorrow at 10.45am. Can't promise you anything but might be able to turn up and watch if I jiggle my schedule again
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@Stargazer As per above I did indeed manage to find time to sneak along to Strathmore for the Scots v Jaffas game and @Magpie_in_aus will not be impressed. His team got absolutely annihilated 61 - 26 (halftime 42 - 07) but that doesn't really indicate the vast difference between the sides. Something like a sixty point margin would not have been surprising given the home sides dominance. Lindisfarne looked waaaaaaay smaller and younger with just four capped players starting compared to about ten or twelve Scots guys and some of the visiting team looked to be nothing more than fifth formers or possibly even fourth formers. The size disparity was telling with, after taking away their tighthead, the remainder of the Lindisfarne pack would collectively weigh less than the Scots front row. The Jaffa loosehead looked to be about the same size as the Scots halfback is another example. Out in the backs the size disparity was not quite so pronounced but several of the visitors looked like they could double as Under 65kg grade players (and that's only possible after having a decent feed just before weigh-in)
Having said that I am unaware whether the starting Lindisfarne side today was their strongest but I suspect the same may have also applied to Scots as neither starting lineup looked remotely likely to get within 30 points of any decent Super 8 team and that's not counting the dropped or poor passes along with misdirected kicks by both teams and in Lindisfarne's case their missed tackles.
On a brighter side (apart from the frost having melted) they never raised the white flag nor dropped their heads even after looking at the scoreboard when it read 56 - 07 so credit to them for that. On the darker side was the posted kick of time of 10.15am turned out to be more like 10.37am so maybe playing at the time teams like the Under 13s would normally play set the benchmark for the standard of play to be seen! All in all nothing exciting to remember the game for when sitting back in your rocking chair in your 80s reflecting on memories of games witnessed in the past.@Higgins I'm not surprised. This was definitely not their best line-up. Several of today's starters are usually on the bench, some of them not even in the 22 and some were playing out of position. The players on the bench for this game, are often starters. I guess they had to change it up because they'd only played their CNI game, last Saturday.
Lindisfarne indeed has a very green squad, this year, and I expect them to finish close to the bottom of the CNI, probably just above Rathkeale and St John's Hastings. If they're as young as you describe, they'll have at least one, possibly 2 more years together in this team, so there should be improvement next year and hopefully some growth as well.
By the way, one of today's locks (4), who usually is an openside flanker, is a Randell.
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Chiefs Manawa points table. I follow the facebook page but they don't seem to be too regular with updating.
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Wellington Quadrangular Tournament - Finals Day
Can't recall exactly the scores but in glorious sunshine and no wind and reasonable warmth Nelson College came from a fair way behind to take out the third place playoff against Christ's College by about eight or nine points in a deserved win whilst the final between Wanganui Collegiate and Wellington College was to finish in a controversial way where a couple of calls went against Wanganui that frankly defied belief, at least from my impartial point of view.Not long from time an offside interference obstruction by a Wellington player when attempting to stand up whilst the Wanganui halfback was standing over him trying to pick up the ball at the base of a ruck and set his backline underway with an attacking move that had a sniff of a try feel about it was either missed by the officials (but not by the many spectators standing close by) or was deemed to not be interfering with play despite both the halfback's feet being lifted off the ground meaning he could not reach the ball!
A few minutes later and even more controversial was a late tackle ruling that even using the words minisculeley late might have been an overstatement. As the kick went out on the full the resultant penalty was fifteen meters infield making the kick more easier and needless to say the young kid did kick it and that was the match, Wellington getting home by a solitary point (32 - 31 I think it was) against a very unlucky Wanganui side. Haven't seen the replay but no doubt @Stargazer will do so and then make the official decision on whether the ruled late tackle should have been called as such.
Despite everything Wanganui almost stole it in the remaining 90 seconds but a pass was ruled forward when a try was looking likely during a good series of attacks starting from almost their own goal line so they were left shaking their heads after coming so close but so far away from snatching overall honours.
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Wellington Quadrangular Tournament - Finals Day
Can't recall exactly the scores but in glorious sunshine and no wind and reasonable warmth Nelson College came from a fair way behind to take out the third place playoff against Christ's College by about eight or nine points in a deserved win whilst the final between Wanganui Collegiate and Wellington College was to finish in a controversial way where a couple of calls went against Wanganui that frankly defied belief, at least from my impartial point of view.Not long from time an offside interference obstruction by a Wellington player when attempting to stand up whilst the Wanganui halfback was standing over him trying to pick up the ball at the base of a ruck and set his backline underway with an attacking move that had a sniff of a try feel about it was either missed by the officials (but not by the many spectators standing close by) or was deemed to not be interfering with play despite both the halfback's feet being lifted off the ground meaning he could not reach the ball!
A few minutes later and even more controversial was a late tackle ruling that even using the words minisculeley late might have been an overstatement. As the kick went out on the full the resultant penalty was fifteen meters infield making the kick more easier and needless to say the young kid did kick it and that was the match, Wellington getting home by a solitary point (32 - 31 I think it was) against a very unlucky Wanganui side. Haven't seen the replay but no doubt @Stargazer will do so and then make the official decision on whether the ruled late tackle should have been called as such.
Despite everything Wanganui almost stole it in the remaining 90 seconds but a pass was ruled forward when a try was looking likely during a good series of attacks starting from almost their own goal line so they were left shaking their heads after coming so close but so far away from snatching overall honours.
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Results of the remaining mid-week games:
Wednesday 28 June 2023
Sports exchange
- Scots College 61 - 26 Lindisfarne College
- Francis Douglas MC 38 - 14 St Bernard's College
Harbour 1A
Round 10
Takapuna Grammar 6 - 12 Rosmini College
Wellington Premiership
Round 4
Mana College 14 - 24 Tawa College
Thursday 29 June 2023Quad Tournament at Wellington College
- Minor Final: Nelson College 38 - 31 Christ's College (doubles as Miles Toyota Premiership game)
- Major Final: Wellington College 32 - 31 Whangnui CS
Super 8 (part of a sports exchange)
Round 2
Tauranga BHS 19 - 37 Hamilton BHS
Tauranga won the 2nd XV game 7 - 5.
Hamilton won the exchange 7 - 5. -
@Higgins Thanks for the write-up. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't see the games. Going by a few comments on Whanganui's FB page, they were robbed!
@Stargazer Having seen it with my own eyes I can only agree with their sentiments. Haven't seen the replay but speaking with my flatmate, who watched the game on Sky, he agreed with me about the late tackle call, thought the forward pass call was right and did not notice the obstruction incident. I walked past the Wanganui players sitting on the grass outside their changing rooms and they were shattered. Spoke very briefly offering commiserations to Tafai Ioasa at the same time and he took the result diplomatically like a man but you could not help feeling upset for him as he was clearly hurting inside.
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Fixtures - Saturday 1 July 2023
Auckland 1A
Round 8- Tangaroa College v St Kentigern - 2.30pm
- Kelston BHS v De La Salle College - 2.30pm
- Sacred Heart College v Liston College - 2.30pm
- Mt Albert Grammar School v St Paul's College - 2.30pm
- King's College v St Peter's College - 2.30pm
- Dilworth School v Auckland Grammar School - 2.30pm
Harbour 1A
Round 10- Massey HS v Whangarei BHS - 12.00pm
- Rangitoto College v Orewa College - 12.00pm
- Westlake BHS v Manurewa HS - 1.00pm
Central North Island
Round 5
Wesley College v Rathkeale College - 2.30pm
Super 8
Round 2
New Plymouth BHS v Hastings BHS - 12.00pm (livestream link below)
Wellington Premiership
Round 7- St Pat's Town v Rongotai College - 2.30pm
- Mana College v Wellington College - POSTPONED
- St Pat's Silverstream v 59 Scots College - 2.30pm
- St Bernard's College v Tawa College - 2.30pm
- Hutt International BS v Wairarapa College (to be played on Saturday 15 July 2023)
Miles Toyota Premiership
Round 7- Selwyn Schools Combined v Marlborough Boys College - 11.00am
- Shirley BHS v Timaru BHS - 1.00pm
- Christchurch BHS v St Bede's College - 2.45pm
- St Andrews College v St Thomas of Canterbury College - 2.45pm
Otago Schools Rugby Championship (Division 1) - part 2
Round 3- Otago BHS v Southland BHS - 12.45pm
- John McGlashan College v King's HS - 12.45pm
- South Otago HS v Wakatipu HS - 12.45pm
New Plymouth BHS v Hastings BHS - 12.00pm
Livestream:
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Results - Saturday 1 July 2023
Auckland 1A
Round 8- Tangaroa College 7 - 51 St Kentigern
- Kelston BHS 8 - 8 De La Salle College
- Sacred Heart College 43 -3 Liston College
- Mt Albert Grammar School 22 - 19 St Paul's College
- King's College 25 - 38 St Peter's College
- Dilworth School 8 - 31 Auckland Grammar School
Harbour 1A
Round 10- Massey HS 17 - 5 Whangarei BHS
- Rangitoto College 10 - 7 Orewa College
- Westlake BHS 107 - 0 Manurewa HS
Central North Island
Round 5
Wesley College 59 - 9 Rathkeale College
Super 8
Round 2
New Plymouth BHS 7 - 17 Hastings BHS
Wellington Premiership
Round 7- St Pat's Town 22 - 5 Rongotai College
- Mana College v Wellington College - POSTPONED
- St Pat's Silverstream 19 - 32 Scots College
- St Bernard's College 38 - 19 Tawa College
- Hutt International BS v Wairarapa College (to be played on Saturday 15 July 2023)
Miles Toyota Premiership
Round 7- Selwyn Schools Combined 12 - 24 Marlborough Boys College
- Shirley BHS 31 - 32 Timaru BHS
- Christchurch BHS 20 - 10 St Bede's College
- St Andrews College 14 - 17 St Thomas of Canterbury College
Otago Schools Rugby Championship (Division 1) - part 2
Round 3- Otago BHS 22 - 18 Southland BHS
- John McGlashan College 30 - 5 King's HS
- South Otago HS 19 - 39 Wakatipu HS
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I'm not surprised at the score Westlake put on Manurewa. Something is seriously wrong with Manurewa this year (including defaults) as they have had a good competitive team in recent years.
@Bovidae said in 2023 School Rugby:
I'm not surprised at the score Westlake put on Manurewa. Something is seriously wrong with Manurewa this year (including defaults) as they have had a good competitive team in recent years.
I assume this has been asked before, but why are Manurewa in the Harbour comp, I thought the school was in South Auckland?
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@Bovidae said in 2023 School Rugby:
I'm not surprised at the score Westlake put on Manurewa. Something is seriously wrong with Manurewa this year (including defaults) as they have had a good competitive team in recent years.
I assume this has been asked before, but why are Manurewa in the Harbour comp, I thought the school was in South Auckland?
@Nepia
In previous years Manurewa were very dominant in the Counties Secondary School competition with Wesley College away playing in the CNI. In an attempt to find better competition, I believe they tried to join the Auckland Secondary Schools but were denied entry. They then joined the North Harbour competition (along with Whangarei BHS).
They have for reasons unknown not performed this season. -
@Nepia
In previous years Manurewa were very dominant in the Counties Secondary School competition with Wesley College away playing in the CNI. In an attempt to find better competition, I believe they tried to join the Auckland Secondary Schools but were denied entry. They then joined the North Harbour competition (along with Whangarei BHS).
They have for reasons unknown not performed this season.@Pepe IIRC, last year they were top 4 in the NH comp too, so the fall has been huge.
I know WBHS have a reasonably small side this year, although many year 12's so next year should be stronger.
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I'm not surprised at the score Westlake put on Manurewa. Something is seriously wrong with Manurewa this year (including defaults) as they have had a good competitive team in recent years.
