First XV rugby: Lindisfarne’s big chance in Central North Island semifinal

Action from Lindisfarne College's home match against St Peter's, of Cambridge. St Peter's won 47-38 on the way to an unbeaten record going into this weekend's Central North Island schools competition semifinals, in which Lindisfarne play Feilding AHS in Feilding. Photo / Supplied

The Lindisfarne College First XV carry the last remaining Hawke’s Bay hopes in either of the two major inter-regional secondary schools rugby championships when they play Feilding AHS in Feilding on Saturday.

The match, a Central North Island (CNI) schools championship semifinal against the 2024 Hurricanes region champions, comes with both Napier and Hastings boys’ high schools out of the separate Super 8 championship, following a similar early exit last year.

The final will feature top qualifiers Palmerston North BHS (PNBHS) hosting Moascar Cup holder Rotorua BHS, also on Saturday.

Feilding, the top-performing co-educational school in schools rugby nationally in recent seasons, is a firm favourite for the CNI semifinal.

The Manawatū school’s First XVs have beaten Lindisfarne comfortably and regularly in recent seasons, including a 45-26 victory at Lindisfarne on June 14 and 31-5 in last year’s semifinal, which set Feilding AHS on a path to the national schools Top 4 playoffs.

Another sign may be that Feilding had 11 of the 14 players in this year’s Hurricanes region Under 18 camp, which was dominated by players from Super 8 schools Napier, Hastings, Palmerston North and Gisborne.

Lindisfarne had six, in forwards Manuel Vaoheilala, Charlie East and Louie Uregei, and backs Angus Scott, Noah Rogers and Reid Palmer.

Lindisfarne co-coach Laurent Simutoga says the side have reached the same stage as in 2024, and are determined to go at least one better in the next step towards winning the competition for only the second time.

St Peter’s Cambridge completed an unbeaten record in the preliminaries with a 67-17 win over St John’s College Hastings in Cambridge last Saturday and play Wesley College in the other semifinal.

St John’s – who were down 36-5 at halftime and having been beaten also 36-5 by New Plymouth school Francis Douglas Memorial College last Wednesday – ended a second season in a row without a win in the competition.

The mid-table tightness of the Super 8 competition was highlighted on Saturday when Hastings BHS started with slim hopes of being the second finalist, yet less than an hour and a half later had slipped to fifth place.

With PNBHS having secured the top seeding and a rights to a home final with six wins and a loss, the major damage to the prospects of a Hawke’s Bay school joining them came in Hamilton.

Needing a win to retain any chance, Hastings BHS were beaten 31-22 by Hamilton BHS.

The position could have been reversed had they not conceded a last-second penalty against Rotorua and been beaten 34-33 by Rotorua in Hastings on June 19.

On Saturday Hamilton led 19-3 at halftime but a strong Hastings comeback, including tries in the 64th and 68th minutes of a game of 35 minutes each way, closed the gap to 26-22 to Hamilton with just three minutes to go.

Hastings battled back, fielding the ball from the kick-off, but Hamilton capitalised on a turnover about 20 metres out and bagged the last points.

Hamilton scored five tries to three. Hastings’ only points in the first came from a penalty goal kicked by first five-eighths Tana Faumuina, who converted two of the tries in the second half.

Flanker PJ Peivi scored two tries in a match for the second time in a row, and the last was scored by halfback-off-the-bench France Tevita.

Hastings and Napier BHS, who finished in sixth place, are expected to meet in another Hurricanes region match next week.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.