Lindisfarne College start Central North Island rugby competition with three straight wins

Lindisfarne College first five-eighths Waiariki Hunia heads for the line to score one of his side's nine tries in a 61-19 win over defending CNI schools rugby champions St John's College Hamilton in Hastings on Saturday. Photo / Bronwyn Swanson

Lindisfarne College has beaten defending Central North Island (CNI) schools rugby champions St John’s College Hamilton by 42 points in maintaining an unbeaten record after three games in the 2025 competition.

The 61-19 win on Saturday came in Lindisfarne’s first home game in the championship it won in the inaugural season in 2012, playing for a trophy presented by former student and All Blacks captain Taine Randell.

With fullback Noah Rogers scoring one try and landing all but one of nine conversions, it was an extension of the school’s big start after finishing third last year.

The promise was shown in a pre-season that included a 98-19 win over regular top-four school Scots College of Wellington and continued into the competition, starting with away wins 19-10 over St Paul’s Collegiate in Hamilton and 28-26 over Wesley College in Pukekohe.

But the real class came at the Pakowhai Rd school on Saturday as the reds, coached by former Bay of Plenty Steamers coach Andre Bell, former Hurricanes and Magpies midfield back Andrew Horrell and Lindisfarne old boy and former French Pro 14 prop Laurent Simutoga, dominated from the start and led 33-5 at halftime.

It hasn’t been such a good start for fellow Hastings school St John’s College, beaten 86-3 by defending champions, co-educational rugby giants and 2025 national First XV championship semifinalists Fielding High School on May 17, and then 50-12 by 2024 beaten finalists Whanganui Collegiate on Saturday.

The derby between the two Hastings schools will be played at Lindisfarne on Thursday.

Hastings Boys’ High School opened their Super 8 campaign by scoring the last 14 points to notch a 24-15 win over New Plymouth BHS in New Plymouth on Saturday.

Left wing John Lameko scored the first try for Hastings, who with a conversion and penalty goal to first five-eighths and second-year member Tana Faumuina, led 10-8 at halftime.

Faumuina added a try and two conversions in the second half as Hastings, coached by former Hurricanes Super Rugby and Hawke’s Bay Magpies NPC players Karl Lowe and Jason Shoemark, bounced back from being down 15-10 about 11 minutes after the break, the last try going to Tama Edwards-Butler at right wing off the subs’ bench.

New Plymouth won the Second XVs’ match 40-33, the Under-15 match 20-19 and the Under-14 match 49-14.

Hastings has a home match against Palmerston North BHS on Friday, when Napier BHS start their Super 8 campaign away against Gisborne BHS, who were beaten 51-7 by PNBHS in Gisborne on Saturday.

Last week Napier had a 97-7 schools exchange win in Wellington over Scots College, with new NBHS coach Willie Tran acknowledging Scots is in a rebuilding phase. Scots won their opening game in the Wellington competition at the weekend.

The big Napier and Hastings First XVs Super 8 match will be played in Napier on June 7, with Hastings out to avenge Napier’s narrow win last year.

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.