Schoolboy rugby: Big match of the year looms in Hawke’s Bay

Try-scoring action from last year’s match between the Napier and Hastings Boys’ high schools' first fifteen teams, won by Napier. Photo / NZME

Hastings and Napier Boys’ high schools have set the stage for their big Super 8 rugby competition derby with big wins at the weekend.

Try-scoring action from last year’s match between the Napier and Hastings Boys’ high schools' first fifteen teams. Photo / NZME

The big match will be played on Saturday at Hastings Boys’ High School.

Hastings has a two-from-two winning start in away games in the target="_blank">2024 competition, with a 23-14 away win over Palmerston North BHS on Saturday.

Napier started their campaign with a 27-14 home win over Gisborne BHS.

In other matches, Tauranga Boys’ College sounded a loud warning with a 57-14 Bay of Plenty derby win over Rotorua BHS in Tauranga, while near-perennial Super 8 champions Hamilton BHS beat New Plymouth 29-0 in New Plymouth.

Hastings, which beat New Plymouth 41-32 in their opening game, scored two tries in the first half to lead 15-0 at the break, and with another four minutes after the break and a penalty goal soon afterwards had completed their scoring to lead 23-0 before Palmerston North scored the first of their two tries.

Left wing John Lameko scored the first try for Hastings and fullback Walter Kava scored one in each half, with the other points coming from two penalty goals and a conversion to first five-eighths Tana Faumuina.

It was a tougher go for Napier, which found themselves down 7-0 after nine minutes and 14-7 at halftime, but dominated the second half, and, after two penalty goals to first five-eighths Luke Thomas, scored two more tries in the last 15 minutes, both of which Thomas also converted.

Brother and hooker Troy Thomas scored the NBHS first-half try, while flanker Kahn Stevenson and Riley Mullany each scored in the second-half fightback.

Napier holds bragging rights in Hawke’s Bay after beating Hastings 24-18 in Napier in their Super 8 match last year and eventually reaching the final against Hamilton. Hastings beat Napier 25-14 in the 2022 match, after also winning in Napier the previous year.

The match on Saturday, starting at midday, will be one of seven between the schools at Hastings BHS.

In the CNI Schools competition, St John’s College put together their biggest score of a winless season, but still were well beaten, 74-26, by unbeaten competition leaders St Paul’s Collegiate, in Hamilton.

The other Hawke’s Bay school in the competition is fifth with two wins from four games and has a home match in Hastings on Tuesday during a sports exchange with Whanganui Collegiate.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.