College Sport: St Paul's bounce back with league sweep

Nadia Loveday of Mt Albert Grammar School looks for a quick pass. Picture / Sarah Ivey

After last year's hiccup, St Paul's College reasserted their domination of Auckland Secondary Schools rugby league with a clean sweep of the three finals at Mt Smart Stadium.

The games played in near-perfect conditions and in front of a 1500-strong crowd underlined the growing strength of the code.

After missing out last season, St Paul's showed up meaning business in the showpiece game.

They came up against newly crowned Nigel Vagana Shield winners Kelston BHS - led by Auckland under-17 representative Cyrus O'Brian.

St Paul's quickly showed they had too much strikepower with great tries from prop Toafafoa Sipley (two) and Semisi Havilli, which proved the difference in a game which went to the wire before St Paul's emerged 18-10 victors.

The Jack Fagan Cup for the under-85kg grade was won by St Paul's who downed Tamaki College 24-16. Two second half scores sealed the win for St Paul's with playmakers Isaiah Mahuika and Cody Mahuika scoring and converting their tries.

Man-of-the-match was keen prop Chansmata Villi.

In the under-15 9-a-side competition for the Graham Lowe Cup there was a surprise when underdogs St Paul's B stormed home to beat St Paul's A 26-18.

CYCLING
Auckland schools again had to play second fiddle at the North Island road championships as Waikato Diocesan and Palmerston North Boys High retained their overall titles.

With points awarded from first to 10th in each race, the trophies have been the coveted prizes at the championships, held for the second successive year in Cambridge.

The team time trials on the first day attracted 148 teams who raced over 17km in near-perfect conditions. In the younger grades, teams of four had some spirited battles as did the senior boys and girls who had five riders with four to count.

Hamilton BHS successfully defended their senior boys' title but could not repeat the results in Sunday's individual races and did not figure in the overall placings.

INLINE HOCKEY
Led by tournament MVP Scott Henry, Botany Downs Secondary College scored a breakthrough win in the national championships at Mt Wellington's Skateland.

The victory was a triumph for Auckland schools who have waited 15 years to get their hands on the trophy.

In winning, Botany Downs staved off strong challenges from Kerikeri High and Nelson College.

MOUNTAINBIKING
Kalen Weir claimed a clean sweep of the three races in the Auckland SS championships, giving Avondale College something to cheer about. The junior champion was the only male rider to go through the series unbeaten. His effort was matched by the three girls who claimed their titles.

Howick College's Kayla Russell (junior), Jemma Manchester (intermediate) and Anna Trenholme (senior) also won with perfect scores.

Weir was pleased with his efforts especially in the last of the three races, a 10km race over varied terrain at Sanders Reserve in which he stretched his overall lead to 27 points over Owen Chung (AGS) with Fin Wellsford-Ackroyd (MAGS) a point back in third.

NETBALL
In a game living up to all pre-match expectations, Mt Albert Grammar were victorious in the final of the new televised school's series after a tough, exciting game with Tu Toa.

Apart from a brave second quarter when they outscored MAGS 10-7, Tu Toa struggled to challenge the Aucklanders who got home 38-26.

MAGS opened the game strongly, finding shooters Chiara Semple and Meretine Fuimoano with ease.

Tu Toa struggled against the defensive prowess of MAGS' Holly Fowler.

RUGBY
Long-established schools AGGS and EGGS continued their domination of Auckland SS girls' rugby by successfully defending their 15-a-side and 10s titles respectively.

AGGS beat old rivals Tamaki 15-5 for a second successive title while Tamaki, winners in 2009 and 2010, had to settle for the runners-up medals.

AGGS were unbeaten in round-robin play and won through to their fourth successive final with a 33-5 semifinal win over Onehunga.

Tamaki's only regular season loss was 26-0 to AGGS and they had to overcome Otahuhu 12-10 in the other semifinal.

AGGS scored first through fullback Va'anessa Molia-Fraser who beat two players to score in the left-hand corner. They went further ahead when number 8 Amber Hall ran 25m to score.

Tamaki got back into the game when fullback Asinate Sufitua scored a brilliant individual try to close the gap at halftime to 10-5.

After halftime a Tamaki player was sin-binned for a high tackle and from the penalty Hall scored her second try.

AGGS progress as the Blues franchise representative at the inaugural Secondary School Girls National 1st XV Championship in Palmerston North in September.

The final round of the 10-a-side competition was played to complete the straight round-robin competition.

Going into the last round, EGGS (35) held a two-point lead over Mangere College (33). Third-placed Waitakere (30) could have created an upset if results had gone their way.

In the end, EGGS had a comfortable win over Edgewater and Mangere received an easy five points through Tangaroa defaulting. Both teams ended with eight wins from nine games and although Mangere had beaten EGGS earlier in the season, the two extra bonus points EGGS had claimed proved the difference.

NORTH HARBOUR: A severely depleted Mahurangi College 1st XV were no match for a dominant Massey side who ran in 12 tries on their way to a 72-10 romp in one of two one-sided affairs in the only round nine 1A matches played.

Massey quickly stamped their mark and were rewarded with three unconverted tries, two to right wing Jonathan Sufia and one to left wing Chun Zhang.

Mahurangi hit back with a Kayne Middleton penalty but Massey replied with a converted try to fullback Tevita Li and an unconverted score when centre Environ To'o swooped on a dropped ball. An unconverted try by Li then stretched their lead. Mahurangi managed a try through first five-eighth Sione Paea but the floodgates opened and it was easy for the visitors.

In the other 1A fixture, Rosmini beat Rangitoto 70-3 and the WBHS-TGS game was deferred until next term with Takapuna on tour in Australia.

WAIKATO: Cambridge High School are the new holders of the Tricolor Trophy, the premier challenge trophy in Waikato Secondary Schools rugby, after beating St John's College 24-17 in round seven of the local competition.

Cambridge led 19-17 in the last few minutes and sealed it with a try from halfback Brogan Bayliss.

In other division one matches, Morrinsville College did well to head Matamata College 14-10, while St Peter's School thrashed Tokoroa High 62-0. In division two Te Awamutu College outclassed Fraser High 50-0, and Hillcrest High thumped Taumarunui High 40-0. In the third match, Hamilton BHS 3rd XV beat St Paul's Collegiate 2nd XV 17-5.

SOCCER
After getting through the first round with just one loss, premier front-runners Sacred Heart were upset by third-placed WBHS in the opening game of the second round.

First half goals to Nick Sugden, Sam Brotherton and Dylan Stansfield had WBHS firmly in control. Stansfield added a second as the visitors went on to claim the points as 4-1 victors.

In other games MAGS were too strong on their trip to TGS winning 11-1, St Kentigern won 3-1 at Rangitoto and AGS saved face for the home teams with their 3-2 win over KBHS.

In the Knockout Cup quarter-finals MAGS came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with St Kentigern - who missed a late penalty - and won the penalty shootout 5-4. In other games, WBHS won 7-3 at Macleans and Sacred Heart, at home beat AGS 3-1. Botany Downs face Glendowie on July 17.

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