St John's fullback Keoni Albert in tackled just short of the St Paul's goalline, with lock Xavier Mihaere in support.
As defending national champions Hamilton Boys’ High were carving their way to yet another home Super 8 final on Saturday, a few kilometres up the road a neighbouring school less than half the size was making a first XV rugby statement of its own.
Hamilton’s St John’s College, a Marist Catholic school with a roll of 912 (as of April), claimed top spot in the Central North Island competition after a hard-fought 32-27 away win over St Paul’s Collegiate.
St John’s is of course much better known as a basketball school - a code in which it has a deep legacy - but in recent years its growing impact on the first XV rugby scene has been increasingly hard to ignore.
Last year St John’s made the Central North Island final, only to lose 22-33 to Feilding High in Taupō. And this year they are well poised to go one better, under former Hamilton Marist coach Howie King, after finishing round-robin play two points ahead of Whanganui Collegiate and four points ahead of Feilding.
The match against fifth-placed St Paul’s was played at a good clip between two committed teams, with a crowd slightly larger than that for Hamilton Boys’ High’s key Super 8 match underlining the appeal of such derby fixtures.
The outcome was ultimately only settled by a second-half try from St John’s No 8 Kade Su’a. Earlier, St John’s tighthead prop Nichaiah Boynton had dotted down twice, while winger Simione Veatupu and openside flanker Micah Fale also scored tries.
Centre Kaden Makea (centre) kicked two conversions and a penalty, while St John’s territorial kicking did much to nullify the rushing defence of St Paul’s.
St John’s halfback Halen King was influential in directing his forwards and linking with the backs, Fale was lively all day and Su’a played a key role in the lineout where he was up against St Paul’s well-performed Jack Ruske.
St John’s were thrilled to finish top in the round robin - and retain the Rick Francis Memorial Shield for matches between the schools.
“This is the toughest the competition has ever been,” said St John’s teacher in charge of rugby and first XV assistant coach Tony Su’a. “On any given day you don’t know who will win in any match.”
St John’s do have a back catalogue of fine players, such as All Blacks Marty Holah and Sosene Anesi, but since 2017 they have been putting increased emphasis on their rugby programme.
“We work hard on the players’ skills from year 9 to year 13, with the right coaches and right resources because players blossom at all different ages as long as they have the love of rugby.
“With this approach we knew the good players would come.”
A semifinal opponent for St John’s has still to be settled, with St Peter’s sitting fourth, but with sixth-place Wesley still able to edge them out shoud they secure a bonus-point win in their outstanding away match against St John’s Hastings at 12 noon Wednesday.
Wesley will be hoping for more sympathetic refereeing than they struck in their surprise 24-14 loss away to Francis Douglas.
Meanwhile the other semifinal, between second-placed Whanganui Collegiate and third-placed Feilding High School should be a cracker, after they finished locked at 28-28 in their round robin match on Saturday.
Hamilton Boys’ High were made to work hard for their 30-15 Super 8 win over Hastings’ Boys High, twice having to come from behind and still only level at 15-15 at half time.
Hastings second five Panapa Lambert scored an early try which was then matched by a fine solo try by Hamilton fullback Rangiwai Lunjevich.
Hsatings winger Raef Robinson put his team back in front but Hamilton hooker Tom McCarthy replied with a try adjacent to the posts.
And it was all Hamilton in the second spell, with first five Wyndham Patuawa adding a try, conversion and penalty, and winger Kurtis Hana scoring a 68th minute try.
It means Hamilton will now host Napier Boys’ High - held to a 12-12 draw by Palmerston North midweek - in the Super 8 final at noon on Saturday.
Auckland Grammar continue to rise the challenge in Auckland’s 1A competition, with their 27-18 win over near neighbours St Peter’s, arguably their best result of the campaign, given the calibre of opposition.
This was Grammar’s first win over St Peter’s since 2017 and they are comfortably nestled in third place ahead of the playoffs with one round to go.
At the top of the table St Kentigern continued their unbeaten run with a tight 13-10 win over Kelston Boys’ high, while second-placed Sacred Heart beat Mt Albert grammar 29-5 thanks to some mercurial back play and scrum dominance.
Sacred Heart host Auckland Grammar on Saturday - with the possibility they could also meet for a second week running as semifinal opponents.
With one round to play before the playoffs, the top three schools - St Kentigern, Sacred Heart and Grammar have locked in their berths but fourth place is still up for grabs, with De La Salle College and St Peter’s level on 33 points and Kelston on 31 points.
Kelston host St Peter’s on Saturday, while De La Salle have a slightly easier path to the playoffs, away to King’s College.
One of the biggest talking points of the day was St Paul’s College picking up their first win of the season, 20-13 over King’s College, after nine losses on the trot.
And to add to the sense of occasion, it came courtesy of an intercept try with the final play of the game - after King’s winger James Ford had scored in the corner in the 62nd minute to level at 13-13.
Like St John’s at the top of this article, St Paul’s are a Catholic school more readily associated with another code, and currently sit top equal in Auckland premier schoolboy rugby league.
And St Paul’s similarly deserve wider recognition for their growing rugby presence - though in that respect they have of course snookered themselves by buying into the Auckland 1A media ban.
Meanwhile Tangaroa College also picked up their first win of the season, 12-10 over Dilworth, though it wasn’t enough to get them off the bottom of the table.
For the first time in its history, Hutt International Boys’ School (HIBS) have made the Tranzit Coachlines-sponsored Wellington Premiership semifinals after a wild climax to the regular season, reports Adam Julian.
HIBS were beaten 14-12 by St Pat’s Town but a failure by Town to secure a four-try bonus point and a last-play victory by Rongotai College over Wairarapa College secured HIBS fourth place.
In Miramar, Rongotai were down 10-19, and Nico Metuariki red-carded in the 35th minute. The score stayed that way until the 68th minute when Phoenix Hague-Smith scored to make it 19-15.
Wairarapa, who beat both Wellington College and St Pats Town earlier in the season, would have their hearts broken when Teddy Stanley crossed for an improbable winner, with Rongotai victors 20-19.
At NZCIS the story was similar. Tenacious HIBS led St Pat’s Town 12-0 with five minutes remaining. As had been the case from much of the match the larger blue forwards battered away unimaginatively at the stubborn HIBS defence. Eventually, Cazna Logovae-Sale found a hole and scored underneath a pile of bodies to make it 12-7.
At the kick-off, HIBS were pinged for having defenders over the hallway stripe, and Panadol was suddenly in short supply among the coaching staff. With foreign exuberance Town busted down the right wing and HIBS were scrambling rather than staunch. Jake Townsend scored beside the posts and Jayde Burns converted to make it 14-12.
HIBS reclaimed the restart. The short side was swiftly hit, and whippet winger Theodore Potter dashed clear with a headline in his sight. A 25m surge saw him reach the line but the ball bobbled and squirted away from his clinch as he dived over the paint. No try but only temporary relief for Town.
A shallow clearance kept Town inside the HIBS 22. HIBS won the lineout and following a solitary ruck, an impulsive drop kick was attempted which drifted lamely wide of the target.
It was a harsh defeat for HIBS whose ability to attack the ball in the tackle and disrupt Town was truly heroic at times. HIBS resisted almost 15 minutes of sustained Town attack inside their 22 just before halftime.
HIBS’ first try was opportunism, capitalising on Town muddle. Thomas Devery was worthy of the spoils; the No.8 was imperious. His ability to gain ground from the back of the scrum, when the hosts’ pack was under duress, was particularly eye-catching.
There were no points for 15 minutes in the second half until a one-handed steal by Devery set Rhys Evans free. The somewhat gangly, lion-hearted lock avoided the stampede behind him to score a 25m epic and double HIBS score. A conversion beside the corner flag, on the 22, to sturdy second-five Brodee Tetevano made it 12-0.
HIBS first-five Sean Carter grew in stature throughout while Town openside Mitirimal Leota was a hive of activity.
Wellington College thrashed Tawa College 54-6 to jump into third place. Jacob Kennedy, who scored six tries against Mana College, scored another three on Saturday.
Top qualifier Scots College overpowered St Bernard’s College 59-19 and St Patrick’s College Silverstream were the biggest winner of the day 71-3 over Mana College.
After Scots (nine wins) and St Pat’s Silverstream (eight wins), the next four teams had five wins each.
In the semi-finals on Saturday Scots College play Hutt International Boys’ School and St Patrick’s College Silverstream face Wellington College.
Saturday’s Auckland 1A draw (Saturday 2.30pm, home team first): St Kentigern v Mt Albert Grammar; Sacred Heart v Auckland Grammar; St Paul’s v Tangaroa; King’s College v De La Salle; Kelston v St Peter’s; Liston v Dilworth.
1A Points: St Kentigern 47, Sacred Heart 43, Auckland Grammar 39, De La Salle 33,St Peter’s 33, Kelston 31, Mt Albert Grammar 23, Liston 17, King’s College 13, St Paul’s 6, Dilworth 6, Tangaroa 4.
Super 8, Round 7: Hamilton 30 Hastings 15; Rotorua 73 New Plymouth 0; Tauranga 48 Gisborne 10; Palmerston North 12 Napier 12.
Super 8 Points: Hamilton 30, Napier 27, Tauranga 25, Palmerston North 20, Hastings 19, Rotorua 13, Gisborne 2, New Plymouth 1. Super 8 final Saturday 12 noon: Hamilton v Napier, at Hamilton Boys’ High.
North Harbour 1A, Round 12: Westlake 40 Rosmini College 12; Rangitoto College 0 Massey 38; Manurewa 12 Whangarei 66; Orewa College 14 Takapuna Grammar 34.
North Harbour points: Westlake 59; Massey 42, Rosmini 40; Takapuna Grammar 40; Whangarei 33; Rangitoto 15; Orewa 10; Manurewa 1.
Central North Island, Round 9: Feilding 28 Whanganui Collegiate 28; Francis Douglas 24 Wesley College 14; St Paul’s Collegiate 27 St John’s College, Hamilton 32; St Peter’s Cambridge 43 St John’s College, Hastings 5.
Points: St John’s Hamilton 37 Whanganui 35, Feilding 33, St Peter’s 31, St Paul’s 30, Wesley 26, Francis Douglas 20, Lindisfarne 10, St John’s Hastings 5, Rathkeale 1.
Wellington Premiership, Round 9: Rongotai College 20 - 19 Wairarapa College 19; Hutt International 12 St Pat’s Wellington 14; Tawa College 6 Wellington College 54; St Bernard’s College 19 Scots College 59; Mana College 3 St Pat’s Silverstream 71.
Points: Scots 45, Silverstream 40, Wellington 26, HIBS 25, St Pats Town 24, Wairarapa 23, Rongotai 19, St Bernard’s 17, Tawa 4, Mana 0.
Miles Toyota Premiership semifinals: Nelson College 31 St Bede’s College 19; Christchurch Boys 27 St Thomas of Canterbury 17. Semi-Finals Premiership Plate: Marlborough Boys College 26 Christ’s College 20; St Andrews College 28 Selwyn Schools Combined 27.
Otago Schools Rugby Championship Round 5: Wakatipu 5 King’s 35; Southland 101 South Otago 0; Otago 7 John McGlashan College 9.
Points: Southland 21, John McGlashan 18, Otago 15, King’s 14, Wakatipu 6, South Otago 0.
* Readers are invited to send their first XV rugby updates, news snippets and hot takes to nzschoolboyrugby@gmail.com
Coach Willie Tran praised his team's character after a tough first half.