Want to know who the next Beauden Barrett or Kieran Read will be? In his weekly column for the Herald, schoolboy rugby expert Herschel Fruean singles out the best First XV matches of the weekend, and some rising stars to watch. Fruean will travel New Zealand looking for the best talent the country has to offer, preview the big games every Friday, provide a wrap of all the results on Sunday, and rank the top 15 First XV teams (based on their performances throughout the season) every Monday morning.
There were big scores all over the board in the Otago competition this week, highlighted by Otago Boys' High School 1st XV's 108-3 win over Otago Combined. Southland Boys' High School overpowered Otago Boys' 2nd XV 50-29, while King's High School beat South Otago High School 70-0. Mt Aspiring College won 24 - 18 over St Kevin's College and Dunstan High School beating Wakatipu High School 29 - 10.
They now split into three grades with Otago Boys' 1sts, Southland Boys', King's and John McGlashan in the top grade, while the 2ndgrade consists of Dunstan High School, Otago Boys' 2nd XV, Waitaki Boys' and Mt Aspiring College. The 3rd grade is South Otago High School, Otago Combined, St Kevin's College and Wakatipu High School.
In the various competitions around the country, winning at this time of the year is everything as they look towards challenging for their respective titles.
In the 1A competition, Auckland Grammar top the standings with King's College, St Kentigern College and Sacred Heart College rounding out the top four. Kelston Boys', St Peter's College, De La Salle College and Mount Albert Grammar follow in that order.