NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

The Scout: All you need to know about the First XV Rugby finals

NZ Herald
23 Aug, 2019 06:00 PM7 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Taya Brown from Nelson College.

Taya Brown from Nelson College.

Schoolboy rugby expert Herschel Fruean singles out the best First XV matches of the weekend, and some rising stars to watch.

In a first for New Zealand, Herald Premium, in association with Sky TV, will bring you exclusive live action of Saturday's South Island 1st XV rugby final between Nelson College and Christchurch Boys' High School.

To watch the full match, you must be a Sky or Premium subscriber.

If you're not a NZ Herald Premium subscriber, sign here - nzherald.co.nz/subscribe.

Here's what to watch out for in that clash, as well as the other big games in First XV rugby this weekend.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

UC Championship final - Nelson College v Christchurch Boys' High School in Nelson - Saturday, 12.40pm

The South Island final between Nelson College and Christchurch Boys' High School looks to be one of the best games of the year.

It was Nelson College who won the first meeting between the sides in June, with an impressive 25-7 victory in Christchurch.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Christchurch Boys' will now have to make the long trip to Nelson to try and reverse the scoreline in the game that counts.

Can Nelson stomp on?

Discover more

All Blacks

Comment: Perenara and how the ABs became protectors

21 Aug 02:00 AM
All Blacks

McKendry: The unsung All Black who could take World Cup by storm

22 Aug 03:00 AM
Sport|rugby

Phil Gifford: A guide to the silly things that will dominate World Cup

22 Aug 09:55 PM
All Blacks

Gregor Paul: Put down the phone! How ABs can get the real Rieko back

23 Aug 03:00 AM

Nelson have a huge forward pack and are capable of stomping through most teams, while their backs are small and explosive.

Their team is led and guided by Anton Segner, one of the best players in the country who has showed his worth through several superb performances.

The openside flanker is great to watch and it's easy to see why he is rated as one of New Zealand rugby's top prospects.

However, Nelson will be without Fergus Hughes at No 6, whose defence has been huge this year, after he was ruled out of the game.

Taya Brown should start at No 8 and offer up a big frame, throwing himself at defenders and watching them fly off him like they usually do. Don't be surprised to see props Isaiah Malaulau and Preston Masters join in on the action either.

Mason Lund at halfback and Nico Barton at No 10 just need to keep the forwards making ground up the middle until they are ready to strike in the backs.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The setup of Barton with Louis Carmine and Year 11 centre Ollie Inch, who is very strong going into contact, has been important for the home side.

Can Christchurch turn it around?

Christchurch Boys' backline will have to move up quick as a line and then crowd the ball carriers to cut off all options for Nelson's dangerous offloads.

Sometimes you will see Nelson lock Daniel Dixon in the mix with the backs because of his pace and this will need to be watched closely by the Christchurch defensive line.

Christchurch Year 12 locks Jamie Hannah and Fabian Holland are also very athletic and will both be very important for their side.

They both have great work rates and speed – Hannah offers great ability in the air while Holland has ridiculous strength.

Prop Ben Lopas and hooker Claden Pirihi bring a lot of experience and knowledge that will need to be called on throughout this game.

Lopas' running is going to be crucial with help from support runners as well as he breaks up the field.

Pirihi just has that classic work ethic around his core roles and the rucks, which they really need to win.

If Max Hughes and Ollie Lewis play like the superstars they are in 1st XV rugby, Christchurch will have a good chance of winning this game.

King's College vs St Kentigern College at Eden Park - Saturday, 3.00pm

It's highly likely that both King's College and St Kentigern College will be at the National Top 4 in Palmerston North in September. Usually when it comes to the 1A Final one team goes through and the other misses out on a chance to be crowned the "King" of 1st XV in New Zealand, but this year St Kentigern has put their hand up to go the co-ed route, so that means King's College will go through to the National Top 4.

Before that though we still have a 1A Final to be played and a title to be won. King's have favouritism for two reasons. The first is that King's are able to play the full team that they have been playing with throughout this season, and then the second is that they won the first meeting 52-19 earlier in the season.

That was a long time ago but the fact remains that St Kentigern are without some players and they have to try and make up for that, having to stand down their new-to-school players for the finals after their drama earlier this year.

Chicago Doyle from King's College.
Chicago Doyle from King's College.

The positive part for St Kentigern is that they have made it to the final of the 1A when they shouldn't have made it into the semis. They also only lost one game in their six week new-to-school standdown at the start of the year, and that was an away game against King's College.

Last week, they were so dominant in the forwards, so aggressive in the tackle areas and the forward pack worked so hard as a pack. To beat King's, they need to focus on the forward pack and win the game by slowing down the rucks. King's are way too strong in the backline and once Dayton Iobu gets that ball going from halfback for King's that's when you see No 10 Aidan Morgan and centre Meihana Grindlay take over.

St Kentigern can't let Morgan and Grindlay get clean ball and time to set up movements and plays, and need to move up fast on defence, with openside Cam Church and blindside Will Bason timing passes and identifying ball carriers. Prop Tiaan Tauakipulu is still the main man for St Kentigern and he will need to be a massive influence in this game for his side to win the title.

Scots College vs Palmerston North BHS at Porirua Park - Saturday, 2.30pm

The last time these two teams met up it was early in the year at the Hurricanes Festival, where Scots claimed a 35-31 victory. Today's clash could be quite similar, with a high scoreline, a lot of offence, fast moving forward packs and a lot of highlights. Ethan Webster-Nonu and Roderick Solo for Scots College and Ruben Love and Chance Malu for Palmerston North Boys - that is a lot of highlights just from those four players alone.

Scots need their forward pack to have a solid game protecting the ball and producing quick play rucks so they can keep that movement and speed consistent throughout the whole game. Ball runners from this team are all over the place and they need to get them in position to best be effective. Prop Jonty Bird, hooker Sesa Va'a, blindside Isaac Sailo and No 8 Sione Halahilo all have the ability to get going if given the smallest of spaces, time and opportunity.

Sesa Va'a of Scots College.
Sesa Va'a of Scots College.

On the other side, Love and Malu do also have the X-Factor in them to make plays all the time, and the team's focus will be execution. Palmerston North will have Curtis Heaphy at No 10 and he will be partnered up with Matt Oldridge at halfback. They have played at nine and 10 for most of the season and it has worked, but they will both need to be on the same page mixing up attacks from forwards to backs and backs to forwards.

Loose forwards Bryn Gordon, Tamati Ruawai and Ethan Johanson will be very important to how this team runs, and they will not only need to break down plays on defence but also be there to carry the ball and set up for the backline's big attacks.

Big boys up front like Raymond Tuputupu and Nasser Tato in the front row are going to be big tasks for Scots to take care of, and will have to work double time in this game. A Palmerston North Boys High win is not going to be a shock if it happens but I'm going to side with Scots College to come out as winners in this game.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Sport

Racing

Lord Spencer storms to victory at Te Aroha, impresses ahead of features

22 Jun 06:23 PM
Racing

Jockey honours late father's promise with steeplechase win

22 Jun 06:20 PM
Premium
OpinionUpdated

Phil Gifford: How Crusaders' resilience toppled the Chiefs in epic final

22 Jun 06:05 PM

Help for those helping hardest-hit

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Lord Spencer storms to victory at Te Aroha, impresses ahead of features

Lord Spencer storms to victory at Te Aroha, impresses ahead of features

22 Jun 06:23 PM

Lord Spencer won the Silver Fern Farms Hurdle at Te Aroha on Sunday.

Jockey honours late father's promise with steeplechase win

Jockey honours late father's promise with steeplechase win

22 Jun 06:20 PM
Premium
Phil Gifford: How Crusaders' resilience toppled the Chiefs in epic final

Phil Gifford: How Crusaders' resilience toppled the Chiefs in epic final

22 Jun 06:05 PM
Herald Hat-trick sports quiz: June 23

Herald Hat-trick sports quiz: June 23

22 Jun 06:03 PM
How a Timaru mum of three budding chefs stretched her grocery shop
sponsored

How a Timaru mum of three budding chefs stretched her grocery shop

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP