Rugby: Schools to battle it out in Chiefs finals

Four weeks of matches between schools across the Chiefs region culminates in the next few days. Photo / Getty

Four weeks of matches between schools across the Chiefs region culminates over the next few days in the Chiefs Cup, Trophy and Bowl finals.

The first of the three finals takes place today with St Peter's School of Cambridge hosting Hamilton Boys' High School Second XV in the Chiefs Trophy final at 3:30pm.

Hamilton BHS Second XV have won the Chiefs Trophy for the last two years, while St Peter's won it in 2013.

On Saturday, the Chiefs Cup final will be keenly contested by St Paul's Collegiate and Hamilton Boys' High School First XV. A large crowd is expected at St Paul's to support both neighbouring schools' teams as they compete for the premier title, with kickoff scheduled for 11:30am.

Hamilton BHS won the Chiefs Cup in 2012 and 2013, while St Paul's are contesting their first Chiefs Cup final after winning a highly competitive pool involving Wesley College, Tauranga Boys' College and Francis Douglas Memorial College.

The new Chiefs Bowl is on the line between hosts Te Awamutu College and Pukekohe High School in the 12:00pm match. Te Awamutu won through to the final with wins over Hawera High School and Alfriston College, while Pukekohe had wins over Morrinsville College and Hauraki Plains College to make the final from Counties Manukau.

In addition to the three finals, a number of other playoff matches will take place around the Chiefs region. This weekend's games bring to a close the fifth successful year of the Chiefs Cup, Trophy and Bowl competitions. Over the past four weeks 24 teams from across the Chiefs region have competed in the annual secondary schools competition, with a revised format to accommodate the addition of eight teams in 2016.

Chiefs high performance manager Chris Tindall said: "Our Chiefs region secondary schools competition has been successful again this year in providing new competitive matches at the start of the season for 24 school First XVs across our six provincial unions, including the positive addition of schools from Taranaki this year. We recognise and thank the great support for the success of the Chiefs secondary schools competitions from the people involved in our provincial unions, the schools, coaches and managers, the players representing their schools with pride, and their family supporters to make the matches happen. Schools First XV rugby is a great strength of New Zealand rugby and in our Chiefs region for future Chiefs players to be identified and develop from."

The Chiefs Cup and Trophy competition continues to be an important platform to showcase the top echelon of secondary schools rugby talent within the Chiefs region. The competition provides players with the opportunity to stake their claim for selection for the Chiefs region U18 Schools development camp which takes place in early July. This camp is utilised as part of the selection process for the New Zealand Schools team.

2016 Chiefs Cup, Trophy and Bowl finals:

Chiefs Cup final:
St Paul's Collegiate vs Hamilton Boys' High School, at 11:30am on Saturday May 28 at St Paul's

Third/fourth playoff match:
Rotorua Boys' High School vs Wesley College, at 12.00pm on Saturday May 28 at Rotorua BHS

Chiefs Trophy final:
St Peter's School vs Hamilton Boys' High School Second XV, at 3:30pm on Thursday May 26 at St Peter's

Chiefs Bowl final:
Te Awamutu College vs Pukekohe High School, at 12.00pm on Saturday May 28 at Te Awamutu

Other Chiefs region matches
To be played on Saturday May 28:

Manurewa High School vs St John's College, 2:40pm at Manurewa (televised on SKY's Rugby Channel)
Rosehill College vs Wesley College Second XV, 10.30am at Rosehill
Taupo nui-a-Tia College vs Thames High School, 12.00pm at Taupo nui-a-Tia
Hauraki Plains College vs Morrinsville College, 11.00am at Hauraki Plains