St Kentigern flanker Zae Mangu on the charge against De La Salle. Photo / File
St Kentigern will face Sacred Heart in the grand final of the Auckland 1A First XV rugby competition on Saturday, at a venue yet to be announced by the media-shy school principals who govern the competition.
But getting there - wherever “there” may be - could not have been any closer for top round-robin qualifiers St Kentigern, who were held to a 22-22 draw in their semifinal with De La Salle College, having trailed 22-17 until the final play of the game, and only ultimately proceeding on a technicality.
When the final whistle went in front of a crowd most provincial unions would kill for, with the score deadlocked, players, fans and even officials momentarily stood around bewildered as to what happened next.
And then a bloke helpfully trotted on to the pitch to inform those within earshot that home team St Kentigern had “won” on the basis of having scored the first try.
With no venue announcement, the outcome was revealed purely by contrasting displays of player elation and despair, which then triggered a joyous pitch invasion from the most committed bare-chested St Kent’s fans.
Savoured though victory was for these blue-skinned diehards, this was the equivalent of winning on a boundary countback in cricket, with few fans or players aware of the reason they had been designated as victors.
Most of those present belatedly assumed St Kentigern had been awarded the match on the basis of having been top qualifier or having beaten De La Salle 17-10 in the round robin play earlier in the season.
But the “first try wins” rule is a World Rugby convention to settle the outcome where there is no allowance for extra time (as is the case with Under-19 rugby) and both teams have scored the same number of tries (three each in this case).
However it is a contentious statute that arguably would have been more stress-tested if fourth-placed qualifiers De La Salle - who were the first team to register scoreboard points with a penalty to Alister Saulala - had won.
There had been huge home team cheers when St Kentigern winger Hame Palelei forced his way over in the corner in the final minute to level (with Adam Morrison unable to convert).
But in retrospect the real match-winning hero was actually St Kentigern hooker Ezekial Kolo, who had rumbled across the line in the 12th minute, when the score was 3-3.
It was a cruel finish for a gutsy De La Salle team which had come from behind to level at 10-10, and again at 17-17 through a try from the well-performed Augustino Filipo, then finally edged in front 22-17 seven minutes into the second spell, when Samuela Koroise scored following immense goal-line pressure and lock Alister Saulala converted.
The Bond Tagaloa-coached team had travelled to Pakuranga with a large chunk of South Auckland in tow, and notwithstanding a few bad handling errors, for most of the second half they silenced the Saints’ sideline Boys in Blue and seemed destined to qualify for their first final since 2008.
But one of the reasons St Kentigern were top qualifiers is their ability to keep cool under pressure, and they put enormous heat on De La Salle in the final five minutes with driving forward play led by Zae Mangu, and scything runs out wide.
St Kentigern’s lineout had repeat problems, but their backline always looked dangerous, particularly when Morrison chimed in, while Palelei was well worth his late try and centre Tevita Naufahu was lively.
For St Kentigern, making the final represents a significant milestone: their first such qualification in the post-player-poaching era.
The school had flourished under murkier old scholarship rules and never finished round robin play any lower than second from 2017-19. But they’ve since had to rebuild their under new regulations which discourage player poaching, during which time they have finished the round robin third, eighth, fifth and now first.
However they will have to raise their game in the final against Sacred Heart, who were all class in cruising to a 32-8 home win over Auckland Grammar before a huge crowd - including some enthusiastic sideline hymn-singers - at Crossfield Rd in the two-v-three playoff.
Sacred Heart are chasing their first title since 1965, with well-drilled forwards and a backline full of mercurial talent, and if anyone is going to end St Kentigern’s unbeaten season, it is them.
It took Sacred Heart just two minutes to open the scoring against Grammar with good ball movement and the match was effectively over by halftime, with a 29-3 lead after the most dominant 35 minutes of rugby you could expect in a semifinal.
Sacred Heart conceded more than their fair share of penalties, but their attack was relentless and they flourished through sidestepping stars of the future in fullback Cohen Norrie and first five Rico Simpson and hard-grafting forwards such as Tamiano Ahloo and Lotu Finau.
St Kentigern beat Sacred Heart 26-15 back on June 16, but that contest was closer than the scoreline indicates.
Whoever wins the 1A grand final will then play Whangarei Boys’ High away on Wednesday August 23 and then on Saturday August 26 the winner of that match will face North Harbour’s competition winner, likely to again be defending champs Westlake Boys’ High.
In North Harbour competition the long-standing arch rivalry between Westlake and neighbours Rosmini will continue this weekend after both teams won their respective semi-finals to progress to the final.
Westlake despatched Takapuna Grammar 64-0 in a one-sided match where tries were shared pretty evenly between the forwards and backs, with no one player really stamping their authority on the game.
After barely getting out of second gear in a stuttering first half, Westlake were up 26 – 0 at the break. The grind continued throughout the third quarter, with the entertainment really only reaching fourth gear in the final quarter as Westlake’s fitness and structure came to the fore.Interestingly, in the era of a media ban on the other side of the Auckland harbour bridge, the match was broadcast live on Westlake’s newly launched free-to-air TV channel.
This has removed the need for any broadcasting from SKY TV which pulled out of broadcasting the New Zealand secondary school’s comp in line with the central Auckland schools’ media ban.
With Maori TV broadcasting the Super 8 school rugby matches live on its Youtube channel, it will be fascinating to see when other schools around the country follow suit and enter the broadcasting scenario to showcase their involvement in first XV rugby to their massive old boy viewing audiences.
Meanwhile in the other semi-final, Rosmini defeated Massey 27 – 13, with Rosmini showing more commitment and determination – making good use of a handy back line.
Scots College are Wellington Premiership championships for the fifth time, puffing, limping, and praying their way to the finish line in a 29-27 victory over St Patrick’s College Silverstream, reports Adam Julian.
Ahead 29-10, with less than 20 minutes remaining, it appeared the Presbyterians’ power had quashed Catholic courage.
Instead, Scots steamrollers started to splutter as their rivals abandoned any caution. The wall of Strathmore could suddenly be run around or through as 29-10 became 29-27 in a flash.
Silverstream fullback Thomas Tukapua, so instrumental in the resurgence, had a kick on fulltime for a share of the championship. Cruelly he hit the post, 10 metres in from touch and 30m from the target.
Tukapua played a part in all three tries of the Silverstream revival. A gut-busting burst eventually created a rare pathway for tigerish blindside Drew Berg-McLean to wriggle over to close to posts. Tukapua converted to make it 29-17.
Stranded deep inside their territory, Tukapua slammed a clearance from 22 to 22. Scots were casual and careless in meekly conceding a turnover. Rigorous phases followed, and lock Alexander Hewitt reduced the deficit to seven.
Silverstream, now vibrant, ruthless and precise, created an overlap off a Tukapua pass from halfback, ironically finished by the actual halfback, Oliver Cuff.
Unblemished in the regular season, Scots led all the way. Mammoth props Tobias Mene and Samuela Moli flourished early. Nippy halfback Jake Lawson and first five Pyrenees Boyle-Tiatia were creative and authoritative as Scots commanded better field position.
Silverstream conceded the first two tries from precisely the same error. Attempting to exit their 22, they conceded turnovers and Lawson and fullback Manihera Gardiner profited from generous concessions of possession.
Things became even grimmer for Silverstream at 15-3. Second five Ieti Campbell poached an intercept at the 10m mark in his own half and stormed clear. Silverstream winger Harry Stoupe retreated and tugged at the back of Campbell’s jersey like he was trying to remove a tucked-in bed sheet. Unphased, Campbell flipped a right-handed offload to winger Richard Jones, and it was Goodnight Irene.
Campbell’s First XV career has outlasted six National Party leaders, the Covid-19 pandemic, and more than a thousand episodes of Shortland Street. His enduring quality was best illustrated 10 minutes after the interval. In traffic near the grandstand, he stepped sharply off his left foot, reducing would-be tacklers to knocked-out tenpins. The run to glory afterward was 25m.
Scots loose forwards Reweti Ngarimu and Harry Irving weren’t headline writers but were essential cogs in their triumph. The Scots lineout suffocated Silverstream and their scrum was superior.
Silverstream have lost eight finals at Jerry Collins Stadium. Since 2012 Scots have won 92 Premiership fixtures, Silverstream 93. Fifteen of the last 19 games between the schools have been decided by less than a converted try, with Silverstream holding a 10-9 advantage.
Scots College host Feilding High School in Wellington in their Hurricanes semifinal next weekend. Napier Boys’ High School host Palmerston North Boys’ High School in the other.
In a repeat of 2022, Feilding High School beat St John’s College (Hamilton) in the final of the Central North Island First XV competition at Owen Delany Park in Taupō. Meanwhile Wesley College dominated Whanganui College 32-5 in the third-place playoff.
On Wednesday (August 16) St John’s will face Hamilton Boys’ High School in the Chiefs region top-four qualifier, with the winner then playing the winner of Tauranga Boys’ College-New Plymouth Boys’ High School on Saturday. The winners of that match will face Wesley College on August 26.
* Who deserves to be your school’s first XV player of the year for 2023, in your opinion? Readers are invited to send their thoughts, with a short statement of your nomination to: nzschoolboyrugby@gmail.com
Central North Island:
9th/10th place play-off: Rathkeale College 31 St John’s College, Hastings 29.
7th/8th place play-off: Lindisfarne College 5 St Paul’s Collegiate 19.
5th/6th place play-off: Francis Douglas Memorial College 32 St Peter’s, Cambridge 28.
3rd/4th place play-off: Whanganui Collegiate School 5 Wesley College 32.
Final: Feilding HS 24 St John’s College, Hamilton 17.
Hurricanes Cup (Hurricanes Top 4 qualifier): Palmerston North BHS 27 Hastings BHS 25.
Otago Schools Rugby Championship Cup Final: Southland BHS 22 Otago Boys 10. (Southland qualify for South Island final.)
BOP Final (Chiefs Top 4 qualifier): Rotorua 24 Tauranga 28.
Where will Saturday's final eventually rank amongst the annals?