The First XV schoolboy rugby competitions in the south this year look like they will be competitive affairs. Photo / George Heard
Top-flight schoolboy rugby kicks off in the south this weekend, with some unlikely first XVs looking to upset the usual big names. Mike Thorpe reports.
The reigning champions have undergone dramatic changes in 2025. They’ll be without long-time coach Jono Phillips and a host of star players - including Harry Inch, Saumaki Saumaki, Kobe Brownlee and Ollie Gibbons.
Former Samoa international Greg Foe leads the coaching team in 2025 after assisting last season. Only a handful of names that played the national final (losing to Hamilton Boys’) in 2024 return. Among them is lock/loosie Tom Perkins, who will captain the side.
Nelson have enjoyed mixed results in preseason, beating Timaru Boys’ 46-26, and losing to St Thomas of Canterbury (STC) 31-26 and to Auckland’s Liston College 33-26.
They’ll start at home against Selwyn Combined before a tricky away clash with STC in Christchurch.
CBHS also have a new coach in 2025; Pete Chaplin taking over from stalwart Rhys Archibald, with assistance from former England and Crusaders halfback Willie Heinz.
Chaplin says the team has been focused on spending time together – on the field and away from it, going into camp at Banks Peninsula.
“Did a bit of team building and community service for the Le Bons Bay community – painting the cemetery fence and digging out a few lupins at the beach.”
They’ve been putting in the hard yards on the paddock too, after a narrow preseason loss to a very impressive Knox Grammar (Aus), they’ve found greater cohesion to beat Selwyn Combined (50-7) and Southland Boys’ (45-28).
Chaplin says there are seven returners from last year’s side – beaten finalists in a tight decider at Nelson College. Halfback Hiro Fuchigami returns for his third year of first XV action. Dougal Grant rejoins his side after a successful stint with the NZ Warriors U17 team.
Highly impressive fullback/wing Cam Jones will be one to watch this year. Blessed with speed and an ability to find space, Jones will punish wayward kicks.
There’s also some exciting young talent in the 10 jersey with a 15-year-old country boy steering the side around well in pre-season – Sonny-Bill McAndrew.
“Sonny-Bill has just come along to Boys’ High this year from Darfield and looked really natural at 10. He makes a bit of time when he’s got the ball in his hands,” says Chaplin.
They’ll start their campaign at home against Shirley Boys’ High School.
Sam Broomhall’s boys had a season to build on in 2024, losing the semifinal to Christchurch Boys’ High School. Around half of their squad from last season has returned for another tilt in 2025. They are bolstered by some new faces that Broomhall admits include some surprise packages.
“At that level, boys change a lot from Year 11 to Year 13. Guys that might not have been on the radar in Year 11, they turn up in Year 13 and they’ve grown and they’ve focused on some gym work and you think ‘gee I didn’t notice you two years ago’,” says Broomhall.
Despite the success of 2024, Broomhall is aware that it is a new season with new challenges.
“You can’t just take last year and expect to roll it out straight away – we’ve got to rebuild. Every year is a bit of a rebuild with what is essentially a new group,” he says.
But there are plenty of familiar faces that bring considerable experience.
“Our inside backs – a couple of them have been in the team since Year 11. Our forward pack has some good hard hard-working players, which is what I like to see out of a College forward pack,” says Broomhall.
Preseason results so far have seen a good win over St Pat’s Town (24-12) and a loss (41-20) against Marlborough Boys’ College in Kaikōura.
College’s penultimate preseason game fell victim to last week’s wild weather – cancelled without a ball being kicked. Otago Boys’ High headed for home before the roads closed.
One huge boost for Christ’s College this year is that their iconic Upper Field is back in action for the first time since early 2021. Most of the first XV are yet to play a single match on it in their time at College.
“It’s a real arena in there. You walk through the archway and you’re in a mini coliseum in there,” says Broomhall.
The traditional fixture with Christchurch Boys’ High will be held there early next month.
Christ’s have a tough start to the season, away to St Thomas of Canterbury.
Semifinalists last season, Marlborough Boys’ will welcome back 12 of that squad this year.
Head coach Tonga Taumoefolau says it’s a good base to build from after a ground-breaking season.
“We’ve got a number of our forward pack that are back this year which is really pleasing.”
The quality of MBC’s set piece has laid a platform for a quality preseason with wins over St Bernard’s of Wellington, St Pat’s Silverstream (17-7), Rangiora High School and Christ’s College (41-20).
“Our lineout has always been fairly handy, but we’ve got a little bit of tall timber this year, which is what Marlborough Boys’ does not normally have,” says Taumoefolau.
Year 12 student Mason Nicklin, who his coach describes as a “massive framed prop”, is good on both sides of the ball. Nicklin’s older brother Rico is a loose forward who will co-captain the team. Taumoefolau says he’s the “perfect build that every team is looking for in their 6 or 8”. Number 8 Ben Gibbons is the other co-captain but is yet to play after a long injury layoff. He’s due back soon.
The backs also have multiple threats.
Centre Anru Erasmus will be a handful for any defence. In MBC’s pre-season clash with St Pat’s Silverstream, he was breaking defenders’ ankles with a big left foot step – and breaking spirits with his strength. If he gets the ball in space – he’s hard to stop.
“He’s a very strong ball carrier and he loves defence. He’s the complete footballer,” says Taumoefolau.
The coach is quick to point out that the individual talents are still very much focused on the team goal, going even further than they managed in 2024.
“The big thing is we’re trying to create a bit of history if we can,” he says.
Marlborough Boys’ College travel to Rangiora High School to open their season. They face neighbour Nelson College in round 4.
St Bede’s final preseason hit out was cancelled at the weekend – due to ground closures. That could leave them a little underdone for their first-round battle with St Andrew’s College.
St Bede’s were well beaten by St Pat’s Silverstream in Wellington, going down 55-24. However, they showed glimpses of good running rugby and a forward pack that has plenty of size.
STC shape as one of the teams to beat this season – with talent to burn.
Near the top of the list is Lautasi Etuale,, who returns for his final year after being selected in both the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rugby League side and the NZ Schools Barbarians XV in 2024.
“What we love about Tasi is he’s a great young man and awesome character and I think he epitomises the notion of a growth mindset. Last year, he came in, first experience in the environment, and we literally saw him grow from session to session,” says STC coach Kieran Coll.
Etuale will feature in the back three this season.
STC will also field one of Australasia’s most talked about junior rugby league players - Bishop Neal. Second-rower Neal has been a standout in the NZ Warriors title-winning Harold Matthews Cup team, scoring two tries in their grand final victory over the Knights.
Coll is reluctant to reveal where Neal will feature on the field in the 15-man game – but eventually relents.
“Bishop will come into our loose forwards this year and make the transition – he obviously had time in the saddle in the midfield last year,” says Coll.
“Bish is Bish, it doesn’t matter what number he’s wearing as long as he’s out there playing with the boys,” Coll adds.
The gifted trio of Christiano Elia, Kenny Lafatuanai and Calieb Fidow were also in that winning Harold Matthews Cup side.
Two more of Coll’s players have spent time with the Warriors this year, Isaiah Savea and Micah Sula were a part of the SG Ball (U19) side.
Coll is a former Heartland XV captain and South Canterbury stalwart who has been in the STC coaching ranks for a number of years. This season he’ll have assistance from former Hurricanes hooker Ged Robinson.
STC have had a good preseason, narrowly beating Timaru Boys’ High before hosting St Peter’s College from Auckland in their annual sports exchange – earning an impressive 36-21 win.
“In week one of the holidays, we had a team come over from Australia [Waverley College] and gave us a bit of a reality check [a 31-12 defeat] and a taste of competition-intensity footy,” says Coll.
Their last outing was a solid win over Nelson College (29-19) in Hanmer.
They’re at home in week one to face Christ’s College.
Shirley Boys’ also had their preseason programme disrupted by last week’s weather. Their final match against St Bede’s was washed out, meaning they’ll take on a primed Christchurch Boys’ High at Straven Road on Saturday. After that, it’s a daunting road trip to Blenheim, followed by hosting the much-fancied STC. A tough start for the boys in blue and gold. The Spartans, though, are renowned for their fighting spirit.
Experienced head coach John Haggart says STAC will have a young team in 2025.
“We had a lot of Year 13 boys last year, so we’ve lost quite a few of them. We’ve got a younger, newer group coming through supported by a few Year 13 boys.”
STAC’s preseason has seen a few airports.
“We’re very grateful that we had an opportunity to go to Australia and had a week on the Gold Coast. Had a couple of games over there and then came back and had a quad-tournament in Hastings,” says Haggart.
STAC beat Scots College of Wellington quite comfortably before a “tough game” against St Kentigern of Auckland.
“We keep it real. It’s schoolboy rugby – everybody’s out there to do their best, some years you’ll be good – some years you won’t be so good. That’s just life,” says Haggart.
STAC will face crosstown rivals St Bede’s away on Saturday.
Newly promoted to the Premiership after winning the Championship, Rangiora’s return to the top tier has been a few years in the making. After a tremendous season in the second tier in 2024, Rangiora will make the step up without the threat of relegation.
2025 will be the final year for the Selwyn Combined First XV – with Rolleston College opting to go it alone in 2026. The remaining schools – Lincoln High, Darfield High, Ellesmere College and Akaroa Area School are expected to form a new combined entity.
Both teams will automatically be relegated to the Championship in 2026, regardless of where Selwyn Combined finishes this season.
It’s a contentious split in Selwyn which has already led to a number of talented young players taking their skills to “bigger” rugby schools in the region.
Coached by the hugely experienced Sid Tauamiti, Selwyn will want to finish their time in the top flight with a strong showing.
SBHS have already clocked up plenty of miles before the Otago Secondary Schools competition has even begun.
Last year’s Otago champions hosted North Harbour’s Rosmini College (winning 36-19) before travelling to Auckland to face King’s College (losing 41-14) and then Christchurch for their final preseason clash against Christchurch Boys’ High (losing 45-28).
“Christchurch Boys’ are good and King’s are good – that’s why we travel. We’ve got to travel to play the best teams,” says head coach Jason Dermody.
Dermody knows what it takes to win titles in first XV rugby, his 2023 side went all the way – winning the Top 4 tournament in Palmerston North for the first time in the school’s history.
Last season, they were denied an opportunity to return to the top 4, going down to Nelson College in the South Island final.
Around half of that squad will return this season – including Presley McHugh. Named as captain this year, McHugh is an impressive prop who made the NZ Barbarians U18 side last year. Jimmy Taylor is also in the leadership mix but is currently sidelined with an injury, meaning a shuffle at first-five.
“He hasn’t played yet. He hurt his shoulder at training – he’s a big loss,” says Dermody.
Jack Brock moves from 15 to 10 in Taylor’s absence.
Dermody’s side is still searching for the consistency they know they’ll need to scale the heights of recent seasons. A concern underlined against CBHS at the weekend.
“We got into their 22 four times and scored four easy tries, but you can’t leak 40 points and expect to win,” says Dermody.
Their campaign starts on Wednesday (May 7) with an interschool fixture against John McGlashan in Dunedin.
Dean Moeahu is in his second year as coach – in his first year he watched his young side fall one short of the Otago title, defeated by Southland Boys’ High.
“Southland Boys’ have set the benchmark for a few years now,” says Moeahu.
It’s a benchmark his 2025 squad wants to match – if not better.
“They’re like sponges – they want to learn. From the coaching group as a whole it’s about delivering them enough to keep growing them each week,” says Moeahu.
Preseason has seen 55 boys given an opportunity across three games. Two of those were against touring Australian teams (Knox College and Waverley College) and their final trial was against Timaru Boys’ High.
They played an interschool match against Waitaki Boys’ at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday, (the curtain raiser for the Highlanders/Moana Pasifika game) winning 46-17.
Moeahu says one name to look out for is young first-five Jack Campbell. The Year 11 student will still be eligible for U15 this year, and is mature beyond his years.
“He drives a game. [Against Waverley] his first action was a charge down kick and got scored on – he binned it straight away. Next job, he put the kickoff out on the full, didn’t faze him. Made three errors in a row, didn’t faze him,” says Moeahu.
Others to watch out for include hard-running midfielder Niko Boylan and blockbusting loose forward Jeremaiah Tuhega-Vaitupu, who scored two tries as a winger last weekend.
King’s play Dunstan High School in Alexandra first up, Moeahu is expecting a stern test against “raw, tough country kids”.
OBHS have a solid core of their 2024 squad returning this season.
Their opportunity to measure themselves against Christ’s College last week was cancelled after a record amount of rain fell in Christchurch.
They’ll take on Southland Boys’ High School’s Second XV in the first round.
JMC toured Japan last month for an incredible rugby experience. They played four matches for 2 wins and 2 losses against varying quality of opposition. They wrapped up the tour with a come-from-behind victory over Onomichi 29-28.
In 2024, JMC made a close race of their semifinal with King’s High School but couldn’t quite manage the comeback. They’ll be out to improve on that this season.
They’re coached by Richard Buchanan and Callum Bruce with assistance from Kilifi Fangupo and former All Black Kees Meeuws.
They take on the might of Southland Boys’ High on Wednesday (May 7) in what promises to be a hard-fought first-round encounter in Dunedin. The forecast suggests running rugby.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.
Japanese school teams have made rapid advancements.