By Bruce Holloway and Adam Julian
The New Zealand Schools rugby team have ended their bruising two-game trip to Canberra in the unprecedented position of having now lost three successive international matches for the first time in their 47-year history.
Their 55-33 defeat to the Australia Under-18 side on Saturday was not quite as crushing as their 81-48 humbling in the first match last Monday, but it was still sobering to see an opposing team score over 50 points against the once-proud New Zealand Schools side for just the second time – and with both occurrences coming within the same week.
Given those slumps have also come in the wake of what now seems a comparatively respectable 38-31 home loss to Australia U18 in 2024, alarm bells should be ringing.
There will no doubt now be many brooding post-mortems as to whether this historic New Zealand Schools failure was the result of personnel issues, organisational issues or structural issues – or just a reflection of the fact Australia currently boast a once-in-a-generation cohort of U18 rugby talent.
But it should concentrate the minds of those well beyond head coach Paul Tito (Blues) and assistants Willie Rickards (Auckland Grammar) and Kieran Coll (St Thomas of Canterbury).
Because it’s a serious pointer that the tide could soon be changing in transtasman rugby dominance at senior level.
By scoring a whopping 136 points against New Zealand in two matches, Australia’s crop of young talent must rank among the finest age-group sides that country has ever produced.
The lopsided margin between the two teams suggests that systemic issues, including coaching and development, may also be factors, rather than just a dearth of New Zealand talent.
New Zealand Rugby did try to introduce a new national U18 team structure and pathway earlier this year, which would have displaced New Zealand Schools as the premier representative team in this age group.
However, it met significant opposition from the schools, with principals backing the status quo, fearing a change would create a less inclusive and less healthy environment for school rugby and perhaps even discourage players from returning to school. But these Canberra results will strengthen the calls for change.
Australia’s brilliant U18 side are essentially drawn from within their rugby academies, with players not typically active in the national schools championship and instead competing in the new Super Rugby AUS competition.
Australia are now seeing the emergence of the first group of players to have come through their Super Rugby U16 and U19 programmes. They have a competition structure which appears to allow for better talent identification and monitoring. (Australia also run a schoolboys team, which is selected from their national schoolboys championship.)
By contrast, New Zealand’s players for these internationals were only selected from schools (though on the evidence of pre-tour matches, there would be at best three or four players who would make the cut if the team also included U18 school leavers).
But whoever was representing New Zealand at Viking Park needed to put up a better show than Saturday’s first-half shambles, where the Schools side coughed up 36 points before getting on the board themselves.
Australia carried on from where they left off last Monday. And, in a sense, so did New Zealand, with a mistake-ridden first-half performance.
The New Zealand backs appeared to be complete strangers to each other, with the passing dreadful, while the forwards were also outplayed. There was a disturbing lack of structure anywhere as Australia breezed ahead with relative ease.
If it was chaotic for New Zealand, Rugby Australia’s own media hub happily described this 40 minutes as “one of the best first halves an Australian side ... ever played”.
Australia retained an unchanged starting line-up while New Zealand made a host of changes from the first match, though these appeared to be mostly planned squad rotations.
Among them, Henry Hunter moved to tighthead prop, Oli Guerin went from wing to centre and Tom Perkins and Sione Katoa became the starting flankers. Jamie Viljoen came in at first five-eighths and Noah Rogers at fullback. Jake Hutchings, skipper previously, started on the bench.
But while everything came off for Australia, nothing did for New Zealand. It was like watching a snuff movie, as New Zealand were steadily dismembered.
Australia posted six tries in the first 35 minutes, while the best New Zealand could muster were a few Keystone Cops backline moves and prop Isireli Qaranivalu spilling the ball on the tryline.
Australia were happy to run the ball from their own goal-line and fullback Nicholas Conway opened the scoring nicely in the fifth minute before some of his teammates caught the eye even more.
On a day when James Slipper played his 151st and final test for the Wallabies against the All Blacks in Perth, another Southport School loosehead stated his claim as one of the most promising young prospects in the world.
Kingsley Uys (pronounced “Ace”), who also featured in Australia’s 38-31 win against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2024, had a barnstorming match.
The second try, which the shaven-headed man-mountain set up for winger Talen Risati with a bump-and-grind jaunt down the touchline, resembled a PlayStation game. On other occasions, he looked like action hero Vinnie Jones with his sheer brutality.
Risati, an Australian U16 representative in 2024, is associated with the New South Wales Waratahs’ academy and is also in the sights of the Parramatta Eels. He scored a second try five minutes later and right wing Brody Folkes dotted down three minutes after that.
Uys added a try from a maul then flanker Jarvis Orr scored under the posts for a 36-0 lead as Australia made mincemeat of New Zealand.
Finally, a minute before halftime, New Zealand No 8 Rupeni Raviyawa burst through the ruck to get his team on the board, with Viljoen converting.
New Zealand did rally in the second half and salvaged some pride with four tries.
Skipper Siale Pahulu started the second-half fightback by scoring a crisp try 13 minutes in, following a half-break from halfback Marco Miln and a clever offload from Rogers.
However, almost every time New Zealand pulled something together, Australia immediately replied.
New Zealand managed to contain the electric Australian midfield duo of Treyvon Pritchard and Cyrus Bloomfield more effectively than in the first test, but the pair still had plenty of ammunition to fire.
Bloomfield had created Australia’s fourth try with a well-placed kick while in the grasp of a tackle, setting up Folkes, and in the second half, Pritchard made a scything 25m dash from a scrum, effectively quashing any hopes of a New Zealand comeback.
Rogers engineered a further New Zealand try, showing enterprise, vision and speed to play in winger Lautasi Etuale, which temporarily narrowed the score from 36-7 to a potentially respectable 36-19.
Pritchard pounced on the hour mark with a deadly solo burst, though replacement New Zealand hooker Luka Patumaka Makata revived hopes with a try two minutes later, following one of their favoured four-man lineouts.
However, Australian sub Oliver Smith quickly negated that with a try from a rolling maul.
New Zealand responded with a tidy final try when Flynn Morey collected a chip kick from fellow replacement Jimmy Taylor to reduce the deficit to 15.
Fittingly, Heinz Lemoto’s fingerprints were all over Australia’s final try. The imperious No 8 barged through grappling defenders to create a stroll-in for T.J. Talaileva.
New Zealand School’s international record now stands at 67 wins and 18 defeats, while Australia have won four of their 13 matches against New Zealand since 2019.
Australia U18 55 (Talen Risati 2, Kingsley Uys, Jarvis Orr, Nicholas Conway, Oliver Smith, T.J. Talaileva, Treyvon Pritchard, Brody Folkes tries; Con: Finn Mackay 5) b New Zealand Schools 33 (Rupeni Raviyawa, Siale Pahulu, Lautasi Etuale, Luke Patumaka Makata, Flynn Morey tries; Jamie Viljoen 2 con, Jimmy Taylor 2 con).
New Zealand Schools: 1. Isireli Qaranivalu, 2. Alani Fakava, 3. Henry Hunter, 4. Logan Platt, 5. Hunter Weaver, 6. Sione Katoa, 7. Tom Perkins, 8. Rupeni Raviyawa, 9. Marco Miln, 10. Jamie Viljoen, 11. Siale Pahulu (c), 12. Nehemiah Su’a, 13. Oliver Guerin, 14. Lautasi Etuale, 15. Noah Rogers. Subs: 16. Luka Patumaka Makata, 17. Cody Renata, 18. Christiaan Botha, 19 Jacob Carter, 20. Jacob Carter, 21. Liston Vaka’uta, 22. Jimmy Taylor, 23 Flynn Morey.
Australia Under-18s: 1. Kingsley Uys, 2. Isaac Rauluni, 3. Levi Slater, 4. Isaac Fonua, 5. William Ross, 6. Justice Taumoepeau, 7. Jarvis Orr, 8. Heinz Lemoto, 9. Angus Grover (c), 10. Finn Mackay, 11. Talen Risati, 12. Treyvon Pritchard, 13. Cyrus Bloomfield, 14. Brody Folkes, 15 Nicholas Conway. Subs: 16. Oliver Smith, 17. Tito Hamala, 18 Hasani Bloomfield, 19. Tahj Smith, 20. T.J. Talaileva, 21 Chayse Geros, 22. Tione Taka, 23 Rory O’Connor.
After each transtasman series, the Bronze Boot is awarded to one player from each team “for the most constructive player in a schools test series” and it is considered the most prestigious award for matches between Australia and New Zealand Schoolboys.
This year, New Zealand’s Bronze Boot was awarded to lock Logan Platt, who was also Auckland Grammar’s captain this season.
If New Zealand halfback Marco Miln and No 8 Rupeni Raviyawa might have a case for grievance about that, there could be no arguing with Australia’s recipient being mercurial second five-eighths Treyvon Pritchard.
Former Bronze Boot winners (*denotes those who went on to play senior international rugby)
2024: New Zealand: Cohen Norrie (Sacred Heart College, Auckland); Australia: Edwin Langi (Eastern Suburbs Rugby Club).
2023: New Zealand: Ollie Mathis (Hamilton Boys’ High School); Australia: Not awarded.
2019: New Zealand: Cam Church (St Kentigern College, Auckland); Australia: Josh Flook* (Brothers Rugby Club, Nudgee).
2018: New Zealand: Blair Murray, New Plymouth Boys’ High School; Australia: Luke Reimer* (Barker College, NSW).
2017: New Zealand: Devon Flanders (Hastings Boys’ High School); Australia: Lachlan Lonergan* (Trinity Christian College, ACT).
2016: New Zealand: Sione Havili* (Tonga) (Auckland Grammar); Australia: Opeti Helu (Newington College, NSW).
2015: New Zealand: Alex Fidow (Scots College); Australia: Harry Johnson-Holmes* (Merewether High School, NSW).
2014: New Zealand: Patelesio Tomkinson (Otago Boys’ High School); Australia: Connor Moroney (St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace QLD).
2013: New Zealand: Akira Ione* (Auckland Grammar School, Auckland); Australia: Jack McCalman* (The Kings School, NSW).
2012: New Zealand: James Tucker (St Bede’s College, Christchurch); Australia: Jonah Placid (Toowoomba Grammar School, QLD).
2011: New Zealand: Ardie Savea* (Rongotai College, Wellington); Australia: Will Miller (The Scots College, NSW).
2010: New Zealand: Matt McGahan (Mount Albert Grammar School) Australia: Tim Donlan (St Ignatius College, NSW).
2009: New Zealand: Sam Cane* (Reporoa College, Bay of Plenty); Australia: Liam Gill* (St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace, QLD).
2008: New Zealand: Blade Thomson (Gisborne Boys’ High School); Australia: Ed Quirk (Brisbane State High School, QLD).
2007: New Zealand: Charlie Ngatai* (Gisborne Boys’ High School); Australia: Rob Horne* (Georges River Senior Campus Oatley, NSW).
2006: New Zealand: Luke Braid (Tauranga Boys’ High School); Australia: Rodney Ma’a (Westfields Sports High School, NSW).
2005: New Zealand: Zarhn Commerer (New Plymouth Boys’ High School); Australia: David Pocock* (Anglican Church Grammar School, QLD).
2004: New Zealand: Victor Vito* (Scots College Wellington); Australia: Richard Stanford* (The Scots College, NSW).
2003: New Zealand: Aaron Bancroft (Marlborough Boys’ College); Australia: Tahjon Mailata (St Joseph’s College Nudgee, QLD).
2002: New Zealand: Liam Messam* (Rotorua Boys’ High School); Australia: Daniel Halangahu (The Kings School, NSW).
2001: Australia: Tyrone Smith (St Edmunds College, ACT); England: Benjamin Durham (Pate’s Grammar School).
2000: New Zealand: Ben Atiga* (Auckland Grammar School, Auckland); Australia: Luke Doherty (Iona College, QLD).
1999: New Zealand: Cameron McIntyre (St Bede’s College, Christchurch); Australia: Daniel Heenan* (Marist College Ashgrove, QLD).
1998: New Zealand: Jerry Collins* (St Patrick’s College, Wellington); Australia: George Smith* (Cromer High School, NSW).
1997: New Zealand: Carl Hayman* (Kings High School, Dunedin); Australia: Phil Waugh* (Sydney Church of England Grammar School, NSW).
1996: New Zealand: Ashley Barron (Kings High School, Dunedin); Australia: Lachlan Grant (St Joseph’s College Nudgee, QLD).
1995: New Zealand: Quintan Sanft* (Samoa) (De La Salle College, Auckland); Australia: Nathan Franks (Knox Grammar School, NSW).
1994: Australia: Sean Hardman (Nudgee College, QLD); Wales: Neil Watkins (Neath College).
1993: New Zealand: Carlos Spencer* (Waiopehu College); Australia: Tom Bowman (The Scot’s College, NSW).
1992: New Zealand: Jeff Wilson* (Cargill High School, Invercargill); Australia: Nick Harvey (The Kings School, NSW).
Australia’s present crop of teenage talent raise the prospect of them becoming as historically significant as some of their famous predecessors. (Prior to 2023, Australia’s premier youth team competed under the Australia Schools handle.)
The 1977 Australia Schools team was really groundbreaking and in the 1977-78 season, they won all 16 matches, which included tests against England, Wales, Ireland and Japan during a tour of the Northern Hemisphere.
Australia scored 110 tries and only conceded six, with the entire backline eventually playing for the Wallabies, apart from Kangaroo Wally Lewis (who became The King of rugby league). Tony Melrose captained the side and all three Ella brothers – Mark, Glen, and Gary Ella – featured, while Michael O’Connor also went on to play for the Kangaroos.
Australia also won all 10 matches during their 1981-82 Northern Hemisphere tour, with the Wallabies’ future all-time leading points-scorer, Michael Lynagh, playing a pivotal role. The great No 10 went on to score 911 points in 72 tests for Australia.
In the 1998-99 season, Australia achieved a remarkable 13-0 record in the UK, with Wallabies centurion George Smith emerging as a force to be reckoned with.
The 1985 Northern Hemisphere tourists were even more imposing, racking up 15 consecutive wins and showcasing nine future Wallabies, including Ricky Stuart (who later became a Kangaroo too) and Rugby World Cup winner David Wilson (79 tests, 60 wins), with an aggregate score of 426 to 36.
The 2006 Australian Schoolboys team who toured New Zealand featured a dozen Wallabies, including captain Kurtley Beale, Albert Anae, Peter Betham, Nathan Charles, Quade Cooper, Rod Davies, Robert Horne, Ben McCalman, Dan Palmer, Paddy Ryan, Rob Simmons and Tetera Faulkner.
Despite their talent, they only won four out of six matches and were defeated 18-8 by New Zealand in Auckland. Future All Blacks from the New Zealand team that day included Ryan Crotty, Israel Dagg, Zac Guildford, Tim Perry and Sam Whitelock.