The U15 rugby lads headed down to Timaru with one goal in mind. The South Island title. After finishing 2nd in the local metro competition, losing to Christchurch Boys’ High, the hope were certainly high, knowing the Boys’ High compete in the National tournament.
We left on the Sunday arvo with plenty of confidence. Game 1 was on Monday morning against a Nelson College side we’d previously played in a term 2 sports exchange. The boys started off well with a dominant 30-12 win over Nelson. The boys knew the next day was the big test, against a formidable Kings High team who had previously beaten a lot of the boys in U14 a year prior. After a good warm-up and confidence boost from yesterday, the boys went in to the game hungry. A closely contested game ensued, we had the advantage with possession, territory and penalty count. Unfortunately we weren’t able to make the most of those opportunities, falling to Kings 14-29.
The boys picked themselves up on the third day, despite the loss, and have a massive 43-0 win against hosts Timaru Boys’ High School. With this win it finished us 2nd in the pool, set to play the second in the Oamaru pool, Christs College. We have previously beaten Christs College in the local competition quite comfortably. The game was at 9:00am kickoff in Oamaru which meant a very early morning departure of 6:45am from Timaru Boys’ High School. Arriving at Waitaki Boys’ grounds for our 3 v 4 playoff match. It seemed that the journey and week had its toll, the boys clearly out beaten by a sharp and rested Christs College outfit 10-34.
A disappointing finish to the tournament and season for the boys taking 4th in the South Island. With high hoped for the tournament we were close to Kings High in game 2 and clearly beaten in game 4. Nonetheless a great trip away and certainly great to see the tournament’s first outing since 2019.
Jake Chalklen
Head Coach – Under 15 A
