A message from the Head of Rugby
Just like that the competitive rugby season has come to an end for King’s. We had two teams in the later stages of the knockouts with the 5th and 6th grade battling it out away from home against tough opposition, but neither were able to sneak a win.
We do however have a number of students in Auckland squads across all teams who are training/trialling with their teams in order to gain selection and to them we wish well and we will announce those players once squads are finalised. We will also be looking at our 7’s commitments with an U15 team being entered into the National Condor tournament in December.
House rugby takes the focus throughout September with junior, intermediate and senior competitions being fiercely fought out to find out who the house champions will be 2018.
Thank you to those who have reached out with some feedback on the rugby programme. Your points and feedback will be considered as we continue our review of the season with the coaching staff and I further develop the rugby strategic plan for 2019.
Warm regards,
David Ross, Head of Rugby
Results
5A
Sacred Heart College
7 - 43
Loss
King's 5A completed their season on Saturday with a semi-final loss to Sacred Heart. The team was badly hampered by injuries to key players and could unfortunately not perform to their full potential on the day and, despite actually leading 7-5 at one point, went down in a bit of a one-sided affair.
5A rallied very well this season after losing their first two fixtures and won 4 of their next 5 pool games to reach the quarter-finals against Mount Albert Grammar. A solid defensive effort got the team into the semi-final, but at great injury cost to a number of players. The loss of players throughout the season never really allowed the team to settle and only two seamless matches against St Peters College stood out as evidence of the possibilities that could have been this year.
It was an enjoyable season, the boys continued to be committed throughout and always played with an excellent attitude.
6A
St Peter’s College
7 - 24
Loss
6A travelled to Auckland domain to take on St Peter’s in the semi-final on Saturday off the back of a good win against Sacred Heart the week before in the quarter finals. The team had a few injury concerns however with regular first five and centre missing and with Year 10 camp taking place too, numbers were light going into such an important match.
The underfoot conditions were tough going at the domain after virtually a week of heavy rain and with a strong wind going from one end of the pitch to the other, the conditions were going to play a big part in the outcome of the game. So it proved with St Peter’s taking the wind at their backs first half and pinned King’s in their 22 for much of the opening exchanges with two early tries by St Peter’s on the wings after a missed tackle from a lineout and a turned over ruck allowed a 12-0 lead.
Soon after the St Peter’s number-eight picked and went from a 5m scrum and forced himself over the line to make the score 17-0 at half time. Some fresh legs off the bench and some tactical changes by the coaches allowed King’s to be more in the game second half with the wind at their back. Good tactical kicking and wider attacks put St Peter’s under pressure, but they always managed to clear their lines. Some King’s pressure forced St Peter’s back but an intercept try against the run of play give the home team the cushion they needed.
7th grade captain Harry Sinclair came on for the last 20mins at first five and made a huge difference to the team moving the ball well and kicking to the corners effectively and it was his grubber kick that allowed Jack Carrick to dive on the ball for a converted try right at the end. Credit to the boys for sticking in against the team that finished top in the regular season, a feat which may not have been possible had King’s got the opportunity to play them at home rather than having to travel to two away games.
Thanks to the coaching staff of Barry Patua and Kris Brewin for all their help with the team this year and to King’s gap year students Ben, Hector, Louis and Fergus who all helped out with the team throughout the season.
