1st XV vs DILWORTH SCHOOL:
WON 71 – 12
The King’s College First XV are making the early running in the 1A competition and sit atop the standings after two rounds. They cruised to a 71-12 win over Dilworth School at King’s on Saturday in a game where they ran in 11 tries.
It was their second bonus point win in as many weeks after they knocked over Aorere College 38-3 in the opening match of the season. King’s have 10 competition points, alongside Kelston Boys’ High School but King’s have the superior points difference.
On Saturday, King’s wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard as right wing Jonty Willis (Year 12, Selwyn) crossed for a try in the first few minutes. From there it was largely one-way traffic for King’s as the tries continued to flow.
With less than 10 minutes gone, King’s had jumped out to a 21-0 lead and they never looked back.
Forwards Caleb Pearson (Year 12, St John's) and Seb Macdonald (Year 13, Selwyn) were dangerous with ball in hand, which gave King’s a great platform to work from. Then it was over to the backs who tore through Dilworth with regularity and that high-scoring start to the game was pleasing for co-captain Che Clark (Year 13, Parnell).
“We were kind of expecting it because we came out with the mindset to play with a fast tempo and that’s what we did,” Clark said.
“So we know that when we stick to our systems, we can get rewards.”
Despite coming into the game on the back of a big win the previous week, Clark said their tackling technique was a key part of their preparation for the match with Dilworth.
“We worked on our defence, just chop tackling because against Aorere a couple of us weren’t chop tackling.”
King’s took a 33-12 lead to the break against Dilworth and it was more of the same in the second spell as the home side were too slick in the backs.
Willis eventually completed a hat-trick, while a host of other players also crossed for a five-pointer and second five Francis Manuleleua (Year 12, Peart) kept the scoreboard moving with his accurate goal-kicking.
One other pleasing aspect for Clark was the fact they kept Dilworth scoreless in the second stanza.
“The coaches wanted us to have a good second half, so we came out there and did the job. It was good.”
Lawrence Sullivan-Pahl (Parnell, Year 13) made his 1A debut when he came on as a replacement in the second half.
Try scorers were: Jonty Willis (3), Callum Murray (Year 12, Selwyn) (2), Trey Alatini (Year 12, Marsden), Ali Leiataua (Year 13, Peart), Che Clark, Maikel Tuala (Year 13, Averill), Jarius Iosefa (Year 12, Averill), Francis Manuleleua
Francis kicked 7 conversions and Budda Doyle (Year 13, Peart) one conversion.
The 1A competition will go on a one-week hiatus during Queen’s Birthday Weekend and the First XV will host De La Salle College in their next outing on Saturday, 12 June.
Thanks as always to our sponsors for their generous support of the First XV
2nd XV vs ST KENTIGERN COLLEGE:
LOST 5 – 17
It was a clear Saturday morning - great conditions for rugby. The King's players started the game with a few good defensive line tackles in our own half. We played a lot of the first half defending St Kents. One thing we really worked on from last week was our ruck defense and our spacing between defenders. We really improved on that against a St Kents team who threw everything at us in the opening exchanges. A couple of errors in our own half kept us defending most parts of the first half. Going into the halftime break, the score was 12 - 0 to St Kents.
Halftime talk from the coaches were to be patient, and for rucks to be cleaner for Tom Ogg (Year 13, Selwyn) at halfback. In the second half, Kings was camped in St Kents' 22m zone. Great skill in our ruck recycle and patience from the forwards saw Jack Carrick (Year 13, Greenbank) go in for a try to put the score at 12-5, unconverted. We were now one try away from drawing the game and the last play of the game saw us in our own 22m trying to run it out and for a scoring opportunity. However, it didnt go to plan and a pass back to our own player was left unanswered, thinking the pass wasnt for him. With the miscommunication, the ball goes to ground in the tryline area and St Kents dive on the ball and score to end the game, 17-5.
U15 OPEN A vs SACRED HEART COLLEGE:
LOST 0 – 58
The King’s College U15A had another away game and came up against a very strong Sacred Heart team who had beaten Aorere 58-0 the week before. With low numbers available due to 5 students departing on Year 10 Camp, all available players were named meaning we had to play with 5 backs and 2 forwards split in our reserves, with two players only joining our team this week.
Sacred started with a strong wind advantage and played a smart game - unfortunately, the wind had gone by the time the second half had started. Sacred dominated both halves and possession - unfortunately the 50:50 calls and the bounce of the ball never went our way. Uncharacteristic errors by some of our more experienced players and a high penalty count against us put us under consistent and relentless pressure.
Our starting loose forward trio of Hawaiki Morrison (Year 10, Parnell), Bailey Harris (Year 10, St John's) and Henry O’Leary (Year 11, Greenbank) toiled away all game and they were supported well by Taniela Ngata (Year 10, Parnell). In the backs Levi Saipele (Year 10, Parnell), Keanu Ezekiela (Year 10, Parnell) and TJ Anae-Paila (Year 9, Major) had strong defensive games but we were outplayed by a very strong Sacred team.
Our team get a few days off to reflect on the key areas we need to improve on before we regroup on Wednesday.
1R vs DILWORTH SCHOOL:
WON 60 – 0
The 1R squad registered another dominant performance for their first home game of the season against Dilworth. The opening exchanges were competitive and some unforced errors meant it took 10 minutes until the first points of the game were scored through King’s tighthead prop, Will Tingey (Year 12, Averill). King’s then started to find some continuity in attack with the backline proving to be especially threatening as centres Nick Goodwin (Year 12, Major)and Moziah Latu (Year 13, Averill) and fullback Ed Elworthy- Jones (Year 13, Selwyn) made numerous clear line breaks as the Dilworth defence struggled to contain the King’s offloading game and support play. Dilworth showed great character throughout the game and continued to carry hard in attack however a well organised King’s defence, marshalled by skipper Hamish Dalziell (Year 13, School) managed to keep the opposition scoreless for the third consecutive week. Overall a good performance from the squad of 21 with several areas to focus and improve upon moving forward.
U15R vs MOUNT ALBERT GRAMMAR SCHOOL:
LOST 0 – 61
The U15R rugby team played MAGS at home with a much later start time than normal, at 11.45am. Perhaps our boys failed to adjust to this later start time, but we never really got out of first gear in the first half and some missed tackles allowed MAGS to run-in four unanswered tries for a halftime lead of 26 – 0. In the second half, we did some really positive things and held on to the ball for long periods of time, but were just not able to breach the MAGS defence, despite creating several scoring opportunities. Again, we fell off first-time tackles and allowed their speedy backs to run-in a further five converted tries for a final score of 61 – 0 that was particularly hard to take. We have a lot of work ahead before our next game in two weeks’ time. Perhaps the only consolation was that this was a non-championship game, so we will set about being better and improving.
U14 OPEN vs WESLEY COLLEGE:
DRAW 14 – 14
As the referees commented after the final whistle, this week’s match was “a game of two halves”. Down 14-Nil at half-time, the U14 Open boys were slow out of the gate. Wesley were also off to a sluggish start but snapped out of it quicker. The slow start and small errors prevented our boys from gathering momentum or gaining continuity, conceding two converted tries to the opposition in midway and towards the end of the first half.
The boys stepped up in the second half with Saia Manu (Year 9, Averill) scoring and converting our first try from broken play. After sustained pressure in Wesley’s half, including unfinished or unawarded attempts from Sean Angilau (Year 9, Averill), Christian Collins (Year 9, Major) and Saia Manu, Christian finished in the following 3-phase play with a driving run and try near the posts. Saia Manu then converted to even the score. Despite good territory advantage and Wesley having a player red-carded for a high tackle with less than 10 minutes remaining, Kings’ were unable to find the points to win the match.
With a few players injured or sick, we were down to a 19 man squad for this non-completion match. Gus Prenter (Year 9, Selwyn), our only back reserve, came off the bench with impact and played a steady game throughout the second half. Our second-half forward replacements Tevita Veikoso (Year 9, Major), Brooklyn Cary (Year 9, Major) and Taanilasike Mafile’o (Year 9, Selwyn) also made good contributions on both defence and attack.
The game was played in great school spirit, and Wesley players joined in hymn with our players post-match. Our thanks to the Afeaki-Mafile’o and Angilau families for providing cut oranges and bottled water for the players which they generously shared with the opposition.
5A VS SACRED HEART COLLEGE:
LOST 0 – 21
Sacred Heart were clinical in their 0-21 victory in this friendly game – helped by a red card that reduced King’s to 14 players for tackling a player in the air.
A tight early period saw lots of running from both teams and some excellent defence. The sole try in the first half was from a quick tap that caught the King’s forwards napping. The second half was a much tighter affair with less flair and attack, but lots of very physical breakdowns. A dropped ball from the King’s backs in executing a move was collected and punished. In the final moments the pressure of one-player less in the defence told, and Sacred scored out wide.
While the result was disappointing, the endeavour and bravery was impressive. There were no stand-out performers to note but rather a brave defensive effort across the park.
5C VS PUKEKOHE HIGH SCHOOL:
LOST 7 – 76
After being re-graded this week to the 5C grade, we were hoping to be in a more appropriate grade level for our players. It was a week of disruptions which did not help with the team preparation. Players were ruled out due to sickness, a Spanish trip and many players being called into the 5A team to cover because of these absences. The goal was to put a team on the paddock and give the boys a run, which we achieved. Some nice touches in the backs from Zeal Jones (Year 12, Marsden), James Wilson (Year 12, Greenbank) the courageous defence from Achindra Molamure (Year 13, Greenbank) and Thomas Williams (Year 11, School) was something to take note from for the rest of the team going forward.
6A VS AUCKLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL:
LOST 5 – 36
In the first half, the game was played in cold and damp conditions. The team continues to show some improvements. The set pieces – lineouts and scrums – have been improving with each passing week as the boys begin to learn their roles and positions. An area of strength for the team is at the breakdown – contesting and creating turnovers. There were some good running plays by the backs and good runs and defence in the mid-field. King's scored a very good try through the forwards with strong drives and cohesive work as a pack. They trailed 12 – 5 at the break.
The team did not kick on in the second half. They lost their structure and began to play individually. The forwards lost their intensity and were not competing at the breakdowns, allowing AGS to gain some ascendancy. Because of this any ball that was won for the backs was slow and uncontrolled, creating pressure on them.
As the game progressed, the team began to lose their intensity, their focus and their discipline, especially with their game structure and plan. AGS began to dominate on the scoreboard. Although we are not happy with the final result 36 – 5 (a result of a game of two halves) we are happy at how the team is tracking and improving. Kia Kaha 6A!
