Girl's First XI Football
Monday 29 August
Day 1 at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Kathy Seaward Football Tournament was a success for our Girl’s 1st XI. With the girls in high spirits, they started with a bang and today we saw some of the best football we have seen all season. Below is a brief summary for those interested:
King's vs. Waitakere College
Throughout this game we saw a dominating performance from our girls and the most shots on goal that we have seen all season. Ruby Denny (Year 13, Middlemore) was the first to find the back of the net. Midway through the second half Stella Lamb (Year 11, Middlemore) was passed a beautiful through ball from Kate Christie (Year 13, Marion Bruce) to score our second goal of the tournament. Finally Eva Pleciak (Year 11, Taylor) scored in the remaining 10 minutes of the game to bring the final score to 3-0. Mikaela Hawley (Year 13, Marion Bruce) was awarded player of the match due to her dominating performance in the centre of the field.
King's vs. Whangaparoa College
Emma Mowat’s (Year 12, Taylor) persistence and speed when chasing through balls was rewarded in the first half with her first goal of the tournament. Ruby Denny scored her second goal for the tournament early in the second half. About 5 minutes later Whangaparoa got on the board with a beautiful goal that soared over Lulu Lance’s (Year 13, Marion Bruce) head. We were able to control majority of the remaining playing time to finish with a 2-1 win. Maggie Meyers (Year 12, Marion Bruce) was awarded player of the match due to her relentless performance on the left wing.
Tuesday 30 August
King's vs. Albany Senior
We had a bit of a bumpy start to the day with fatigued bodies from yesterday’s two games. The first half of this game was a bit of a mixed bag. Goalie, Lulu Lance was put to the test for the first 10 minutes of the game. King’s found their feet and started to gain more possession of the ball. However, an unlucky handball lead to a direct penalty resulting in Albany getting on the board. Only minutes later King’s joined them. A beautiful corner kick from Kate Christie resulted in Maggie Meyers scoring in the top left hand corner – 1-1. Albany returned minutes later, their attackers outnumbering our defence. Albany continued to move well on the pitch, outnumbering our players and scored a third goal in the 1st half. The second half was a completely different game. With a motivating half time chat by coach Vaughan Mitchell & captain Mikaela Hawley (Year 13, Marion Bruce), and having warming into the game, King’s were able to shut down Albany’s attempts leaving them scoreless in the second half. Overall score 3-1 to Albany. Player of the match was given to Ella Mayston (Year 11, Middlemore). She was such a reliable and versatile player in this game taking on numerous different positions throughout the game.
King's vs. Mt Albert Grammar School
After some ice baths and down time at lunch our girls came back determined for their 2nd game of the day. From monitoring the results we knew we would have a tough game on our hands. MAGS scored early in the first half. The girls kept their heads up and kept fighting. 10 minutes later a 2nd goal was conceded and the score remained 0-2 until half time. In the 2nd half MAGS had the sun in their eyes and King’s picked up their possession, with a few attempts at goal, unfortunately none executed. With only 5 minutes to go MAGS were able to score again. Final score 3-0 to MAGS. What the scoreboard does not tell you is that this was our girls best game of the entire season. The level of cohesion as a team and each individuals efforts were through the roof - even the MAGS coach told us we had him worried and that it was the strongest game they had played. We struggled to name just one MVP for this afternoon’s game and gave it to the team as a whole. Some highlights include countless amazing goals saved by Lulu Lance, strong and consistent defensive efforts from Mckenzie Heatley (Year 13, Middlemore), Izzy Chaplin (Year 13, Taylor) & Sophia Alexander (Year 11, Marion Bruce), Mikaela Hawley’s leadership through the mid field, the speed and determination from Emma Mowat (Year 12, Taylor) up front and Maggie Meyers on the wing, and Anna Renshaw’s (Year 11, Taylor) best personal performance.
Wednesday 31 August
King's vs. Onehunga High School
Overall this was a very defensive game much like our game against MAGS on Tuesday afternoon. The cohesion and effort levels were just as great and our defence was on fire. 25 minutes into the first half Onehunga found an opportunity. They took the shot, blocked by goalie Lulu Lance , took a second shot which was blocked and cleared by the foot of Sophia Alexander. However, we weren’t so lucky with their third attempt being successful. Result at half time 0-1 to Onehunga. 10 minutes into the first half Onehunga had a beautiful cross, Lulu dived and managed to get her finger tips on the ball, disrupting the flight path. The ball hit the side of the goal post and unfortunately it rolled in. Even though the score didn’t go our way it was another great game from the girls. Player of the match went to Sophia Alexander for her awesome efforts in defence.
King's vs. St. Dominics College
King’s had an explosive start to the game with Mikaela Hawley scoring in the first 2 and a half minutes of the game. The girls were able to dominate possession for the remainder of the half with multiple shots at goal. Result at half time 1-0 to King’s. This continued into the second half with Maggie Meyers with a very close cross, skimming the edge of the goal. In the final 10 minutes of the game St Doms picked up there attack, with a couple of close calls, our defence were able to continue shutting them down. Player of the match went to Izzy Chaplin for her consistent and confident defensive efforts.
Mallory Bish
Teacher in Charge of Girl's Football
Boy's First XI Football
Monday 29 August
King's vs. Lincoln High School
This morning, a slight logistical hiccup (A late venue change that I hadn’t noticed) meant that we were a bit rushed for our first game, against local side Lincoln High. However, we weren’t the only ones who hadn’t noticed the change, even the venue manager was late to arrive. With the disrupted start, unique playing surface, and the icy cold gusts, it took a little while for our lads to find their feet, get comfortable and get into the game. Although lacking a little bit of hunger and excitement in the first half, King’s played with a certain quality, and eventually their experience and ability showed, when Luka Sipka (Year 10, Major) played a pass which eventually found its way to Captain Harrison Waymouth (Year 13, Greenbank) who broke the deadlock with a clinical strike. Less than 5 minutes later, Ben Heron (Year 13, Greenbank) also got on the scoresheet, working hard to put himself in the right position to score.
Half time passed without incident, and Alexander Bhatnagar (Year 10, Marsden), Jack Crook (Year 13, School), Charles Knight (Year 12, School) and Nat Moore (Year 13, Major) all entered the match, eager to make their mark.
The second half was similar to the first, with King’s never in any real danger of losing the match, but certainly not playing to the utmost of their potential. Ryan Manconi (Year 12, Greenbank) was a late entrant to the match and added a new dynamic on the right wing. It was Manconi and Jack Priddy (Year 13, Marsden) working hard on the right which led to our 3rd goal, with a sumptuous ball played from Priddy, expertly left by Waymouth with the pass falling to the feet of Jack Hernon (Year 11, Selwyn) who could not miss from close range!
3-0 seemed to be the final score, but for a defensive slip up, a “what just happened” moment, with Lincoln High taking advantage of a moment of confusion and the ball being bundled over the line and into the goal.
3-1 to King’s the final score, and 3 points on the board.
King's vs. Hutt Valley High School
Our second match was against Lower Hutt, and played on the artificial turf at English Park, the Home of Mainland Football Federation. The start to this game was completely different, with King’s dominating possession, territory, and creating multiple chances in the opening phases of the game. Pau Likiliki (Year 13, St. John's) and Harrison Waymouth weaving their way through the Lower Hutt defense but not beating the goalkeeper. Liam Moehlenbrock (Year 12, Parnell) and Charles Couillault (Year 13, Selwyn) also contributed some attempts from long range but were unsuccessful. While King’s committed more men to attacks to try and finally break through, Lower Hutt showed great tenacity and began to test us with some quick counterattacks. Morgan Wright (Year 11, Greenbank) and the rest of his defensive group did some fine work and nullified all except two of Lower Hutt’s attacks. Unfortunately, both of these attacks resulted in very preventable goals being scored.
Half time, and the score was 2-0 to Lower Hutt, and unfair summation of a half which King’s had arguably dominated.
Despite tightening the defense and preventing any more goals being conceded, King’s were unable to find a reward for their efforts and after 30 minutes of striving came up empty handed at the final whistle, score 2-0 to Lower Hutt. A poor return for our efforts, but a lesson for our boys in the value of being clinical and finishing the opportunities they create.
Tuesday 30 August
King's vs. Wakatipu High School
It was a glorious day in Christchurch, and our Venue was Nga Puna Wai Sports Complex – an incredible multisport venue that has to be seen to be believed! The perfectly smooth, flat playing surface was a great juxtaposition of the rugged, snowcapped mountains that were visible in the (not too far) distance.
After yesterday’s results, our Boys were very focused on achieving a big win, to secure progression to the next round, and to lift self belief! From the outset we seemed destined to achieve this with marauding attacks down the left and right wings from Jack Crook and Flynn Calder (Year 13, School) and possession in dangerous areas from Harrison Waymouth and Jack Hernon but similar to our game vs Lower Hutt yesterday, we were unable to convert those chances into goals. However, a significantly improved defensive effort over the entire park, but mainly led by Morgan Wright and Liam Moehlenbrock and input from Matt Penney (Year 12, Averill), in particular, a brilliant 1 vs 1 save, helped us get to halftime with the scores at a mild 0-0.
The second half was quite the battle, with both teams creating multiple dangerous attacks. King’s again proving the better defensive team, showing the ability to win possession of the ball, or force a turnover – whereas our opposition were forced predominantly to concede corners in attempt to save goals. With about 15 minutes on the clock, it was one of these corners that King’s were able to finally capitalize on. Expertly delivered into the box by Pau Likiliki, Wright was able to fight off his defender and leapt to head the ball, connecting firmly, and sending it curling into the top corner. The scenes of celebration from players, subs and supporters alike were well justified. A brilliant goal, helping us on our way to a Quarter Final, and also personally for Wright, his first ever goal for King’s College.
This goal sparked a series of attacks from the opposition, who pressed forwards, committing players to attack with nothing to lose. Jack Priddy and Charles Knight came into the game to provide more defensive support but even that wasn’t enough. With 5 minutes on the click, a brilliant pass put the ball into our penalty area and Penney was again forced to come out and make a 1 vs 1 save. However this time the referee decided it wasn’t a fair tackle and our opposition were awarded a penalty kick. They scored this penalty to make it 1-1. Despite a flurry of desperate attacks, and another close attempt (again from a corner, this time delivered by Luka Sipka King’s were unable to score again and the game ended in a draw.
Nervously, we waited for word of the other results, and many of the lads momentarily (Reluctantly?) turned their brains back to academic mode, trying to do their own calculations on our chances of progressing.
To the relief of the players (and us staff) the confirmation was received, that we had progressed on goal differential! To celebrate, a shared kiwi style feast of fish and chips at New Brighton Beach. And to prepare for our big match, an icy dip to relax and refresh the body and mind!
Wednesday 31 August
King's vs. Tawa College
Game 1 today was our Major Quarterfinal, playing against Tawa College of Wellington. The game was physical but fair, and fast paced and free flowing. An exciting spectacle. The crowd of traveling King’s supporters had grown overnight, and we thank them for their support.
Tawa did their best to spoil our day by striking within the first few moments of the game, when some of our players were still very asleep. After some tactical adjustments were (finally) rectified, the King’s lads looked the most promising and regained parity midway through the half via a good goal from Ben Heron to even the scores back to 1-1 and bring King’s back into the game.
Pau Likiliki, Nat Moore, Charles Knight, Liam Moehlenbrock and Charles Couillault battled hard to control the packed midfield, a key area in this match. Their dominance almost paid off with another chance falling to King’s, but not tucked away.
There was an air of nervous confidence at half time, the boys knowing that a Semi Final spot was 30 minutes away, and that they were very capable of achieving it, as were Tawa.
The second half saw a change in the wind direction and sun, and more pressure on our backline, the dependable trio of Ryan Manconi, Harrison Mancer (Year 12, Major) and Morgan Wright. As fatigue set in for both sides, the game become more and more physical, and some tempers began to fray. As more and more fouls occurred and play broke down, momentum was harder to find for both sides, and they resorted to very direct football, both in need of a goal to break the deadlock. It was Tawa who struck first, with the ball not being dealt with at a defensive corner, and somehow finding its way through the writhing mass of bodies, and into the back of our net. Not the greatest of goals to concede, but cest la vie. Now fighting to stay in the competition, subs and tactical adjustments were made; Flynn Calder and Jack Crook coming in to provide more energy to the attack, and Charles Knight (SCH) conceding his defensive position to the more attacking minded Luka Sipka. Almost immediately, and to the utmost delight of all those wearing or cheering for the Crown, Crook had the ball at his feet and after beating his defender, whipped a ball deep into the box. Calder received it, and with a sublime first touch laid it back to Jack Hernon who blasted home from close range. Ecstasy as subs invaded the field to celebrate with the team, mums and dads exclaimed their delight, and even the normally reserved “Gaffer” released an excited shout and accompanying fist pump. A beautiful goal, and a meaningful one for the team.
Alas, despite our best efforts, no further goal was scored and we advanced from the fulltime whistle directly to a dreaded penalty shoot-out. English football fans look away now. The Tawa Goalkeeper had an excellent performance in the shootout, saving the first penalty from one our senior players. Not to be outdone, Alexander Bhatnagar (MAJ) also made a save, and Liam Moehlenbrock, Jack Hernon, and Ben Heron all stepped up and slotted their penalties (Liam’s being his first ever goal for King’s College). Up stepped another senior player to seal the deal, but again, the Tawa Goalkeeper pulled off a save and then Tawa scored their 5th and final penalty to go through to the semi-finals.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge Alexander Bhatnagar who experienced his first ever King’s College 1st XI Football start, Quarter Final, and Penalty Shootout. Being just a Year 10, he handled the match and situation with maturity and confidence beyond his years. We would later find out that he also played the whole match with a slight injury he picked up during warm up but didn’t tell anyone about. Tenacity and Determination in buckets!
King's vs. Middleton Grange
With a point to prove and a top 5 spot to aim for, our King’s boys came out with pace, passion and determination, and from the outset we never looked like losing the match. We struck first through Ben Heron, and then Jack Hernon.
Confidence grew throughout the match, as did the skill on show; at times, some of the nicest football we have played all season (alas, a game too late).
After the break, Morgan Wright proved his versatility by coming forwards at a corner and burying a header at the near post (Corner delivered beautifully by Charles Couillault). At the next corner Jack Priddy left his defensive post to join Wright in the penalty area, but was unable to add to the scoresheet. Next, Ben Heron struck again, this time tucking it under the advancing keeper after being assisted by a phenomenal clearance by Matthew Penney.
4-0 and not long on the clock, when at another corner the call of “Lay it back” was heard, and the pass found the rapidly advancing Harrison Mancer. From some 30/40 yards the marauding leftback let rip a 1st time shot and it sailed into the top corner of the net and sparked further celebrations, and for the second game in a row, a pitch invasion from our substitutes! I’m glad that Harrison Mancer scored. He has been one of our most reliable and consistent players all season, and that goal is just reward for all his efforts.
5-0 the final score in this game, and a much happier van ride home.
Thursday 1 September
King's College Boy's First XI have won their play-off game with a score of 2-1. Captain Harrison Waymouth sadly ended the competition with an injury and being put into a brace.
Overall, the team have finished the Jim Wishart Tournament in 5th place. A big thank you to all the parents, staff and students for your support during this time.
To add to this great success, we are proud to announce that Morgan Wright (Year 11, Greenbank) has been named as Tournament MVP. This is an amazing achievement for both him and the team and a great indicator for the future of football at King's College.
Ben Hill
Head of Football
Girl's First XI Hockey
Monday 29 August
King's vs. St. Cuthbert's College
The Girls Hockey First XI, produced a win and a loss on the first day of the Federation Cup, New Zealand Hockey’s premier schoolgirl hockey tournament for the top 32 teams in the country, in Napier on Monday.
The team, coached by Steve Davison, was drawn in a tough group with three teams from their Auckland Super City competition, but the team has relished the opportunity to play at the highest level again after a lengthy absence.
On Monday morning, the team lost to defending Federation Cup champions and current Auckland Super City champions St Cuthbert’s College 0-5. The team put up a spirited challenge against a team that had beaten them twice already this season, but were beaten by the better team. St Cuthbert’s opened the scoring in the 13th minute through a disputed goal and dominated the match in territory and possession but could not add to their lead until the second half when they added two goals in each of the final two quarters to run out comfortable victors. For King’s, captain Ella Nesdale (Year 13, Taylor) played well, as did First XI debutants Amelia Alston (Year 11, Middlemore), Mia Olsen Blood (Year 11, Taylor) and Olivia Barron (Year 11, Marion Bruce).
King's vs. Orewa College
In the afternoon, King’s produced a patchy performance but dug deep in the final thirty minutes to win a tight match 2-1 against Orewa College. Suzie Kennelly (Year 12, Middlemore) opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute from a penalty corner, but Orewa fought back to equalise, also from a penalty corner in the 35th minute. King’s pushed hard in the remaining two quarters and notched the winner from a penalty stroke neatly converted by Ella Nesdale four minutes from time. King’s defended resolutely to hold on for an important victory. For King’s, Francesca Macfarlane (Year 13, Middlemore), Suzy Kennelly and Mia Olsen Blood put in good displays.
On Tuesday, the Girls Hockey First XI meets Westlake Girls in their final group match at 2.15pm. Westlake has beaten King’s 5-1 in their two matches this season, but King’s will be looking to try and cause an unlikely upset.
Wednesday 31 August
King's vs. Westlake Girl's High School
The Girls Hockey First XI turned in an excellent performance before going down 0-2 to Westlake Girls High School in their final pool match at the Federation Cup/Marie Fry Trophy. The team finished third in the pool.
Despite losing 1-5 to Westlake in both matches this season, the team played superbly and took the game to the opposition. Westlake took the lead in the 20th minute from a highly disputed penalty corner and added a second just before the interval. King’s pressed forward looking to reduce the deficit and dominated the second half but could not turn their opportunities into goals. For King’s, Tahara-Jayne Rusden Rowley (Year 13, Marion Bruce), Amelia Alston, Mia Olsen Blood and Alex Bow (Year 12, Taylor) put in good performances.
Now the team moves into the Marie Fry Cup, the competition for teams ranked 17-32 and this morning at 9.00am, the team plays Tauranga Girls College. A win will guarantee the team a spot in the Federation Cup next year so probably the most important game for the team in this year’s competition.
King's vs. Tauranga Girl's College
The Girls Hockey First XI turned on the style in their Marie Fry Cup last sixteen match this morning in Napier, defeating Tauranga Girls College 6-0 in a convincing performance.
The win is significant because it guarantees the College a place in the Federation Cup next year.
Having missed out on finishing in the top two in their group yesterday and a chance to compete in the Federation Cup for the top sixteen teams in the country, the team now progresses to the Marie Fry Trophy tournament for the teams ranked 17-32 in New Zealand.
In a powerful performance, supported by the Under 15 Boys Rugby team, two goals apiece from Suzie Kennelly and Sophie Stening (Year 11, Middlemore) and one from captain Ella Nesdale and Kara McLeay (Year 13, Marion Bruce) sent the team through to the next round. The result was never in doubt as the team dominated from start to finish.
Keith Rowley
Teacher in Charge of Girl's Hockey
Boy's First XI Hockey
Monday 29 August
Kings vs. St. Paul's Collegiate
Played under very hot conditions this was a game that was decided by penalty corners. Both teams struggled to find any momentum in the first quarter with King’s making more circle entries and penalty corners. In the second quarter St Paul’s opened the scoring with a penalty corner that was miss trapped but they still managed to get a shot away that found the goal. Early in the third quarter King’s equalised with a Karl Wallace (Year 13, Parnell) penalty corner and King’s were now creating a lot more chances and had the better of the possession stats. By the time of the fourth quarter there were some very tired legs on both sides and the game was opening up in the midfield. St Paul’s scored with about 8 minutes left on the clock and although King’s did force two further penalty corners they were unable to convert. Overall King’s were unlucky not to come out of the game with a point but that’s tournament hockey. Tomorrow will be a big day as to finish in the top two of the Pool we will need to beat Wanganui Collegiate and Christchurch Boys’ High School or have other results go in our favour.
Tuesday 30 August
King's vs. Wanganui Collegiate
An early start today with the first game at 8.45am although the temperature was a lot kinder to the players than yesterday. This was a game that King’s dominated from start to finish and opened the scoring in the 6th minute with a Karl Wallace penalty corner which was quickly followed by a field goal from Tom Lindberg (Year 13, Greenbank). With Ben Wigmore (Year 11, Marsden) and Scott Illerbrun (Year 11, School) controlling the midfield Wanganui had very few circle entries and resorted to playing a very direct style of hockey – hit and hope. Karl Wallace added a third in the second quarter again from a penalty corner and the game was starting to look safe from a points perspective. The third quarter saw the goal of the game by Scott Illerburn – Karl Wallace picked the ball up just over the halfway line and sent a direct pass into the Wanganui circle where Scott moving a full pace was able to deflect the ball past the Wanganui keeper who, to be fair, had no chance. With 4 goals on the scoreboard the side now began to think of goal difference and the fact that on the adjacent turf St Paul’s were beating our next opponents Christchurch Boys’ High School. In the last quarter a further two goals were added by Wallace and Illerbrun to make it 6-0.
King's vs. Christchurch Boys' High School
Going into this game both ourselves and CBHS were on the same number of points but as we had beaten Wanganui by a larger margin we had a better goal difference so a draw would be sufficient to see us through. This is a very dangerous situation to be in as there can be a tendency for teams to sit back and go for the draw. King’s off to a great start with Karl Wallace scoring a field goal in the 7th minute and then proceeded to have the better of the play. However as the game went on CBHS become more and more desperate as they had to win to stay in Rankin Cup. In third quarter the side came under constant pressure and time after the time the defence held strong and showed real character to thwart a very aggressive CBHS forward line – special mention of Lachie Palmer (Year 13, Greenbank), Tom Migounoff (Year 11, St. John's) and Dante Ng (Year 13, Peart) for their calm and intelligent play at the back. By the fourth quarter with the clock running down and CBHS having to score twice, King’s began to sense the game was theirs and the score remained 1-0.
Great credit must go to coaches Simon Norton and Aidan Fraser who spent a lot time analysing Brendan Boreham’s video footage of Wanganui and CBHS previous games in order to give the side the tactical edge in what can be a game of fine margins.
Wednesday 31 August
King's vs. Tauranga Boy's College
With captain and playmaker Karl Wallace out the tournament with a broken thumb it was going to be a testing time for a young team without their leader. The side got off to the worst possible start conceding two goals in the first 5 minutes although did create some chances late in the first quarter from a penalty corner. After the second quarter King’s were 3-0 down and finding it hard to maintain possession and make any threat to the TBC goal. The side worked hard to in the third quarter and took a lot risk to try and claw back the lead bit to no avail. TBC converted a PC and scored a field goal to make it 5-0. However it did mean a lot more game for some the younger players of the squad which will be invaluable experience going forward. The score finished up at 6-0. This was a good TBC side with twelve Yr 13 students in their squad and nearly all of them being part of the regional U18 side. Overall. they were a lot faster and played very good structured hockey with a ruthless efficiency in front of goal.
Mark Johnston
Boy's First XI Manager
Girl's Premier Netball
Monday 29 August
King’s 43-7 Kingsway
King’s 48-8 ACG Strathallan
Tuesday 30 August
King’s 36-20 Papamoa
King’s 31-12 Whakatane
Wednesday 31 August
King’s 33-12 Rototuna
King’s 43-19 Elim
Sarah Hogg
Premier Netball Manager
U15 Open Rugby
Wednesday 31 August
King's vs. Rathkeale College
Today was an eventful day for the Under 15 Open Rugby side. After travelling down to Havelock North yesterday in vans, we arrived late afternoon and settled in well a light training run at Havelock North Rugby Club. This morning the team prepared their own breakfast with the standard forwards/backs split in two rooms. After consuming 12 boxes of Nutrigrain, 6 boxes of Weetbix and 9 loafs the bread the boys seemed satisfied and ready for our morning excursion which fitted well, having a late afternoon game scheduled for day 1.
The team went along to support the First XI Girls Hockey team play Tauranga GHS and perform superbly, taking a well-deserved 6-0 win.
We then headed across the road to the Hawkes Bay Magpies HQ and managed to view the unions most recent piece of silverware, The Ranfurly Shield. The boys were very impressed with the Magpies training in particular the intensity of the scrum session.
On to game one of the 4 day tournament at Lindisfarne which saw us play Rathkeale College of Masterton on a clear and sunny afternoon in Hastings.
The team showed some early nerves in the opening exchanges and our skill level let us down on a few occasions however once we built some momentum and continuity with the ball we started to dominate the opposition.
Tries to Taylor Bai (Year 10, Parnell) and TJ Anae-Paila (Year 10, Major) in quick succession took us to a 19-0 lead. A defensive lapse on our own line gifted Rathkeale an easy try to take the score to 19-5. Charlie Burn (Year 10, School) then crossed the line after some good support play which made for a 24-5 halftime score.
The second half started with a lot more accuracy providing a flurry of tries to King’s dominating the first 15 minutes, new 1st V Kace Hipkins-Taimai (Year 10, Parnell) played like he had been part of the side all season, providing good ball for the outside backs. This allowed TJ, Taylor Bai and Evan Nathan-Patuawa (Year 10, School) to use their speed accordingly. Unfortunately another defensive lapse on the right wing lead to another Rathkeale try. The team managed to regather and finish strongly with 4 more tries, captain Saia Manu (Year 10, Averill)off the bench made a big impact in the 2nd half, as did hard working loose forward Johan Schaumkell (Year 10, School) and blindside flanker Ethan Ola (Year 10, Averill) was outstanding with the ball in hand and scored 2 tries. Final score 64-10.
Tries: Taylor Bai 3, Carlie Burn 2, Ethan Ola 2, TJ Anae-Paila, Saia Manu, Evan Nathan-Patuawa
Conversions: Evan Nathan-Patuawa 7
Scott Palmer
Head of Rugby
1R U85KG Rugby
Tuesday 30 August
The 1R team arrived in Wellington to the most glorious and un-Wellington-like conditions ready to play our 7 matches in 3 days.
Our first match this morning was against our Auckland foes – Sacred Heart College and in a tight match where no tries were scored, we fell short with a 3 – 6 loss. Our second match was against Wellington College and the boys played well, scoring five unanswered tries to win 28 – 0. In our final match of Day 1, we came up against Newlands College and in a much ‘looser’ match, we were able to score a further eight tries, six of which were converted by Year 11 student Harrison Martin, for a final scoreline of 52 – 0.
Wednesday 31 August
Th 1R rugby team had two further matches today against Porirua HS and then St. Pat’s Town College. Yesterday we started slowly and lost our first game before winning the next two. Today was similar in that we again started slowly and ended up drawing our first match 5-all. With only a short turn around and a few boys bruised and battered from the first four games, we managed to do enough to get past St. Pat’s Town 10 – 0. We have our final pool match tomorrow morning against St. Pat’s Silverstream College and if we win that game we will play the final at 11.30am. Lose and we will play off for 3rd and 4th. With the Bye round this afternoon, Geography teacher – Mark Kennelly suggested we drive up Mt. Victoria where he can speak to the boys about the Geographical repercussions and facts etc, etc (very exciting stuff…). During the lunch break today, all coaches and managers were invited to attend a whiteboard and video session with two of the Mighty Hurricanes Coaches and Mark Kennelly has already stated that he has learnt a couple of new ideas that we will likely try to integrate into the KC rugby programme next year.
Daryl Williams
1R Team Manager
