1st XV VS Liston College
Win 88–0
The points flowed as the First XV eased past Liston College 88-0 on Saturday.
Playing in breezy conditions at Liston didn’t bother King’s who were particularly dominant during the first half as they went to the break up 50-0.
Their superior size and skill shone through and their dominance in the forwards provided the ideal platform to attack from.
Scrums and lineouts were one-sided as King’s executed their set-pieces efficiently.
The coaching staff took the opportunity to give numerous bench players the chance to start, while regular first-five Budda Doyle and lock Matthew Monaghan were rested.
Every starting player in the backline scored at least once, while a handful of forwards also grabbed five-pointers as King’s ran in 14 tries in total; co-captain Chicago Doyle added nine conversions.
The wind, which blew diagonally across the pitch, made goal-kicking tough and many of Doyle’s conversion attempts were from out wide.
At one point King’s looked like they may threaten the 100-point mark but their execution fell away in the final 20 minutes.
Doyle, who has a constant threat from fullback, was pleased with Saturday’s performance.
“Good win. Just happy with the boys that they stuck to our system in that game and played to our potential for most of the game,” he said after the match.
“We slacked off a little bit at the end but it is what it is.”
Their defence wasn’t put under great duress but Doyle was thrilled to keep Liston scoreless.
“That was a goal of ours. We didn’t want them to get any points, so, definitely proud of the boys for that.”
King’s have six wins from seven matches in the 1A competition and are in second place heading into the school holiday break.
Both King’s and St Peter’s College have 30 competition points but King’s hold a superior points difference, while the unbeaten Kelston Boys’ High School (34 points) continue to set the pace.
Mt Albert Grammar School, who are on 27 points with six wins from seven matches but only three bonus points, round out the top four.
The First XV don’t have a game next weekend but will meet Palmerston North Boys’ High School in a traditional fixture at King’s on Saturday, 24 July at 11am.
Their next outing in the 1A competition is scheduled for Saturday, 31 July when they will host St Peter’s.
Thanks to our Premier Partner Jaguar Land Rover New Zealand in conjunction with Archibald and Shorter, and Bayleys Real Estate for their continued support of the First XV. Thanks also to Kukri New Zealand and SRG Radiology.
U15R VS Saint Kentigern College
Win 17–5
The U15R team played Saint Kentigern College here at King’s on Tuesday 6 July, so that we would not have to play the match scheduled to be played during the school holidays.
The weather was overcast, but the forecast rain had not yet arrived. In the same way we had commenced the match last Saturday, we got off to a good start again and 1st 5/8 Ryan Young scored two very well-taken tries and added one conversion for a 12–0 lead. SKC came down into our 22m once in the half and managed to score a try out wide. When the halftime whistle blew, the score was 12–5. The second half remained the same for the majority of the period and once again, we dominated possession and territory, but were unable to break the opposition defence or just lacked finishing accuracy. Finally, with around 5 minutes remaining in the match, centre Johnny Wilson scored a well-taken try to secure the win and the 17–5 final scoreline.
The team completed the term with three hard-fought but very pleasing wins in a row to end the term in 3rd place on the table. We look forward to a well-deserved break and then starting all over again in Term 3.
