Monday 10 August 2026
Colts XV 5 vs 14 De La Salle College
From the opening whistle, the match between Colts XV and De La Salle 2B was a bruising battle with neither team willing to give an inch. DLS spent long periods defending inside their own half as Colts attacked, carrying hard through the middle and testing their defensive line with powerful runners. Tackles were flying, rucks were fiercely contested, and every metre had to be earned.
Despite the pressure, DLS held firm and eventually found real opportunities whilst in the Colts' half. They made it count, scoring two converted tries to take the half-time lead, 14-0.
The second half continued in much of the same physical fashion, with both teams throwing everything into the contest. King's finally broke through after sustained pressure, with Centre Jonny Ford (Year 11, Selwyn) breaking through a tackle midfield then sprinting past two defenders to score. First Five-Eighth Wai Lee-Lemon (Year 12, Parnell) was unable to convert the try. Only three tries were scored all morning, but the match was defined by physicality, discipline and DLS's ability to turn their limited opportunities into points.
"Despite the final result not going their way, the boys were awesome, putting in a massive effort from start to finish. They showed plenty of heart, physicality and determination, never giving up. To be fair, the game could have gone either way. There's plenty to be proud of, and the boys can hold their heads high after a tough-fought performance." — Silao Nansen, Colts XV Coach.
1R Maroon 20 vs 20 St Peter's College
Our boys were delighted to be able to play our first Top 4 round-robin match on the King’s College G1 field, and in front of a large crowd who had come out to support us. St. Peter’s had beaten us when we played them on their astro-turf in the first round, and we were seeking redemption for that loss.
SPC scored the first try in the right-hand corner, but their kicker was unable to convert. We attacked time and again but were unable to breach their defence. One attack saw their backs offside and our First Five-Eighth — Matt Cunningham (Year 13, Greenbank) converted a penalty in front of their posts.
Not long after, our backs attacked down the left-hand flank and after a maul, Second Five-Eighth — Archie Gore (Year 12, Selwyn) was left on the ground with a broken leg. There was no foul play involved, just an unfortunate accident. The game was stopped and our King’s medical staff came on to look after him while an ambulance was called to take him to hospital.
We were unable to move him, so the game was moved to G2 as there was still time left to play in the first half and we knew that it would take some time for the ambulance to arrive. We are grateful to our King’s medical staff and to Deputy Headmaster — Mr. Paterson who stayed with Archie and his Mum until the ambulance arrived and took him to Auckland City Hospital.
With the game resumed on G2, we had a strong wind at our back and used the wind to play in their half. From an infringement by a SPC player, a penalty was awarded about 35-metres out from their posts. Again, Matt Cunningham kicked the penalty and at half-time, we turned around 6-5 ahead.
In the second half, both teams had scoring opportunities and SPC took advantage of theirs and scored two more tries in the right-hand corner to lead 15-6. Our forwards then ’rolled up their sleeves’ and went to work. From a series of rucks near their line — Harry Rutherford (Year 13, School) scored near the posts and Matt was able to convert to close the gap to 15 - 13 to SPC.
Again, SPC scored in the right hand corner, and fortunately for us, their kicker did not 'have his kicking boots on’. He missed the conversion again and with time running out, SPC led by 7 points 20-13.
The King's boys did not give up and went straight back onto attack. SPC infringed time and again, which resulted in one of their players being yellow-carded. In the last play of the game, our forwards went from pick-’n-go to pick-’n-go, with Number 8 — Josh Want (Year 13, Major) scoring between the posts. Matt Cunningham converted and the game ended up in a draw; 20 all.
I was very proud of the way the boys never gave up and to coin an old adage “played to the final whistle”.
Had we lost, it would have been nigh-on impossible to make the final, however, with the draw, we are ’still alive’ and have a must-win re-match with WBHS here at home next Saturday, again on King's G1. They beat us by 4 points two weeks ago.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Archie Gore and his family, who will be going through some tough challenges.
5A 0 vs 52 Auckland Grammar School 5A
"It is not a shame to be knocked down by other people. The important thing is to ask when you're being knocked down, "Why am I being knocked down?" If a person can reflect in this way, then there is hope for this person." — Bruce Lee.
There is no shame in losing to a good team. King's showed pockets of play and individual excellence, however, the complete performance still eludes us. The game started well and at the halfway mark in the first half, the scores were tied at 0-0. The highlight of this opening section was an outstanding tackle from Hudson Hooker (Year 11, Parnell), who managed to prevent a try by knocking the ball out of an opposition player as he crossed the line.
Unfortunately, Grammar then kicked into gear and scored 4 quick tries before half-time. A mixture of poor tackling and carelessly turning over possession meant that half time was an opportunity for King's to regroup.
The second half mirrored the first and AGS did not score until 15 minutes in. The King's team then tired and each time AGS got the ball, you felt a try was in the offing. There were strong individual performances from Ethan Chatkeonopadol (Year 11, Parnell), who made 3 outstanding runs straight through he heart of the Grammar defence. Taylor Kijowski (Year 11, School) was outstanding in defence and was the outstanding King's player. There was also fine tackling from Arthur White (Year 11, Selwyn) and Jake Heatherbell (Year 11, Parnell). Jack Freeman (Year 11, School), Zac Ogg (Year 11, Selwyn) and Fred Dryden (Year 11, School) again impressed with their work at ruck and both managed to turn possession over.
We have our final home game next weekend against St Peter's College, where we will look to be more consistent over the full 60-minutes.
14A 40 vs 19 Aorere College
Another hard-fought win against a quality side, and another example of the character running through this team.
Hosting Aorere College, who currently sit in the top four, King's went into the game again short on numbers — just a starting 15 and two reserves after a combination of illness, injury, and concussion protocols. It was going to be another test of character.
Aorere came out with their usual physicality and pace, but King's matched them with equal intensity from the first whistle. Superior conditioning began to tell, and after a sustained multi-phase attack out wide, Niko Tipping (Year 9, Selwyn) — returning from the holidays — crossed for the opening try. An early injury to Jackson Rumbold (Year 9, Parnell) in the first ten minutes left King's with just one reserve remaining.
King's continued to apply pressure through sharp defence and relentless attack, with further tries to Sammy Fifita (Year 9, Averill), Izzy Kepu (Year 9, Peart), and Niko Tipping putting the team in a comfortable position. A defensive lapse late in the half allowed Aorere to score under the posts, but King's went into the break firmly in control with a score of 28-7.
The second half brought a different kind of challenge. A first-year referee, clearly overwhelmed at times, produced a string of confusing decisions that frustrated both teams — more so Aorere's coaching staff, whose frustration unfortunately expressed itself through threats, intimidation, and shouting that filtered visibly down to their players.
From a King's perspective, good field position and possession were not converted as they should have been, with dropped passes and ill-timed penalties, including over seven free kicks for uneven line-out throws and eight scrum penalties, keeping pressure on the team. More than a dozen offside penalties added to a difficult second half picture.
But King's defended superbly. Allowing just two tries in that 20-minute period under such sustained pressure showed tremendous resilience and should be recognised and commended. When the opportunities did come, King's took them — tries to Willoughby Wheldale (Year 9, Peart) and Braxton Fletcher (Year 9, Greenbank) put the game beyond Aorere's reach.
A gritty and well-deserved win. Next week does not get any easier — a top-of-the-table clash with De La Salle College awaits.