Monday 25 May 2026
First XV 7 vs 55 Saint Kentigern College
Our First XV endured a challenging afternoon away from home on Saturday, falling 7-55 to a clinical Saint Kentigern College side. Depleted by a severe injury toll that saw eleven squad members sidelined, King's fought hard but ultimately struggled to contain the hosts' powerful forward pack and ruthless execution.
Saint Kentigern signalled their intent immediately, using a clever 50-22 kick to establish territory before driving over from an early maul. King's responded with intent just minutes later; a superb penalty kick into a touch from Ricoh Wilson (Year 12, Greenbank) set up a clinical line-out. Captain Christopher Hatch (Year 13, Major) initiated the breakthrough run and passed to Jacob Heron (Year 12, School) who ran towards the try line but was tackled high, forcing a penalty try that levelled the scores at 7-7. However, the hosts quickly wrestled back control, exposing a makeshift King's pack to cross the line multiple times. Despite a period of immense defensive resilience on their own try line, the pressure told as Saint Kentigern capitalised on a quick tap-and-go to stretch the margin, eventually carrying a 7-31 lead into the break after holding up a promising late King's attack.
The second half followed a similar style, with the hosts using their size and bench depth to maintain momentum. King's continued to hunt for opportunities and enjoyed a sustained spell of possession inside the Saint Kentigern 40-metre line, sparked by tireless shifts from Donnell Collins (Year 11, Averill) and Hatch. Naki Kea-Cameron (Year 11, Selwyn) and Wilson looked to spark the backline, while Kavelle Wiki-Rawiri (Year 11, St. John's) put in an admirable shift after being forced to play out of position. Ultimately, Saint Kentigern's relentless defensive pressure shut the door on any scoring opportunities, allowing them to pull clear before the final whistle. While the scoreboard reflected a difficult day at the office, the determination shown by the heavily rotated squad under immense pressure was clear.
Following the game, Head Coach Ian Robinson praised the boys' unwavering attitude, noting that while the injury ward has disrupted group cohesion, the experience gained by the younger boys will serve the team well.
The upcoming King's Birthday weekend break offers a vital window for the squad to recuperate, heal injuries, and regroup before travelling to face Dilworth School on 6 June.
Second XV 7 vs 55 Kelston Boys' High School
For the third successive week, the Second XV made the journey out to West Auckland to take on a strong Kelston side. Despite a growing injury list and several key players missing, King's competed well for large periods of the match. Up against a big and very physical home side, King's produced an impressive first-half performance and were unfortunate to trail only 7-10 at half-time after dominating possession and territory for periods in the opening exchanges.
The second half proved more challenging, with injuries and the loss of key players to the First XV disrupting momentum and continuity. Kelston capitalised on this alongside several unforced errors as they produced a clinical second-half display in front of a vocal home crowd. Despite the result, there were plenty of positives to take away and it was pleasing to see resilience being shown against a quality side when the boys were up against it, especially from the players stepping up from the Colts XV.
MVP: Aseia Ngata (Year 12, Parnell) who worked tirelessly throughout the game in both attack and defence.
Colts XV 5 vs 28 Auckland Grammar School 2B
A season opener, the Colts XV lost their first competition match against Auckland Grammar School 2B with a final score of 5-28.
Grammar came well-prepared and applied early pressure from kick-off, scoring two tries in the first twenty minutes, capitalising on the Colts' errors. With some decent possession and territorial advantage, centre Wai Lee-Lemon (Year 12, Parnell) finished sustained attack late in the first half with a try, but was denied the reward as the referee reversed his decision and ruling a knock-on. Grammar replied with a converted try to close off the half at 0-21.
The Colts were more consistent in the second half on both defence and attack, but struggled to complete execution of attempted strikes. Small errors lead to possession turnovers. The halftime score remained unchanged until late in the second half when Grammar scored an unconverted try. In the dying minutes of the match, after a period of determined attack in the Grammar half. Fullback Jonny Ford (Year 11, Selwyn) sliced through the defence left field beating three tacklers to score a brilliant solo try. The conversion by Captain Ben Wilson (Year 12, Peart) was unsuccessful.
1R Maroon 36 vs 21 Mount Albert Grammar School
The 1R Maroon played their third game in a row on the King's College G1 field against Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) for their first competition game. We were missing four forwards for Saturday's match and only had the bare minimum three front-rowers, who each had to play the full 60 minutes each.
MAGS started well and opened the scoring with a converted try to lead 7-0. This then woke the boys up and Matt Cunningham (Year 13, Greenbank) scored two tries that he also converted to lead 14-7 at the break.
In the second half, Matt scored another two tries to take his tally for the match to four. He added one further conversion for a personal total of 26 points for the match. MAGS also scored a converted try and when our replacement right-winger, Jarel Samasoni (Year 12, Averill) scored two further tries, the score remained 36-14 right up to the last minute, when MAGS scored one more converted try and when the final whistle blew, we had won 36-21.
5A 0 vs 12 Saint Kentigern 5A
"Life is not fair. It never has been." - Matthew McConaughey
This was a tough loss to take. All the ingredients were there for a "W" except crossing the white line.
The team again started the first half with real intensity. Sammie Richardson (Year 11, St. John's) was repeatedly presented with clean ball thanks to strong drives by the 'Bump and Thump Trio' of Jack Freeman (Year 11, School); Charlie Andrews (Year 10, Selwyn) and Freddie Dryden (Year 11, School). A great pass by Hudson Hooker (Year 11, Parnell) allowed Niko Fleming (Year 10, Greenbank) to scythe his way up the field and only desperate Saint Kentigern's tackles prevented a try. The team also showed great defence during the last 10 minutes with thumping tackles by Zac Ogg (Year 11, Selwyn) and Diego Chen (Year 11, Selwyn) preserving the King's line. Zack Anderson (Year 11, Greenbank) put his body and head on the line and unfortunately came out second best. Unfortunately, the opposition managed to make a breakthrough under the horns, leaving the half-time score at 0-7.
The second half was all King's. There was a lengthy stoppage for a serious injury to a Saint Kentigern's player and we hope that there is no lasting damage. The introduction of Lennox Williams (Year 11, St. John's) for the hard working Hugo Colgan (Year 11, St. John's) and the hard tackling Jack Kelt (Year 11, School) increased the ferocity of the drives by both the King's forwards and backs. Despite never being out of Saint Kentigern's half and recycling phase after phase of play, the 'white line fever' caught King's bad. There were over half a dozen drives near the line by Olaf Hanson (Year 11, Selwyn), Noah Plowman (Year 11, Selwyn) and Hugo Gimeno-Wood (Year 11, Selwyn) and others. But, the Saint Kent's line held. The coaches bodily gesticulations must have looked like a hangover from Big House Music to those on the sideline!
As sport often does, there was a cruel twist as the opposition made their way up the field and scored in the final two minutes.
The boys have three training sessions before a big game with Mount Albert Grammar School on 6 June at King's.
U14A 43 vs 0 Mount Albert Grammar School 14A
A statement performance from the King's College U14A was seen on Saturday.
Travelling to Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) and playing on their number one field in perfect conditions, the stage was set for a fast and physical contest — and the boys delivered from the first whistle. The attitude and effort shown in training this week carried straight on to the park.
King's were on the front foot immediately. Strong forward carries by Sam Fifita (Year 9, Averill) and Brooklyn Collins (Year 9, Averill) made huge inroads from the outset, and the team's ball retention — a significant area of focus in recent weeks — was excellent throughout. Phase after phase was built with purpose, and King's had scored twice before MAGS had even touched the ball. Israel Kepu (Year 9, Peart) and Collins both crossed early to set the tone.
What defined Saturday's performance, however, was the defence. The line speed was relentless and the communication and connection across the defensive line was outstanding. Despite MAGS having the bigger squad and a larger physical presence, the King's boys kept tackling, kept working, and pulled off a series of enormous hits that consistently put MAGS on the back foot whenever they had possession.
Long-range tries to Braxton Fletcher (Year 9, Greenbank) and Willoughby Wheldale (Year 9, Peart) sent King's into half-time at 24-0.
The second half was more of the same. King's kept MAGS pinned in their own red zone for the opening ten minutes through their smothering defence and relentless pressure at the breakdown — forwards and backs combining brilliantly — before Kaal-el Tautari-Clarke (Year 9, St. John's) opened the second-half scoring off a turnover.
Willoughby, Niko Tipping (Year 9, Selwyn), Carter Williams (Year 9, Selwyn), Braxton and Israel were dangerous all day, with Niko capping the performance with a stunning 70-metre runaway try at full-time.
The most pleasing aspect of the day; keeping MAGS scoreless on their own home ground.
Player of the day: Sam Fifita — the most damaging player on the park. Massive carries and punishing defence throughout. Well-deserved!
A special acknowledgement also to the MAGS-side referee —MAGS Principal Mr Patrick Drumm — who handled the game superbly.
U15 12 vs 32 Kelston Boys' High School
King's U15 faced a strong Kelston Boys' High School side in what proved to be a physical and developing contest, with plenty of growth shown across the match.
Kelston struck early, scoring out wide within the first six minutes. Their fast start exposed a need for King's to sharpen their tackling and react quicker on defence. At times, Kelston's width and pressure tested the edges, but the boys responded well as they began to settle.
A key turning point in the first half came through improved forward play. Mason Bryant's (Year 10, School) impact, along with better work at the breakdown, helped King's generate valuable front-foot ball. As a result, the team began to play with more confidence, showing better shape and intent.
King's composure grew as the half progressed. After earning a penalty, the team kicked to touch and executed a well-organised line-out drive, leading to a deserved try. Leo Waide (Year 10, School) finished strongly from the rolling maul and continued to contribute with a solid carry from the restart.
The second half became more of an arm wrestle, particularly through the middle of the field. Kelston managed to extend their lead with a couple of additional tries, but King's responded with resilience. Defensive efforts improved, with notable contributions across the park, including strong physicality and commitment from Miller Ward (Year 10, Parnell).
Despite the final score of 32-12 to Kelston, King's showed clear signs of development, particularly in their ability to regain composure, build phases, and compete physically.
A number of debutantes made an encouraging impact, as well. Mason, in his first game at prop, was outstanding, most notably with a powerful 50-metre run that injected energy into the side. Tommy "Turbo" Taylor (Year 10, Selwyn) started at lock before shifting to the wing, showing versatility and work rate across positions. In the backs, James Auva'a (Year 10, Peart) impressed at second five, with his quick distribution creating opportunities out wide. Paxton Maifeleni (Year 10, Greenbank), starting at centre, added a strong physical presence in both attack and defence, while Christian Blakeman (Year 10, Greenbank) on the wing showed real commitment and willingness to get involved.
Cowboy (Player of the Day): Mason Bryant for outstanding impact in a new position, strong carries and work rate.
Viking (Resilience and Determination): Jack Rutherford (Year 10, School) for consistent effort and commitment throughout.
The Rock (Biggest Hit): Miller Ward for dominant defensive momentum and physical presence.
6A 14 vs 19 Saint Kentigern College 6A
The King's College 6A team's first competition game was met with much anticipation and excitement as the team were focused on correcting a preseason fixture where Saint Kentigern College (SKC) won convincingly.
The team build up to the week was short on time together, however, we managed to focus in and display for much of the first half, the desire and necessary teamwork to win games and challenge for end-of-season final spots.
The game burst into life thanks to our hard running and the brilliance of winger Daniel Wu (Year 10, Selwyn), who crossed for two outstanding tries in the first half. Both efforts came from 50 metres out, with Daniel beating defenders through a combination of physicality and sheer pace, putting us in control. Both tries were converted by Harry Thompson (Year 10, Marsden).
Our second half proved a very different challenge. Our 'bomb-squad' was unable to retain possession and play in the right areas of the park and we were forced to play the game for long periods without the ball. Our defence and tackling effort were under relentless pressure and this took its toll where SKC were able to turn the game around with 3 well taken second-half tries to secure a 14-19 victory.
Despite the result, several players were notable performers of the day including Captain Sammy Berry (Year 10, Parnell), Ollie Knight (Year 10, Major), Luke Leuschke (Year 10, Peart), Riley Gardner (Year 10, St. John's) and Thommo Edgar (Year 10, School).
There are plenty of areas to improve on over the next two weeks for the full squad, as we build towards our next challenge against Auckland Grammar School on 6 June.
1R Gold 0 vs 17 Auckland Grammar School
The boys put up another great fighting effort this week, leaving it all on the field. Two very close halves decided by fine margins showed that this weekend displayed good progress on skills in both attack and defence, but also shows that there are still key work-ons to get through.
Coach Noah Whata says "Despite the loss, we are proud of the boys for fighting till the very end."