Monday 27 July 2026
First XV 17 vs 19 Mount Albert Grammar School
On Saturday, our First XV produced a performance of courage and resilience, falling just short in a close 17-19 contest against fifth-placed Mount Albert Grammar School. Playing into a punishing headwind and trailing by double digits early on, King’s mounted a heroic second-half fightback that fell just short of a remarkable comeback.
Facing a tough breeze in the opening half, King’s struggled to find length on their clearance kicks, placing immediate pressure on the defence. MAGS struck first in the 10th minute by snatching an interception to break the deadlock, before capitalising on an unforced error inside the 22 five minutes later to stretch their lead to 0-12. Despite the early setbacks, King’s showed tremendous brave play with ball in hand. The final 15 minutes of the half saw King’s control territory and build multiple phases, though small errors near the try line kept them off the scoresheet before the break.
The second half began with immediate intensity. A pinpoint kick-off from Ricoh Wilson (Year 12, Greenbank) was expertly regathered by Leo Kirkland (Year 13, Selwyn), shifting the momentum in an instant. Following a series of powerful forward drives and a surging break from Finn Thompson (Year 12, School), Ruka Smythe (Year 13, Parnell) burrowed over from close range to cut the margin to 5-12. King’s continued to dictate terms through structured phase play, eventually working the ball wide for Jamie Ludbrook (Year 13, St John's) to touch down smoothly in the corner.
Though MAGS temporarily halted the momentum with a converted try against the wind to make it 10-19, King’s refused to yield. With two minutes remaining, a thunderous charge from Naki Kea-Cameron (Year 11, Selwyn) set up a penalty five metres out. James Shaw (Year 13, School) took a sharp tap-and-go to crash over, with Wilson calmly slotting a brilliant conversion into the wind to bring King’s within two points. King’s threw everything into one final offensive effort as the clock ticked down, but time ran out before they could find the decisive play.
Despite the result, Head Coach Ian Robinson beamed with pride following the team's performance after returning from a three-week holiday with just two days of team preparation: "I'm bloody proud of them... we asked the boys to hold onto the ball, play into the wind, and be courageous. They’re stepping up every week, putting their bodies on the line for the school and making their families proud."
Congratulations to Bassy Tupou (Year 13, Selwyn), Kavelle Wiki-Rawiri (Year 11, St John's), and Matthias Petelo (Year 11, Marsden) on being awarded their cap after the game.
The team will now regroup in preparation for their final game of the season against Botany Downs Secondary School away this Saturday.
U14A 39 vs 24 St Paul's College
A gusty win under challenging circumstances — and a great way to kick off the return from the holidays.
With five players still away and no training for three weeks, it was very much a next-man-up performance. A special thanks to Charlie Crighton (Year 9, Averill) and Harry Davidson (Year 9, Parnell), who answered the SOS call from the U15R squad and filled in brilliantly with reliable defence, strong running, and real heart throughout.
King's kicked off and were put under immediate pressure, defending phase after phase before Sammy Fifita (Year 9, Averill) produced a powerful hit to force the turnover. King's capitalised quickly, building their own phases and Willoughby Wheldale (Year 9, Peart) finishing for the opening try. From there, King's took control and did not let St Paul's out of their own half for the next 30 minutes.
Brooklyn Collins (Year 9, Averill), Sam Fifita, and Emanuera Schaafhausen (Year 9, Parnell) were consistently powerful with the ball in hand, creating the space and momentum for the backs to run with freedom. Brock Biddles (Year 9, School), Jacob Webster (Year 9, Parnell), Harrison Cunningham (Year 9, Marsden), and Grayson Owers (Year 9, Marsden) deserve a special mention for their physicality and work at the breakdown — their support running and body-over-ball contest was outstanding throughout.
Half-time saw the game at 24-0 in Kings' favour.
The second half started strong. Harry Davidson scored a well-taken try from a quick kick-and-chase off a St Paul's error, and Braxton Fletcher (Year 9, Greenbank) added another from a slick backline move to push the lead to 34-0.
Then the game turned. Three weeks off clearly had an effect as King's began to tire — turnovers crept in and tackles were being shed that were not an issue in the first half. St Paul's seized the momentum and scored four tries, converting two, to close the gap 34-24 with the game suddenly in the balance.
To this team's enormous credit, they steadied. With five minutes remaining, they found another gear, reclaimed the momentum, and had the final say — scoring on full-time to seal the win.
A fantastic result, especially with five key players missing and three weeks of inactivity in the legs. This team showed real resilience when it mattered most.
Thank you again to Charlie Crighton and Harry Davidson — you played with great heart and courage.
Colts XV 17 vs 29 Mount Albert Grammar School
Saturday's match versus Mt Albert Grammar School, MAGS 2B, signalled the end of a four-week drought of games for Colts XV as the previous term saw us finish on a bye. With many players still away on holiday, a few of the seniors were happy to help us make up numbers for the match.
Despite the less-than-ideal lead up to the game, Colts XV got off to a decent start, keeping play in the MAGS half for sustained periods. However, as our error rate in our own half increased, so did our opponent's ability to construct strikes out wide — scoring two tries from open play. Late in the first half, Colts' forwards attacked in the form of a series of pick-and-go's, creating a platform for quick hands through the backs to put winger Karter Harris (Year 11, Peart) over for a great finish next to the right corner flag. Captain Ben Wilson (Year 12, Peart) was unable to slot the conversion kick. MAGS were quick to reply with a converted try to bring up the half-time score to 5-19.
Colts went straight into defence mode from kick-off in the second half, conceding two early tries to MAGS. Following multiple phases of attack, Captain and First Five-Eighth Wilson took a quick pass from a ruck to score. Ashton Stewart (Year 11, Greenbank) missed the conversion. Capitalising on MAGS errors, Colts kept applying pressure from set piece and through several phases of attack on the MAGS try line. Hooker Zentyler Hatcher (Year 12, Peart) came close to scoring, evading three defenders. Ever-present No. 8 Patrick Sandlant (Year 11, School) drove over the line for the try with a nifty pick-and-go. His try was converted by an accurate impromptu drop-kick by winger Ashton Stewart.
Colts' Coach Silao Nansen said after the game;
"A wet and cold morning welcomed our boys back from four weeks of no rugby including school holidays. We knew it was going to be a tough battle for the boys with most of the team unavailable to play. We thank the senior boys who filled in to make the numbers, they made great impact. Colts defended well in the MAGS half but missed tackles and dropped catches in our own half, and we struggled to exit well. We were then forced to defend our try line for a better part of the match. Overall, we played well with ball-in-hand, but in the wet conditions we struggled to keep possession."