Monday 3 August 2026
First XV 36 vs 12 Botany Downs Secondary College
Our First XV closed out their season in a dominant fashion, delivering a clinical 36–12 bonus-point victory over Botany Downs Secondary College.
Both sides launched into a physical arm-wrestle early, trading errors in midfield as they fought for territory. Botany struck first in the 13th minute after sustained pressure inside the King's 22, but the response from King’s was swift and decisive. Direct from the restart, a powerful burst from Bassy Tupou (Year 13, Selwyn) set the platform for Christopher Hatch (Year 13, Major) to crash through. Moments later, the backline took charge, spreading the ball wide off a scrum for Leo Kirkland (Year 13, Selwyn) to finish in the corner. Ricoh Wilson’s (Year 12, Greenbank) sharp boot added two brilliant sideline conversions, including one following a slick lineout play that sent Kirkland over for his second, giving King’s a commanding 19–5 lead at halftime.
King’s turned up the tempo in the second half, highlighted by a stunning length-of-the-field effort. Clearing from a scrum deep inside their own 22, Kirkland launched a 50-metre kick, which Matthias Petelo (Year 11, Marsden) kicked ahead for Kirkland to chase down and complete his hat-trick. James Shaw (Year 13, School) then showed his strength at half back to crash over, before Kirkland capped a remarkable performance with his fourth try of the afternoon, capitalising on heavy attacking pressure to push the score to 36–5.
Botany claimed a late converted try in the dying minutes, but the outcome was already sealed as King’s celebrated a well-earned triumph to wrap up their campaign.
Congratulations to Leo Kirkland and Noah Moss (Year 12, Parnell) for receiving their caps as well as Jamie Ludbrook (Year 13, St John's) for playing his 30th game for the First XV and Christopher Hatch for playing his 40th.
Reflecting after the final whistle, Head Coach Ian Robinson praised the squad's adaptability and composure after a delayed bus shortened their pre-match warm-up.
"Today just showed a lot of resilience," Robinson said. "Our boys didn't get carried away. They were tested in those first 15 minutes, but you could clearly see the confidence grow. It was awesome to go back to what works and finish with a bloody good game of rugby."
Looking back on a rollercoaster season, Robinson highlighted the immense character shown by the group through adversity.
"Regardless of the scoreboard in some games, the growth and resilience week in, week out from these young men has been incredible. For our departing Year 13s, they take some valuable lessons with them, while the young talent coming through sets us up brilliantly. The future is very bright for this team."
1R Maroon 27 vs 31 Westlake Boys' High School 1R
I knew, based on last year’s experience of travelling across the Auckland Harbour Bridge to play the only North Harbour school team in our competition, that it was going to be a really tough day at the office. And so it proved to be…..
I do not normally talk about our referees but the local man that we had, was less than impressive. My boys could have, and should have still won the game, but we lacked discipline at times and we were made to pay for it. Both teams scored four tries each, but the four points difference in the final score came down to the three penalty goals from their kicker. The referee penalised our team time and again but then allowed Westlake to camp offside throughout the match, which nullified any go-forward we were able to muster.
The disappointing thing was, we gained the lead for the first time in the match with two minutes to play but were unable to shut out the match and the referee awarded a try to them in the final play of the game, which was clearly held-up right in front of me. He was uncertain as he was unsighted, but because they had crossed the line, he ruled a try and it was game over. In the first half, we had scored a try, the ball had downward pressure. All of our boys raised their arms with joy, but the ball then came free and one of their players ran off and kicked it downfield and the referee called “play on”…
That was the story of our loss, but we look forward to playing them again in the top-four playoff.
1R Gold 0 vs 57 Sacred Heart College
A tough run out there from the lads first week back. The boys came out against one of the best teams in the league with little time back and it showed, with struggles to gain a foothold and relentless, but unsuccessful efforts to stop the waves of attack. The boys never gave up, however, and still kept pushing till the end of the game.
Saturday's game was also a reason why turning up to training is important, and how the boys will need to show more commitment to the team and their teammates if they want to get that elusive first win.
U14A 31 vs 10 Tangaroa College
A resolute team performance under challenging circumstances.
Travelling to Tangaroa College and playing in front of their passionate and vocal home support, the King's boys knew this was going to be a test. With a number of players injured and unavailable, the side went in with just a starting 15 and no reserves. No excuses — just dig in and trust the preparation.
Tangaroa came out with their usual energy and physicality, but King's met them head-on from the first whistle. The tackling was committed, willing, and set the tone for the entire game. Captain Brooklyn Collins (Year 9, Averill) led from the front, producing a series of massive hits that immediately lifted the team, with his fellow forwards following his example.
Powerful carries from Brock Biddles (Year 9, School) and Kaal-el Tautari-Clarke (Year 9, St John’s) created the platform for Sam Fifita (Year 9, Averill) to cross for our opening try — and he was not done there, adding another before halftime to torment Tangaroa all afternoon. Tu-Ao Hau (Year 9, St John’s) also stood out with what was easily his best performance of the season — his powerful running and strong tackling were a feature throughout. Further tries to Braxton Fletcher (Year 9, Greenbank) rounded out a dominant first period. Half-time saw the score at 17-0 in King's favour.
Tangaroa introduced bigger, fresher legs at the break and came out with renewed intent. Kings responded with outstanding line speed and a willingness to embrace contact — phase after phase was repelled with real commitment. A brief lapse in concentration allowed Tangaroa to score two unconverted tries, but unlike the previous week, King's stayed composed and hit back immediately. Tries to Emanuera Schaafhausen (Year 9, Parnell) and Braxton Fletcher from Tangaroa errors restored the advantage, with Willoughby Wheldale (Year 9, Peart) having an outstanding day with the boot — including a stunning conversion from the sideline.
A huge mention goes to the players who worked tirelessly at the rucks and breakdowns without always getting the recognition they deserve — Freddy Payne-Smith (Year 9, Parnell), Grayson Owers (Year 9, Marsden), Kaal-el, Brock, and Israel Kepu (Year 9, Peart) were outstanding in this area. Special mention also to forwards Harrison Cunningham (Year 9, Marsden) and Jacob Webster (Year 9, Parnell), who were asked to fill in on the wing and never let themselves or their teammates down. Jacob in particular was a standout in the second half, producing several determined and powerful surges to keep Kings on the front foot.
A total team effort from start to finish.
Player of the Day: Tu-Ao, for his best game in a King's jersey. Well deserved!
U15R 12 vs 31 Howick College
Today we travelled to face top-of-the-table Howick College U15R on their home turf. Coming up against the competition leaders, we knew it was always going to be a tough, physical contest.
Despite the pressure, our boys played remarkably well and put together some fantastic phases of play. Our set piece was outstanding—the line-outs functioned brilliantly, winning our own ball every single time and providing a strong platform to attack. The backs showed great intent with some excellent running rugby, creating plenty of momentum across the park.
After a demanding first half, we found ourselves trailing 24–7 at the break.
The boys came out in the second spell and really dug deep, showing incredible fight and keeping the second-half scoreline very tight. Ultimately, just a few missed tackles in critical moments proved to be the difference on the scoreboard, leading to a 31–12 finish.
Special mentions to George Lyus (Year 9, School) and Carter Coppock (Year 9, Peart) for each scoring a try, and to Sam Williamson (Year 9, School) for a successful conversion.
It was a tough result, but a truly great effort from the team against top-tier opposition. Well done, boys!
Second XV 17 vs 12 Dilworth School
King's College 2XV made a winning start to the second half of the season with a hard-fought 17–12 victory over Dilworth in their first match after the mid-winter break.
King's controlled large periods of the game, dominating both possession and territory during the opening stages. However, despite creating numerous scoring opportunities, the team was unable to consistently convert pressure into points. A combination of unforced errors and missed opportunities meant King's went into half-time holding a narrow 10–7 lead.
Defensively, King's showed excellent resilience and discipline, limiting a threatening Dilworth's side of opportunities throughout the second half. A well-worked third try from close range proved to be the decisive score, securing a deserved victory. While there is still room for improvement, particularly in converting pressure into points and improving execution in key moments, it was a pleasing performance and an important win to begin the term.
Attention now turns to the final round-robin fixture in two weeks against Sacred Heart College, with a place in the top four still very much on the line.
MVP: Ruan Tahi (Year 9, St John’s), who was a constant threat with the ball in hand and produced an outstanding defensive performance in the midfield.
Colts XV 31 vs 12 Southern Cross Campus
The Colts XV came away with a convincing win against Southern Cross Campus 2B last Saturday in a game where they dominated possession and territory throughout the match. Overall, the Colts XV defence was sound throughout the match. The forwards carried the ball exceptionally well on attack through multiple phases, combining with the backs who organised well-executed strikes.
Fifteen minutes into the first half, quick thinking Lock Jack Morris (Year 11, St John’s) took a quick tap from a penalty five metres out from the SCC tryline to drive over for the opening try of the match which was unconverted by Centre Wai Lee-Lemon (Year 12, Parnell). Following more sustained pressure in the opposition half, the forwards continued to work hard setting up rucks left field in several phases. Morris was again quick to tap and carry another penalty to set up a ruck. The ball was quickly transferred right field through to Winger Karter Harris (Year 11, Peart) who confidently finished with a try next to the corner flag. Lee-Lemon missed the conversion. From a scrum inside the SCC twenty-two, Colts backs set up a quick ruck midfield then recycled the ball through to Captain and Fullback Ben Wilson (Year 12, Peart) who ran past two defenders to score. Halfback Liam Parker (Year 12, Parnell) converted the try. SCC then scored a try as their Centre kicked through a grubber for their Winger to run on to. The missed conversion brought up a halftime score of 17-5.
Following sustained attacks on the SCC line in the second half, Number 8 Zentyler Hatcher (Year 12, Peart) drove through defenders to score a converted try (Parker) from a pick-and-go from the back of a ruck. Ten minutes later, Hatcher busted through two tackles then sidestepped the fullback to score another great try which was promptly converted by Parker. SCC replied quickly with a converted try under the goalposts from open play. In the dying minutes of the match, Second Five-Eighth Josh McEniery (Year 11, School) pounced on a dropped pass to score the final try as SCC backs fumbled the ball under pressure by a swarming Colts defence. Josh converted his own try.
U15A 14 vs 48 Dilworth School
There were no doubt a few holiday jitters needed to be shaken off, and that showed early, with Dilworth taking control and proving the more polished side on the day.
That said, there were still glimpses of the team we saw before the break, moments of composure, structure, and intent, but they were too few to build sustained pressure. The effort and commitment were there from the boys right across the park, but we couldn’t quite match Dilworth’s speed and execution.
Our two tries came from those positive patches. Max Maire (Year 10, Peart) crossed after strong go-forward from the forwards, rewarding their hard work, and Kalani Finau (Year 10, Greenbank) showed great awareness to take a quick tap and capitalise.
This week is about reconnecting, refocusing, and getting back into our rhythm. The foundation is there, it’s now about consistency and trusting our systems.
Viking of the Day (determination and composure): Hugo Neville-White (Year 10, Averill) - outstanding kicking performance and brave defence, consistently stepping up for the team.
Hitman Award (physical contribution): Kalani Finau - powerful in attack and uncompromising in defence, stopping players in their tracks.
Cowboy Award: (resilience) James Auva’a (Year 10, Peart) - in his first start at first five, he faced the pressures of the role head-on and will grow from the experience.
5A 17 vs 7 Mount Albert Grammar School
“Winning Ugly Works.” – Brad Gilbert.
This was a poor performance but the best result. In his book, ‘Winning Ugly’, former tennis pro Brad Gilbert emphasises the importance of mindset over mechanics, and this was one of those days. Whilst re-reading the report from our first meeting I noted that we had fallen 0-7 behind, but had all the play. Well, this was role reversal. Kings had 2 touches of the ball in M.A.G.S. territory in the first half and both were to place the ball over the try line. It would be an understatement to have the territory stats as 95% to MAGS and 5% to Kings.
The pleasing aspect was the tenacious defence. There were great tackles by Taylor Kijowski (Year 11, School), who tackled, got up and tackled again with metronomic efficiency. There were excellent jackals from Freddie Dryden (Year 11, School) and Jack Freeman (Year 11, School) was imperious in the lineout. In addition, Noah Plowman (Year 11, Selwyn) managed to get under the ball to prevent a try.
There were two priceless moments. The first, when Kings ran the ball from their own 22 and a nice miss move freed up Rocco Hrstic (Year 11, School) who, from our 10 meter line, flew down the wing like a falcon after his prey, and placed the ball under the posts. Captain Hudson Hooker (Year 11, Parnell) converted. The second was similar at the start, as we again burst away from our 22, there was an excellent ruck and James Cunningham (Year 11, Greenbank), channelling his inner Damien MacKenzie, cross kicked to Ed Cormack (Year 11, School), who strolled across the try line.
M.A.G.S., who have yet to win a game this season, were punch drunk, but managed to score a try in the corner just before half time.
The second half started and it was obvious that both teams wanted to open the game up. There was much more to and fro with both teams trying to get the next vital try. Following sustained pressure and good ruck management in the M.A.G.S. 22, the ball was spun left and captain fantastic Hudson Hooker went over for a try, which was unconverted.
There were excellent gritty performances from Zac Ogg (Year 11, Selwyn), Arthur White (Year 11, Selwyn) and Jake Heatherbell (Year 11, Parnell). There were also some drives from the fast improving Olaf Hanson (Year 11, Selwyn) who played his best game of the season. Hugo Colgan (Year 11, St Johns) was unfortunate to be yellow carded but really played his heart out when back on.
The team have 3 games in successive weeks and we start next week against A.G.S and we will need to take the heart of this win and combine it with a much better performance if we are to come close to winning. However, if you can play ugly and win, we will take it.
6A 0 vs 66 Auckland Grammar School 6A
After a number of pleasing results and definite player improvement, our team came into the game versus AGS with more confidence than from our previous performance against them.
Although the score indicates that we were well-beaten by a better team, we did display in phases and at times, the better team we have become. We were unfortunately let down with small mistakes which a good team like AGS turned into points immediately and before we knew it, we were chasing the game. A good number of their tries came from turnovers under pressure in our own half of which they scored immediately. So it’s a lesson on composure and staying in the fight, in these early days of these young men’s rugby journey.
Squad rotations, testing new combinations with boys in and out of camp and a mid week must-win encounter, this game was not about losing but about our learnings. The team battled well in the first 10 minutes without any side scoring but an unfortunate incident were an opposition player was injured and play held up, turned the game for us and we didn’t recover after.
Our team battled hard with Luke Leuschke (Year 10, Peart) and Kade Leighton (Year 10, School) playing with plenty of heart and again plenty of brave tackling from Ollie Knight (Year 10, Major) and Sammy Berry (Year 10, Parnell) in a battle where we unfortunately second best on the day.
Congrats to AGS on the win, we hope we have another opportunity to meet them this year.