Monday 6 July 2026
First XV 22 vs 17 De La Salle College
Our First XV showed incredible character in a gritty 22–17 victory over De La Salle College on Saturday afternoon, battling back from an early deficit to secure a crucial, last play win.
It was a challenging start for the visitors, with De La Salle capitalising on early errors and penalties to establish a 12–0 lead. King’s clawed their way back into the contest when a well-structured attack allowed them to shift the ball wide to Leo Kirkland (Year 13, Selwyn), who crossed in the corner. Despite a defensive lapse allowing De La Salle to extend their lead to 17–5, King’s finished the half with momentum. A brilliant break from Naki Kea-Cameron (Year 11, Selwyn) saw him draw in the defender before smartly offloading to Noah Moss (Year 12, Parnell), who dotted down. Ricoh Wilson’s (Year 12, Greenbank) conversion brought the score to 17–12 at the break.
The second spell turned into an intense arm wrestle. King’s dominated possession but struggled to crack the De La Salle defence until midway through the half, when Sam Coulter (Year 13, School), playing his capped match, powered over from close range to level the scores at 17–17. As the tension mounted in the final minutes, both sides had golden opportunities to take the lead via penalty kicks, but both attempts sailed narrowly wide, leaving the game on a knife-edge.
The deadlock was finally broken in the final moments. After a sustained period of pressure and deep penetration into the De La Salle 22 led by Christopher Hatch (Year 13, Major) with a great run and continual forward pressre, Ruka Smythe (Year 13, Parnell) managed to find the gap, burrowing over from behind the ruck to secure the match-winner.Congratulations to both Sam Coulter and Josiah Fifita (Year 12, Averill) who earned their First XV caps following the conclusion of the match.
Reflecting on the result, Head Coach Ian Robinson praised the squad's heart: "I'm immensely proud of the boys. It’s been a season of hardship, but we saw amazing effort today. To step up and deliver a result in a tough place to play... it’s all the boys' result."
The team now heads into a well-earned three-week break to rest and recover, before gathering again to prepare for their penultimate game of the season against Mount Albert Grammar School on July 25, 2.30pm at King's.
U15 Open 15 vs 19 Saint Kentigern College
This midweek fixture against traditional rivals St Kentigern proved to be a tough and highly competitive contest. Despite being heavily impacted by injuries, the King’s boys delivered a performance full of courage and determination that was nothing short of commendable.
King’s started strongly, building pressure through well-constructed phase play. Dominant ball carrying, led by Leo Waide (Year 10, School), created momentum, and it was Leo who crossed the line for a well-earned try. St Kentigern responded with two tries of their own before halftime, capitalising on moments of individual brilliance to take the lead.
The second half became a true arm wrestle, with both sides showing grit and composure. King’s continued to apply pressure, and with just three minutes remaining, Daniel Parker (Year 10, Parnell) crossed the line to give King’s a narrow 15–14 lead. At that stage, the task was simple; maintain composure and close out the match.
However, from the restart, St Kentigern reacted quickly. A well-executed cross-field kick bounced kindly into their hands, allowing them to score in the dying moments and secure a 19–15 victory.
The result was a difficult one to take, and the boys were understandably disappointed. However, given the number of positional changes and injuries, including a new front row, Max Maire (Year 10, Peart) starting his first game at hooker, Mason Bryant (Year 10, School) returning from a four-week injury, Freddie Blagden (Year 10, School) playing through a shoulder issue, and Trey Williams (Year 10, Selwyn) unavailable—the effort and resilience shown were outstanding.
The key learning from this match is our ability to close out games, maintaining control and composure in the final moments.
Viking of the Day: Leo Waide for his powerful return and dominant ball carrying.
Cowboy (Resilience & Determination): Daniel Parker for leading from the front as captain.
Hitman: Kalani Finau (Year 10, Greenbank) for relentless defensive effort under pressure.
U14A 69 vs 17 Waitakere College
A fitting farewell, and a statement of just how far this team has come.
On Wednesday 1 July, the U14A boys travelled out west to Waitakere College's number one field for what turned out to be a special occasion. The game was brought forward from Saturday due to the end of term and a number of players departing school on Friday. More significantly, it was the final game for Coach Saia, who leaves next week for two years to fulfil his Mormon Mission. The boys had everything to play for.
Kings came out with the usual speed and physicality and quickly asserted their dominance. Niko Tipping (Year 9, Selwyn) opened the scoring with a long-range try, followed shortly after by Brooklyn Collins (Year 9, Averill) — and that combination seemed to take the wind out of Waitakere's sails. When Waitakere did threaten on attack, Carter Williams (Year 9, Selwyn) read the play perfectly, intercepting and running 90 metres to score. A brilliant moment.
The Kings forwards, led by Brooklyn Collins, ran with real intent throughout, exploiting Waitakere's defensive weaknesses with long surges and sustained phases deep into opposition territory. Equally pleasing was the width the team played with — the catch and pass was sharp and effective, consistently putting backs into space. Brock Biddles (Year 9, School) capped a well-constructed team move just before halftime, with several passes combining to put him over in style.
Waitakere never gave up and to their credit scored a try from a kickoff error just before the break.
Halftime: 38–5
The second half began in emphatic fashion — Niko Tipping taking the kickoff and running the length of the field to score. From there, the tries kept coming.
Kaal-el Tautari-Clarke (Year 9, St John’s) had his best game of the season, impressing with determined running and committed defence. He was well supported by Sammy Fifita (Year 9, Averill), Emanuera Schaafhausen (Year 9, Parnell), Brooklyn, Harrison Cunningham (Year 9, Marsden), Haupokia Raihania (Year 9, St John’s), and Jacob Webster (Year 9, Parnell)— all making meaningful contributions throughout. Waitakere, who were the bigger team on the day, managed a couple of converted tries when Kings' discipline lapsed, but Kings steadied and continued to respond with points of their own.
The line speed and commitment at the collision point were the defining features of the day. Kings never backed off, and despite Waitakere's size advantage, they were consistently outworked.
There are still areas to sharpen — the rucks and breakdowns in particular will be a focus when we return in Term 3 — but yesterday was a wonderful reflection of this team's growth and improvement.
Seven wins in a row. Top of the table. And a send-off to remember for Coach Saia.
We will come back next term refreshed, and we will dedicate the rest of this season to him. Safe travels, Coach.
U15R 17 vs 17 Saint Kentigern College
In this round of the competition, we faced an evenly sized and well-drilled St Kentigern College U15R team in what turned out to be an absolute thriller.
From the opening whistle, it was a physical, end-to-end battle. Our boys stood up to the challenge beautifully, putting together some great attacking phases and showing excellent structure. Charlie Crighton (Year 9, Averill) continued his fine form by crossing the line for a try, while Sam Williamson (Year 9, School) also found a gap to score and add a conversion.
It was a real test of character as both teams traded blows throughout the match. Whenever St Kentigern mounted pressure, our defensive line held strong, working tirelessly in the tight stuff to force errors.
Ultimately, neither side could be separated when the final whistle blew, resulting in a well-deserved 17–17 draw. It was a fantastic team performance where everyone truly came together as a unit, proving just how much this squad has grown over the season. Well done, boys!