Monday 16 June 2025
First XV 23 vs 17 Auckland Grammar School
In front of a massive and vocal crowd, our First XV emerged victorious in a thrilling 23–17 win over long-time rivals Auckland Grammar School, securing the prestigious Cooper-Greenbank Cup in a match that lived up to its historic hype.
The energy was electric from the opening whistle, with both sets of supporters turning up in force for one of the most anticipated fixtures on the 1A calendar. The game delivered on every level - intensity, physicality, skill, and drama - as the two teams went face to face in what looked to be a showcase of the very best in New Zealand schoolboy rugby.
King’s made an explosive start, hitting the scoreboard just two minutes in. A penalty deep in Grammar territory was kicked to touch by Marco Miln (Year 13, Selwyn), and from the resulting lineout, the forwards executed a textbook rolling maul, driving over the line for Charlie Burn (Year 13, School) to score. The try was converted, giving us an early 7–0 lead.
Grammar quickly responded with a penalty to narrow the gap, but we answered back with a successful kick of their own to make it 10–3. Midway through the half, Grammar capitalised on sustained pressure to score their first try and level the match. However, it was King’s who seized momentum once more - Calvin Harris-Tavita (Year 12, Parnell) sliced through the Grammar defence with a blistering run to score. With the conversion added, we headed into halftime with a 17–10 lead.
The second half brought more of the same tension. Grammar levelled the match 10 minutes in with a well-constructed try, setting up a nail-biting final quarter. With the game hanging in the balance, it was Marco Miln who stepped up under pressure, slotting two important penalty kicks five minutes apart to give us a six-point buffer.
Despite a late surge from Grammar, we held firm defensively, displaying composure and resilience to see out the match and claim a hard-fought 23–17 victory.
Post-match, Head Coach Ian Robinson reflected on the significance of the win: “You treat these games like a test match,” he said. “We knew coming in that it was going to be a real battle - and it was an amazing advertisement for schoolboy footy. The atmosphere, the pressure, everything about it felt huge. But our boys showed incredible belief and care in their preparation this week, and it showed out there on the field.”
Robinson praised the team’s mental fortitude and ability to rise to the occasion leading up to the game. “We talked about having to slay the lion before facing the giant, which today was the atmosphere and occasion itself. Credit to the team - they were awesome. I also want to take my hat off to our coaching group. This one’s for them too.”
With the win, we continue our unbeaten run in 2025 and now turn our attention to our next fixture against De La Salle College.
The match will take place at home on Matariki Friday, with an earlier kick-off scheduled for 1:00pm.
2A 17 vs 37 Sacred Heart College
Our 2A team travelled to West Tamaki Road to face a well-drilled Sacred Heart side in near-perfect conditions on their No.1 field.
The visitors came out firing, dominating early territory and laying a strong platform through committed forward play. This pressure paid off with two well-worked tries to Josiah Fifita (Year 11, Averill) and Ben Galloway (Year 12, Selwyn), giving King’s early momentum. Sacred Heart, however, responded well, narrowing the gap to just three points at halftime.
Injuries to key players forced a reshuffle across multiple positions, which disrupted our rhythm in the second half. Despite a gutsy effort and moments of promising play, Sacred Heart capitalised on opportunities and finished with a strong final quarter to edge ahead.
We showed heart throughout and never gave up, but it wasn’t quite enough on the day. Plenty to take away as the team regroups for the next challenge.
A tough result, but the boys will bounce back.
Tries: Josiah Fifita, Ben Galloway
Conversion: Felix Spary (Year 12, Selwyn)
Penalty: Felix Spary
Colts 17 vs 36 Auckland Grammar School
Despite training well in the week leading up to a highly anticipated match against a well-drilled Auckland Grammar School side this Saturday, the Colts boys could not put points on the board in the first half of the game. Play from set pieces worked well, providing plenty of possession from scrums and lineouts and allowing us to gain some ascendancy in the first 10 minutes of the match. However, ball security around the rucks proved to be a challenge for the boys, especially while hot on attack in the opposition 22, preventing this advantage from being converted into points. On the other hand, Grammar took their opportunities and scored three unanswered tries, bringing up a halftime score of 19-0.
The boys managed this disappointment superbly and bounced back immediately in the first five minutes of the second half with Captain Sam Coulter (Year 12, House) breaking tackles to crash over for a converted try by Cale Ngatai (Year 11, School). Grammar replied with another try of their own, not long after, but the Colts were building in confidence and momentum. After a sustained attack in Grammar’s red zone, prop Tyler-Rex Samasoni-Tukuitonga (Year 12, Averill) powered through the opposition to dot down on the line for an unconverted try from Ngatai. Grammar’s reply was gained when they caught us napping off the back of a midfield quick-tap penalty. A brilliant solo try was scored next by Number 8 Max Caughey (Year 12, St John’s) who carved up from halfway to score an unconverted try (Ngatai). Grammar had the final say with an unconverted try.
This King’s Grammar derby took its toll on our Colts XV with a few big injuries. We wish Tyler-Rex and Wingers Ben Wilson (Year 11, Peart) and Will Osbourne (Year 11, School) a speedy recovery.
Tries: Sam Coulter, Tyler-Rex Samasoni, Max Caughey
Conversion: Cale Ngatai (1)
1R Maroon 31 vs 14 Saint Kentigern College
For only our second championship match, we had the privilege of playing on our No.1 field against Saint Kentigern College (SKC), whom we had beaten in a pre-season match on the same field. We started well and created try-scoring opportunities. We were able to complete three of these and turn them into tries to hooker Oliver Whyte (Year 13, St. John’s), No 8 Tommy Farag (Year 13, School), and centre Ryan Rickit (Year 13, School). Daniel Chitty (Year 13, School) converted two of the tries, and we turned around at halftime, leading 19–0. I asked the boys to focus hard on our defence in the second half and to try to keep SKC scoreless.
In the second half, we created further try-scoring opportunities; however, our finishing lacked execution, and several opportunities went begging. SKC, however, started to move the ball around and were rewarded with two converted tries to close the gap to just five points. To our credit, we closed out the match with two well-taken tries to replacement fullback Malcom Barrow (Year 12, School) and one further conversion to Daniel Chitty. The final score was 31–14, and then all the boys headed over to Grammar for the much-awaited First XV match.
Next week we travel across the Harbour Bridge to play Westlake Boys High School for our final game this term.
Tries: Oliver Whyte, Tommy Farag, Ryan Rickit, Malcom Barrow
Conversion: Daniel Chitty (3)
1R Gold 21 vs 21 Sacred Heart
On Saturday, the King’s 1R Gold played against Sacred Heart College on Field 3.
After King’s Gold kicked off, Sacred attacked us with phase after phase and scored in the first five minutes without King’s even touching the ball. So the team reset themselves and the message went out to kick off deep, which the boys did. Strong tackling forced the error, resulting in King’s scoring a brilliant solo try by Archie Gore (Year 11, Selwyn), which evened the score 7-all and stayed that way till halftime. The first half went back and forth with both teams defending and attacking with intent with the muddy and wet conditions making for a stop-start game in the first half.
The second half kick-off saw King’s receiving and immediately made an error, with Sacred scoring on the next play. With Sacred amped and with momentum in their favour, they scored another try to take the score to a 21-7 lead with 15 minutes to go...
Looking a little shell-shocked, our boys rallied with some strong defence and a couple of penalties against them, and they finally started to gain momentum back and with eight minutes to go, King’s scored a try under the posts thanks to Benson Edwards (Year 10, Selwyn), taking the game to 21-14.
The comeback was on and after wave after wave of attack King’s scored the equaliser through Jimmy Berry (Year 13, Parnell) with two minutes to go which evened up the score 21-21. The game wasn’t over and on the ensuring kick-off King’s made an error which resulted in a final assault which the King’s boys held out to claim the draw..
This group of young men have been working so hard on their game and yesterday you could see them putting what they learnt into practice...So proud of these boys who showed great courage, resilience and never gave up even when they were down 21-7. They showed the school spirit and did it for each other, first and foremost. These are a fantastic group of players who are a credit to themselves, their families and their school.
Tries: Archie Gore, Benson Edwards, Jimmy Berry.
Conversion: Archie Gore (2), William Goldfinch (Year 11, Parnell) (1)
5A 0 vs 7 St Peter’s College
This was boys' rugby at its rugged best. Superb defence, great breaks, superb cover tackles and full effort. There were some great performances from Xavier Hazel (Year 11, Averill), Alex Sonn (Year 10, Major) and Jack Long (Year 12, Selwyn), who are the masters of the counter ruck.
The first half would be better described as the first ‘20’ and the last ‘10’. We did not reach St Peter's College's (SPC) half until the 21st minute. There was tackle after tackle as our players repelled wave upon wave of pressure. The exits were a highlight; however, eventually the dam broke, and SPC scored a converted try to lead 7–0.
From the kick off, it was we who took charge, with patient build up and good use of their pods and ruck recycling. At one stage, we went through 12 phases of play. Karter Harris (Year 10, Peart) nearly escaped on two occasions. However, a try proved elusive, and the half ended with the teams evenly matched.
The second half was a more see-saw affair and both sides had opportunities to score. The King’s pack and line out were dominant, with Archie McInness (Year 12, St John's) standing up and standing out. Josh McEniery (Year 10, School) ran and tackled tirelessly. Jett Innes (Year 10, Peart) was noticeable as he charged into contact.
The highlight was Harvey Kitt-Reeve (Year 11, St John's) chasing back and tacking an SPC player one metre from the line. This exemplified the effort of our players. Unfortunately, we could not get that elusive try, and the score remained unchanged from halftime.
The score did not reflect the effort and intensity from each team. This was absorbing.
A huge thank you to Martin Linstrom for stepping into the breach after a referee failed to appear.
This team is close and what better way to break your duck than by beating Auckland Grammar next Saturday.
6A 29 vs 7 Macleans College
The rugby match between our 6A and Macleans College was intense, with Macleans pushing King's to their limits. Despite the formidable challenge, we ultimately secured a decisive 29-7 victory.
Harry Driscoll (Year 10, Selwyn) initiated us scoring with an early try, but Macleans quickly responded with a try and conversion, briefly taking the lead. However, we shifted the momentum for good. Harry scored his second try, converted by Tomas Ibanez (Year 10, School), followed swiftly by tries from Daniel Parker (Year 9, Parnell) and Noah Plowman (Year 10, Selwyn).
Daniel sealed the victory with a final try, again converted by Tomas, solidifying King's College's triumph.
Tries: Harry Driscoll (2), Daniel Parker (2), Noah Plowman.
Conversion: Tomas Ibanez (2)
U15A Bye
U15R Bye
U14A 7 vs 43 Mount Albert Grammar School
An improved application by all players meant a slightly improved result this week. However, defensive mismanagement and some glaring errors that relinquished possession meant we often handed Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) opportunities to score.
After being down 17-7 at halftime, the second half saw four more tries conceded and a final score of 43-7 to MAGS.
Tries: Max Maire (Year 9, Peart)
Conversion: Daniel Parker (Year 9, Parnell)