Christchurch Boys’ High School v Christ’s College First XV rugby ‘college match’: CBHS turns down chance to play at new stadium

So it came as little surprise to Headmaster Nic Hill when his students declined the opportunity to play the match at Christchurch’s new $683m covered stadium.

“The feedback from the boys was, overwhelmingly, that the college match belongs at school or college. For them, the atmosphere and being surrounded by their mates and school community is part of what makes the day so special,” Hill said.

Most players will only have one opportunity to play the traditional match at their home ground – some won’t even get that.

Giving up that opportunity, even to play at One NZ Stadium Te Kaha, is a sacrifice too great for those young men. And their supporters.

“One Year 12 boy, who will be in the crowd, said to me that college match feels like Christmas Day. That probably captures the excitement, and anticipation around the week better than anything else,” Hill said.

This match has a history of ignoring form. The 2025 edition was a perfect example of that. The all-powerful Christchurch Boys’ High School First XV arrived at Upper as overwhelming favourites and the match started like Christ’s College had read the script – written by their foes.

But the home side rallied within a point before eventually succumbing 48-38 in a record-breaking scoreline. It was a match that Christ’s never led – but for 69 minutes were never out of, either.

This season’s form guide suggests the hosts will bring similar confidence to kickoff.

Christchurch Boys’ High are unbeaten in 2026 across both the Miles Toyota Premiership and the new 11-team South Island Boys competition.

They’ve chalked up big wins over St Thomas of Canterbury College, Nelson College and Otago Boys’ High as well as a tight away-win over southern heavyweights Southland Boys’ High School. Their most recent match – also at home – saw them come from behind to draw with St Andrew’s College 29-29.

By comparison, Christ’s College are winless and last in the Miles Toyota Premiership and have one win to their name in the South Island competition – a one-point win over King’s High School in Dunedin.

They were flogged by St Andrew’s and Marlborough Boys’ College before running Timaru Boys’ High School close on Saturday – going down 41-34.

The 2025 match wasn’t the schools’ most recent match – they contested the Miles Toyota Premiership final last year at the same venue they’ll grace today. After a giant-killing run to make the final two, Christ’s were given a lesson in wet weather rugby – beaten 52-0.

Both sides will go into the match with a similar number of players returning from last year’s traditional clash. The rest are in for something they’ve only ever seen from the other side of the rope.

For Christchurch Boys’ High School (CBHS), captain Jonty Leary seems to be in everything good that his side does. The hard-working openside carries with purpose and defends like his life depends on it. For a skipper who lets his actions do the talking, he also speaks incredibly well, as evidenced by his post-match interview on Sky Sport over the past weekend.

For Christ’s, centre Hoani-Manuera Kahukiwa adds potency and genuine tryscoring ability to the college backline. Kahukiwa was part of the New Zealand Warriors’ Harold Matthews Cup (Under-17) squad this year and has scored two hat-tricks for his school so far this season. His battle against CBHS centre William Brown will be fascinating.

Form will be forgotten when both teams are swept up in the tribal atmosphere of the annual clash this afternoon. There will be chants, haka, and, quite probably, the pervasive airhorns that seem to have infected every sideline in First XV rugby.

“The atmosphere will be intense and proud. Our job as schools is not to remove that energy, but to ensure it is expressed with self-control and respect,” Hill said.

The event has boiled over in previous years – more so off the field than on it, and most often between past students rather than present. Spectators have even been subjected to breath-testing in the past. It’s a situation that both schools are acutely aware of and proactively address.

“One of the important things about the college match is that the boys, on the field and in the stand, care deeply about it. Learning to handle that emotion with pride and self-control is part of the experience,” Hill said.

One Herald reader has written in several times to ask that the game is not referred to as a “grudge match”.

“Many of my friends and colleagues have expressed their disappointment when your newspaper article last year showed the ‘grudge match’ term. The game has been a ‘friendly rivalry’ for nearly 100 years.

“Each school loves to beat the other school, but we still remain great friends after each game. It is also having ‘mutual respect’ for each school,” the email reads.

The event has been a fixture on Christchurch’s rugby calendar since 1892 (a lot longer than “nearly 100 years”) and it’s as relevant now as it has ever been.

“Only two schools get to host this match, and we are fortunate to share this tradition with Christ’s College,” Hill said.

Christchurch Boys’ High School v Christ’s College at CBHS Number One Field, 1pm today.

Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.