First XV rugby: Kelston Boys’ High claim 1A first-round honours, Silverstream see blue against Napier

While the margin of victory was modest and allowed Sacred Heartto finish with an honourable bonus point, the manner in which Kelston approached the contest suggested they will seldom be out-muscled, out-run or out-thought this season.

Sacred Heart were worthy opposition, and rarely out of range of victory themselves. But Kelston were simply more compelling with their attacking zest, reflected in a scoreline of four tries to two, and after conceding an early penalty, were never again behind.

If Kelston look like a team that has been training since December, that’s because they have. While they had five players on 1A debut in their starting XV in hooker Charles Bloomfield, prop Grayson Pio, blindside Pilitati Aveau, left wing Kahmarley Andrew, centre Mervyn Valentine and exciting right wing Noah Hollands, they played like a unit that has been together for years.

Talbot twins Flynn (halfback) and Max (first-five) operated seamlessly, second-five CJ Poutoa was rugged and inventive, Maddax Bernard ruled at lineout time and openside flanker Zak Schram was often electric.

No 8 Nikau Wright scored Kelston’s opening try out wide on the left, and then came the best try of the day as fullback Jeremiah Toleafoa collected a clever back pass from Hollands and dived over.

Toleafoa was, however, sin-binned for a high tackle shortly afterwards and Sacred capitalised with a try to No 8 Ammon Lavea-Lilomaiava. But a Max Talbot penalty gave Kelston a 13-8 halftime lead and confidence grew.

Toleafoa collected his second try midway through the second spell when he ran onto a clever kick from Poutoa, however Sacred kept it tight with a forward try to Ngawai Amoamo after many phases, and with four minutes to play it was 18-15 to Kelston.

Substitute front-rower MJ Selu entered the contest without a number on his back but made his name with a late try on his 1A debut to make the game safe with two minutes to go.

Sacred Heart skipper Keanu Simpson converted a penalty right on fulltime to ensure the losing bonus point. That’s something few teams will extract from Kelston this season.

For Sacred Heart, right-wing Troy Hola was always a threat. Diminutive new halfback Koia Cook occasionally caught the eye, while their forwards looked good with ball in hand. On the debt side, the Sacred Heart lineout was often dysfunctional.

St Kentigern held on to beat St Peter’s 33-26 in a nine-try fiesta, with the result in keeping with recent historic patterns. St Kentigern have won six of their last nine games against St Peter’s, with five of those matches decided by eight points or less.

For St Kentigern, nippy halfback Keanu Graham cashed in with an impressive three tries, and right wing Owen Lamb nabbed two.

But St Peter’s finished with the consolation of two bonus points, after two tries to first-five Bryce Palelei, and one apiece to winger Jackson Wihongi and centre Tua Tupua’i-Soti.

Tupua’i-Soti is captaining St Peter’s this year and is quite an athlete, deceptively fast with an impressive skill set, and this was his 30th cap.

Defending champions King’s College beat Liston College 38-14, with first-half tries to Year 11 front-rower Kavelle Wiki-Tawiri and No 8 Josiah Fifita and second-half efforts to halfback Ruka Smythe, prop Tehura Marsh, winger Jack Burns and sub James Shaw.

King’s skipper this year is Ricoh Wilson, who notably was also age-group MVP in the Northland Nines rugby league tournament last month, and he started the season with four conversions.

For Liston there were tries to lock Unaloto Ahio and Lee Fesolai, converted by Caeser Chang. Liston are being captained this season by second-five Tasi Tuuhetoka.

Auckland Grammar enjoyed the day’s biggest winning margin, getting home 31-5 over Mt Albert Grammar after leading 19-0 at halftime. Right wing Zac Stanley, younger brother of Nico Stanley, scored a hat-trick of tries, while fullback Louie Du Plessis nabbed two. First five-eighths Ethan Halaapiapi converted three of them. Grammar are this season being captained by hooker Connor Murdoch.

For Mt Albert Grammar, Buster Garner came off the bench and busted through to score a second-half try.

Auckland Grammar have now won 84 out of 142 matches against Mt Albert (who have 40 wins) with 18 draws. Between them the two schools have won this competition 88 times.

The Ant Strachan-coached Dilworth had the day’s closest scrape before getting home 19-14 away to St Paul’s, to record their first win since beating Botany Downs 59-29 on May 17 last year.

Dilworth skipper and centre Solomon Westerlund had a major influence in scoring two tries. Notably, last year Westerlund was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Schools boys rugby league team, along with Dilworth left wing, Steven Live Luatua.

Dilworth’s other critical try came from vice-captain and lock Tupou Veamatahau.

De La Salle scored six tries to three as they beat Botany Downs Secondary College 32-17. A week earlier Botany had beaten Tangaroa College 7-0 in a promotion-relegation fixture.

Auckland 1A draw Saturday (home team first, all 2.30pm unless stated): St Kentigern v Botany Downs, 1pm; Auckland Grammar v Dilworth; De La Salle v Kelston; St Paul’s v Mt Albert Grammar; Liston v Sacred Heart; St Peter’s v King’s College.

On a day of clearcut results, Rosmini College stayed top of the Kyocera-sponsored North Harbour First XV competition on points differential thanks to a seven-try 43-7 away win over Orewa College. Rangitoto College beat Massey 45-3 and Whangārei Boys’ High were 26-0 winners over Takapuna Grammar.

Westlake Boys’ High beat Mahurangi College 40-0, marking the 18th time they have held opponents scoreless in 61 matches since 2022.

Westlake had the luxury of starting Levi Leith and Matt Fleming on the bench. There were tries to mercurial winger Yisrael Tukania, fullback Flynn Holbrook and second-five Aston Fraser, while off the bench Fleming, Adam Watson and Jeff Heta all scored.

North Harbour draw, Saturday (home team first, all 12 noon): Orewa v Westlake; Mahurangi v Takapuna; Rosmini v Rangitoto; Massey v Whangārei. Points: Rosmini 10, Westlake 10, Rangitoto 10, Whangārei 5, Orewa 4, Mahurangi 1, Takapuna 0, Massey 0.

It was happy days in the Waikato as all four of its schools - St Peter’s Cambridge, St John’s Hamilton, St Paul’s Collegiate and Matamata College - recorded first-up wins in the Central North Island (CNI) First XV competition.

In a repeat of one of last year’s semi-finals, St Peter’s came from behind to beat Wesley College 20-12.

Wesley led 12-0 early through tries to lock Pila Tuihalamaka and a brilliant break through the middle by winger Alo Aria. But St Peter’s rallied and replied with a slick try to Brandon Parker, played in by centre Cruz Marra.

Prop Joshua Aukuso levelled the game with a converted try, Marra collected a kick through for St Peter’s third try and all the scoring was completed before half time with a Jack Calcinai penalty.

St Peter’s have now beaten Wesley in their last three games. Before that, the teams were evenly matched, each winning three times and drawing three times in nine meetings. They also tied 22-22 in both 2022 and 2023.

In the tightest finish of the day, St Paul’s scraped home 24-20 away to Lindisfarne College after leading 7-0 at halftime.

Lindisfarne led 20-17 with two minutes remaining, but substitute forward Josh Kibby crashed over the line in the final play of the game to secure the win, with Jackson Hay converting. Earlier two tries to centre Quintus Daniel had kept them in contention.

St Paul’s have won 12 out of their past 14 games against Lindisfarne. But six of those wins were close, with a margin of 10 points or less.

For Matamata it was extra special as they made their debut at this level by winning 46-7 at home to St John’s Hastings. Right wing Dylan Goodwin scored a hat-trick of tries, while there were two apiece for fullback Troy Loveridge and left wing Oni Naitiqatabua.

However biggest effort of the day had to be St John’s Hamilton beating Whanganui Collegiate 34-7 at home. St John’s still have some of their squad in South Africa after a preseason tour there, and in total had 19 players making their CNI debuts.

Pick of the St John’s players was centre Remy Karauna, who chimed in with two eyecatching tries, while captain Sosaia Kaufononga and halfback Riley Eagles were awarded their caps for this match.

St John’s recorded their biggest win over Whanganui Collegiate with a 46-3 victory back in 2022.

Central North Island draw, Saturday (home team first, all 12 noon): Whanganui v St Peter’s; Lindisfarne v Wesley College; St John’s Hastings v Feilding; St Paul’s v Matamata College; Francis Douglas v St John’s Hamilton.

Wellington Premiership champions St Patrick’s College Silverstream suffered one of the worst days in their 95-year history when they were thumped 52-12 in a pre-season fixture against Napier Boys’ High at Massey University in Palmerston North.

Napier, who beat Wellington College 31-12 a week earlier, were even more convincing against a listless Silverstream missing talisman Fletcher Cooper and five other key players. Two other starters were battling the flu.

It’s the first time since a 55-0 loss to Palmerston North Boys’ High School in 1996 that Silverstream have conceded 50 points in a game. That year Silverstream’s annual record, The Blue & White, noted: “Scott Waldrom (Year 11) stood out for his courage, but sadly he was a lone sentinel”. The silver lining was that Waldrom went on to become an All Black.

Silverstream’s biggest loss ever was 70-0 against New Plymouth Boys’ High School in 1992.

Napier, National Top Four finalists in 2022 and Super 8 runners-up in 2023, led 31-5 at half time and reached 50 points with their eighth try in the final moments. Third-year fullback Will Lovatt and sports prefect Riley Winchester each scored twice. Hurricanes Under-18 No 8 Carter Pirie was in barnstorming form.

Napier won only two Super 8 matches in 2025 but pushed Sacred Heart College from Auckland in pre-season, hinting at better prospects this season.

St Patrick’s College Wellington (Town) enjoyed better fortunes, toppling Gisborne Boys’ High 35-26 on Tremain Field, home of Napier Old Boys Marist.

After a 56-17 thrashing at the hands of Brisbane State High School, Town, with eight debutants, started with a flourish, with two well-constructed tries from deep inside their own 22. They led 21-7 at half time and withstood a brave second-half fightback from Gisborne.

Front rowers Noah Leavasa-Tavoi and Xavier Ikin-Manulevu kept their noses to the grindstone. Captain and lock Remy Fitisemanu bustled over for two tries.

The inside back combination of PJ Lalaga and Decodah Silva was elusive, with Lalaga scoring a try along with winger Zack Kimmins, the New Zealand U20 100m sprint champion. Wellington U16 halfback Gia Johnson kicked all five conversions.

Gisborne’s tries were scored by Coen-Theros Brown, Kruze Pomana, Jeremy Bryant and Max Hammond. Manawanui Stewart kicked three conversions.

Wellington College went down to Tauranga Boys’ College 32-19 on Nicholson Field. On Saturday Wellington host Hamilton Boys’ High; Town travel to Hastings Boys’ High and Silverstream face a daunting assignment against Super 8 champions Palmerston North Boys’ High for the Wallace Cup.

Christchurch Boys’ High School will be off Greta Thunberg’s Christmas card list, but will care little after escaping Invercargill with a smash-and-grab 28-22 victory over Southland Boys’ High – Southland’s first defeat on the Les George Oval since 2015.

Christchurch have lost South Island regional finals in Invercargill in 2003, 2017, 2023, and 2025, and instead of suffering the gruelling 595km bus trip from Straven Rd to Herbert St, threw all the chips in and decided to fly for this South Island Secondary Boys match.

Their bold and expensive decision paid off, but not right away. Southland scored first within five minutes, with right wing Will Garrick finishing a methodically constructed attack.

Christchurch soon warmed to their task and, following more phases than metamorphosis, opened their account with a try to lock-come-No 8 Liam Newfield. Trojan Newfield is a third-generation Boys’ High First XV player.

First five-eighths Dougal Grant is quick to sniff opportunities. The Warriors under-17 league representative snatched a 90-meter intercept as the visitors went 14-5 ahead.

Southland Boys’ opposite Matthew Cairns reeled off a 50-22 kick to wrestle the ascendancy back to the locals. Sustained attack helped second five-eighth Finn Hurley crash over to reduce the deficit to 14-10.

The whole game, played in clear and crisp conditions, followed this gripping tit-for-tat pattern.

Christchurch centre William Brown scored before half time to give the visitors a 21-10 buffer at the break. However, two tries from fleet-footed fullback Jack Brook restored Southland’s advantage, 22-21. Southland halfback Charlie Walker and captain and openside Ben Cairns were efficacious.

Brown cemented a regular starting spot as a Year 12 in 2025. He’ll be even harder for rivals to usurp this season, adding another try as well as goal-kicking to his considerable repertoire.

Four goals from four attempts proved the telling difference as Christchurch also challenged successfully for the Trustbank Cup for a record 17th time. With 81 wins in the Ranfurly Shield of South Island secondary school rugby, they are only five wins short of Otago Boys’ tally of 86 victories.

“Fide et Opere” is St Bede’s College motto. It means “By faith and by works” and if those sentiments were ever apt, it was in St Bede’s rally to beat St Thomas of Canterbury College, 31-28 in their South Island Boys’ Schools Network (SIBSN) match in Hornby on Saturday.

Down 28-19 with five minutes left and having lost two games by two points in 2026, three by less than a converted try in 2025, and their last four in a row to St Thomas, the odds were against the Papanui Rd school.

But coach Simon Gunn remained hopeful.

”With about five minutes to go, we gave away a simple penalty near their try line," Gunn said. “It showed we were trying too hard. All that was needed was more patience and trust.

”We had 20 entries into their 22 throughout the game. We underachieved in converting those chances into points, with average carry height and pressure from them at the breakdown. If we held on to the ball, the points would come. It’s very hard in First XV rugby to defend for long periods in your 22.”

Sure enough, St Bede’s advanced into the red zone again and eventually burly prop Lewis McCormick squirmed over beside the posts, 28-26.

St Thomas dispatched the restart inside the visiting 22. With 13 phases and 24 passes, St Bede’s were back within striking distance. St Thomas infringed, and a player was sent to the sin bin. St Bede’s launched again. After 10 phases and 14 passes, midfielder Robbie Corlett was unmarked and went over untouched on the wing.

“Robbie’s Year 13, a great kid. In the build-up to the try he made two key carries that really got us moving. His dad is former Taranaki hooker Laurence Corlett. Our whole bench really contributed.”

Between 1983 and 2019, St Thomas only beat St Bede’s twice. Since 2019, six of the games between the schools have been decided by four points or less.

Former All Black Mark Hammett, Crusaders Super Rugby champion Johnny Leo, and current coach Kieran Coll are among the coaches at St Thomas who have successfully integrated the national championship-winning rugby league talent into union.

It was a combination of orthodox rugby, a freight-train rolling maul, and league ingenuity that powered St Thomas 21-7 ahead at half time and 28-19 until late in proceedings.

Centre Christiano Elia and fullback Rei Shirakawa benefited from the initial indentation of the maul. Halfback Nikora Mata’afa galloped clear in a style reminiscent of Harry Grant. No 8 Tyler Rush zig-zagged like bumper cars at Rainbow’s End before his try, one of several clattering charges he made.

St Bede’s weren’t afraid to chance their arm, often looking likely but lacking accuracy. First-five Simon Kneebone shows the benefit of 20 previous games while No 8 James Allison, with his tidy blonde hair, looks and plays a little like Pieter Steph Du Toit. His charged-down try, the first of the second half galloping 40m, was an opportune moment in a game now decided by the slimmest of margins.

“Our schools have similar Marist values but different identities, which makes this game really special. I’ve coached with Kieran at the Crusaders Under-20s, and we were both pretty positive about our teams. It was a great advertisement for the new competition,” Gunn said.

On Saturday St Bede’s host Timaru Boys’ High, who started their SIBSN campaign with a surprise 41-24 win over Southern Schools Rugby championship runners-up King’s High School, Dunedin. Winger Taniela Tuli bagged a hat-trick for Timaru, Oliver Walsh celebrated a double for Kings.

In stand-alone Miles Toyota Premiership matches, Shirley Boys’ High defeated Marlborough Boys’ College 27-21 for the first time since 2022. Nelson College rallied from 21-0 down to beat St Andrew’s College 31-28. In last year’s corresponding fixture, St Andrew’s won after trailing 22-0. Nelson’s Year 11 prop Cooper Burling was an unlikely hero with two tries.

While Auckland schools shy away from media on the rugby front, the new South Island Secondary Schools Boys Network (SIBSN) is going to great lengths to make media an integral part of their inaugural First XV season.

Kale Emery of Sportway New Zealand, a subscription-based company live-streaming matches, says students will participate in commentary, editing highlights, learning the technology and supporting production.

For example, during the St Bede’s College versus St Thomas of Canterbury College match, which was also broadcast live on TVNZ Duke, St Thomas sports captain Jack Murphy served as an effective co-commentator.

Despite his school’s heartbreaking loss, conceding two tries in the final five minutes, Murphy remained gracious and shared many insights about his classmates.

Did you know No 8 Tyler Rush is a New Zealand age-group softball representative, while second five-eighths Hemiata Togia and captain Caleb Fidow play for the Warriors Under-17 Harold Matthews Cup team?

Remarkably, combined with Māori Active’s YouTube coverage of the Central North Island and the new South Island broadcasts, it was possible to watch seven First XV matches more or less at the same time on Saturday, with the Super 8 having not even started yet.

Meanwhile, St Bede’s and St Thomas were competing for the John McKendry Memorial Cup, named after the player most valuable in the Christchurch senior competition for three consecutive years from 1892 to 1894.

McKendry, originally from Ireland, had eight children, including Rosaleen, a Canterbury netball representative and great-grandmother of renowned former All Whites captain Ryan Nelsen. The trophy has had strong Marist connections since 1952.

But on the broadcast front, it was harder work for effervescent gravel-throated Donnie Bell watching Christchurch Boys’ and Southland Boys’ far away from the Les George Oval in Invercargill.

Unreliable team sheets were complicated by poor-quality footage, captured by an AI camera that forced viewers to squint to see the numbers. Still, it was better than King’s High and Timaru Boys’ High match, which showed only pictures.

Incidentally, May 29 marks 100 years since the first radio rugby commentary in New Zealand, by Allan Allardyce on 3AC from Lancaster Park, Christchurch, in 1926.

The occasion was a charity match between High School Old Boys and the Christchurch club. Allardyce wasn’t universally popular. There were concerns his broadcast might deter some spectators from attending. He also reported one race meeting from the top of a haystack to avoid getting in the way of race-goers.

In 2022, John McGlashan College represented the South Island at the National Top Four. Ben Joseph, Jack Timu, and Felix Mauger, sons of former All Blacks Jamie, John, and Aaron, were in the team along with Max Hore, a nephew of former All Black Andrew Hore.

By contrast, in the opening round of the 2026 Southern Schools Rugby Championship qualifier on Thursday, John McGlashan were stunned 19-17 by comparative minnows Central Southland College after leading 12-0.

Historically, Central Southland have normally only got to play John McGlashan’s Second XV but made the most of getting a crack at the First XV.

Central Southland won a respectable nine of 12 matches in 2025, finishing as Division 4 final winners over King’s High School 2nd XV. Their best players include prop Jakeb Everest and loose forwards Alfie Cowie and Mason Maguire.

The co-ed school, with about 680 students, opened in 1965, replacing the old Winton District High. Though not renowned for rugby, Winton has produced two All Blacks. Flanker Ron Ward played two tests against the famous 1937 Springboks, served in WWII, and later coached Southland to Ranfurly Shield success against Taranaki in 1959.

Hooker Charlie Woods played 14 of the 36 matches on the All Blacks 1953-54 tour of the UK, France, and North America. He was so popular with his teammates, gun fullback Bob Scott allowed Woods to kick a conversion, his only points for the All Blacks, against Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.

In other matches South Otago recorded a 21-17 win against Hokonui Colleges, and Dunstan High School accounted for Taieri College 24-0. Waitaki Boys’ High School crushed Mt Aspiring College 52-12 in Wānaka and St Kevin’s College beat Cromwell College 43-36 in Oamaru.

# Readers are invited to send their first XV rugby updates, news snippets and hot takes to nzschoolboyrugby@gmail.com.