Havelock North High School rugby has struggled
in recent years. With a lot of rugby playing boys
attending other schools in the Bay, we have always had trouble maintaining a full squad for the
teams competing across different divisions. This
year however, was a step in the right direction.
With the introduction of a school rugby committee comprised by parents, staff and students the
management of our F Grade, E Grade and 1st XV
teams was much more organised.
Our 1st XV rugby team couldn’t have asked for
a better start to the season, with a 24-12 win
against Taradale High School. We carried this
momentum into the rest of the season against
strong opposition in the Unison Shield Challenge.
Unfortunately, we found ourselves just short of
victory for most games throughout the remainder Rugby Boys 1st XV
of the competition, with the exception of a 29-29 Back Row: Mana Wilson, Kyle Lowe, Andries Lindeque, Dhayton Patea McKenzie,
Aidan Houghton
draw against Karamu High School.
2nd Row: Mr K. O’Leary (Coach), Jack Tichborne, Ethan Mangakahia Mclean,
The highlight of the season however came at the
Robert Fridd, Christopher Park, Kevin Gee, Ryan Murphy,
Mr G. Ford (Coach)
annual Tawa College winter sports exchange early
Front Row: Jack Manopwong, Robert Barker, Darcy Garland, William Wallace
in Term 3. This was the first time in several years
(Captain), Benson Wakefield, Zahn Philip, Reid O’Leary
that the 1st XV rugby fixture had been included, Absent: Reuben Jones, Babroe Moetu, Issac Waihi
following the withdrawal by Havelock North, as
our teams simply weren’t strong enough. Despite
the 59-12 defeat we exceeded the expectations of
everyone in the school community, as we put up
a solid performance against the Wellington 1A
team.
Our E grade rugby team, led by year 10 student
Benjamin Hulena, took everyone by surprise.
Finishing the season with a 45-12 victory against
Wairoa College they placed 3rd place in the 1st
Division E Grade competition. Our F Grade boys
also put in a consistent effort throughout the
year. Without a doubt I think we can expect our
school rugby only to improve, with a large group
of 1st XV members returning and high performing junior teams carrying momentum into the
2016 season.
Rugby E Grade
Back Row: Jasper Blokker, Ethan Snow-Smith, Felix Ciochetto
2nd Row: Mr C. Mellors (Coach), Zane Shadbolt, Aiden Barnshaw, Tom Klingender,
Gabriel Coleman, Mr B. Wallace (Coach)
Front Row: Jacob Mellors, Harry Young, Benjamin Hulena, Kavahn Dehar,
Mathew Burden
Absent: Jack Morgan, Royce Phillips, Anton Weihahn, Jordan Hide, Jack Ledword,
Tyreese Topiata