Congratulations to the Bluestone Blazers who qualified for the Regional Tournament in Ashburton Thursday 15th June

The Blazers will travel to Ashburton on Thursday 15th June and play the top teams from both North Otago and Mid Canterbury in the Subway Cup.  We will be leaving school around 9.00am and will be returning around 3.30pm.  Parents/cargivers are very welcome to come and support the students on the day.

On Wednesday 24th May the Annual Year 5/6 Rippa Rugby Tournament was held at Alpine Energy Stadium.  This year there was a record number of teams, 27, from primary schools around the South Canterbury Region.

Bluestone entered two teams in this very competitive sporting day.  The teams have been practicing for a number of weeks and were ready to take on the opposition.

The Blazers first game was against Winchester and this proved to be a battle of the speedsters.  It was try for try all game and even at the end of time saw the last play of the game go to Winchester who made the most of it and scored winning 6-5, a great first up match.  St Josephs Temuka was next up and Bluestone found their feet carving up the opposition and winning comfortably 10-3.  However the match of the pool was to be against Highfield who was unbeaten at this stage.  Winning this game could see Bluestone win the pool if other results were in our favour.  Again this match was an open running game.  The support play and team work of the Blazers saw them edging out Highfield 7-6 in an exciting encounter.  St Josephs Point were the last game of round robin and the Blazers confidence was high, out scoring Point 8-4.  After a countback the Blazers were victorious in their pool and they were into the finals.  The formidable opposition was Gleniti.  Word on this team was that they were very physical and this proved to be the case.  However the Blazers stood up to the challenge, putting their bodies on the line and demonstrating mana.  The teamwork, support play and flare of this team was put to the test and at the end of full time the teams couldn't be separated.  Extra time was needed to find the winner and the Blazers kept their cool under some very intense pressure and scored the winning try.  This meant they have qualified to compete in the Hanan Shield Regional Rippa Tournament in Ashburton on the 15th June.  Well done to all.  It was a huge team effort.  The captain AJ Foster leading from the front scoring a whopping 14 tries, closely followed by Kolby Brookland with 12.  These boys were outstanding with their speed and illusive running.  A friendly game between Pleasant Point Primary concluded the day, they were the other team to make the final, they won bragging rights with an 8-4 victory.  Another highlight was that the team were invited to play at half time at the Highlanders v Crusaders game here in Timaru on the 6th July.

The Bombers had a successful day although losing a few close games to miss out on progressing to the Semis.

Their first game against St Josephs Timaru was a close one going down to the wire. Unfortunately we were unable to get over the line losing 5-6. Next up was Sacred Heart. Another tough game with some great Defensive efforts from Jaxon Willetts and Arabelle Shelton kept us in the game but again unfortunately went down 6-8. There was huge improvements from the first game with some great attacking runs from Mackai Sparks, although we just couldn't seem to finish it off to score the vital tries. A tough Gleniti team were our next opponents. They were full of speedsters and this took its toll on a wearing team, losing this game 10-3.

The last game of the round was against Timaru Christian. This was the game that showed the huge improvements the team had made over the day. Some great runs through the middle and excellent defense saw the team win 8-4. Jaxon Willetts and Hayden Washington showed some great attacking skills grabbing 4 tries each. It was a great way to end a successful day for the Bombers.

Bluestone Blazers

AJ Foster, Kolby Brookland, Vinnie Todd, Charlie McIvor, Oliver Redhead, Piper Henry, Emily Toomey, Olivia Park, Tui Wharepapa, Helena Shelton.

Coach: Julie

Bluestone Bombers

Noah Hollamby, Mackai Sparks, Jaxon Willetts, Hayden Washington, Matthew Shaw, Samantha Hogg, Maia Liu, Arabella Shelton, Tayla Hines

Coach: Hayden Inkster