So good to see a rugby team team back in green for the 2023 season.

The number of rugby players here at Burnside High School can fluctuate from year to year so we work closely with the Burnside Rugby Club (BRFC) to make sure that all our players get on the field each year. In the last few years,  all the teenage teams at the club have been called Tī Kōuka to recognise the importance of the cabbage tree to both the club and the school.

This season we had a strong showing of players in the BRFC U14, U15 and Senior Boys (U18) teams, with the U15 team almost entirely coming from Burnside High School (20 from 22 players).  When the club realised that they might have been short on teenage sized jerseys the perfect opportunity presented itself to put one of the teams in school jerseys; so this season the U15s played in school jerseys and club socks. This look is referred to as the Christmas Tree strip and we hope to see more of it in coming years!  Fantastic to see the Burnside High green back on the field.

It was a successful season for all the teams, with all teams getting to experience finals footy:

• The U14 Tī Kōuka team played in Division 1 of the U14 competition, narrowly missing out on a win in their plate final.
• The U15 Tī Kōuka team played in Division 3 of the Metro competition, winning their plate final against Merivale Papanui.  
• The Senior Boys (U18) Tī Kōuka team played in Section 3 of the Senior Boys grade, and after a rocky start to the season made it all the way to the section final, losing by only one try to Christ's College.

Congratulations to the following Burnside High School players who won awards at the recent teenage rugby prizegiving at the Burnside Rugby Club:

U14 Tī Kōuka:
Back of the Year - Duce Kava
Forward of the Year - Aisake Samisone
Team Player of the Year - Noah Packman
Most Improved - Harry Doody

U15 Tī Kōuka:
Back of the Year - Johnny Kearney
Forward of the Year - Alex Guillemot
Team Player of the Year - Ollie Upjohn
Most Improved - Mason Austin-Fletcher

Senior Boys Tī Kōuka:
Team Player of the Year - Max Fisken
Most Improved - Sam Vunituraga

Club Awards:
Courage Cup -  Sam Vunituraga
Most Improved - Brooklyn Cunard
U16 Most Dedicated Player - Lachie Smallridge
U15 Players Choice - Josh Lamont
Best Conducted Team - U15 Ti Kouka

If you are interested in playing rugby for Burnside High School please make sure that Mrs Guillemot in the Sports Office knows.  Our numbers at school are steadily growing and we would love nothing more than to be able to form a Burnside High School 1st XV team in 2024.