In early April, Christchurch Boys’ High School was very privileged to host Paarl Boys' High School from the Western Cape in South Africa. Paarl BHS was established in 1868, with a current roll of 850 boys, and has produced 20 Springbok players in its time, making it South Africa’s most notorious rugby school.

Their tour began with a 24-8 win over Sacred Heart College in Auckland, followed by a 73-3 thrashing over Gisborne Boys’, and on Tuesday 7th April, they had a convincing win over Nelson College 87-12. Being National Champions for the past 2 years, and going 48 games undefeated worldwide, the school community was unsure what to expect, so a full grandstand for the first preseason game was exciting.

Coaches Rob Smith, Mr Porte and Mr Archibald named a Development 1st XV side for this fixture, meaning the team was still not completely decided, with the official squad to be named. However, with 14 boys, ranging from Year 11-13 on debut, it was always going to be intriguing to see how the rather inexperienced team gelled together.

FIRST HALF

Angus Tucker scored first, less than 10 minutes in, after good team structure allowed CBHS to put Paarl in their red-zone, where he drove over the line to score his first try in the new Kukri 1st XV strip. Tucker’s try was backed up quickly by Corban Harding, followed by Adam Reid within the next 10 minutes. It was clear that Paarl’s consistent handling errors and penalties around the breakdown, led to CBHS leading both possession and territory, where the momentous occasion was clearly going against the favourites. A fantastic team try, saw Ryan Barnes run down the wing, and dot down with minutes to spare in the first half. CBHS would have loved to carry a 28-0 lead into the break, however the physically daunting Paarl forward pack drove over the line in true South African fashion to make the halftime score 28-5. Returning first-five from last year, Alex Harford, proved to have the kicking boots on, as he was 4/4 from all angles of the field. With a 23-point halftime lead, over one of the worlds best secondary school rugby teams, it was important that CBHS came back out firing, and didn’t lose the composure and momentum of the first half.

SECOND HALF

Unfortunately, CBHS didn’t get the start they wanted, with Paarl dominating territory in the early stages. A dominant driving maul pushed them over the line within the first 2 minutes of the second half. CBHS fought back immediately with Tahu Kaa running over the chalk, however the inspiration Paarl had gathered from their try, gave them the courage to begin a massive comeback. Our 20+ point lead, 15 minutes in left supporters feeling safe in their seats, still rather amazed at what they were experiencing on Straven 1. However, as Paarl kept scoring points, tensions rose between schools in the crowd, as those in the blue and black moved closer to the edge of their seats. After Tahu Kaa’s try at 4.52pm, the South African’s scored 4 more tries within 20 minutes.

This eventuated to Paarl having a 36-35 lead going into the final 10 minutes. A missed penalty attempt by Ollie Lewis left the South African’s in hysterics, however the game was not over yet. In the final seconds, Lewis was tackled above the horizontal, giving CBHS a penalty within kicking range. Unfortunately, Lewis injured his leg in the play, forcing Alex Harford to return to the field as injury cover. He was thrown into a rather strenuous situation, 35 metres out and time up on the clock. However, Harford slotted the kick to live up to the CBHS First-Five tradition, winning the game for the Blue and Black against all odds and expectations. FINAL SCORE 38-36 CHRISTCHURCH BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL.

My Thoughts

CBHS were unbeatable in the first half. With all the territory and possession, there was not a lot that Paarl BHS could do. The new front row combination of Angus Tucker, Adam Reid and Bob Letiu worked together very well. They were physical on defence, competitive in the scrums (including one tighthead) and attacked very well, breaking the line and gaining valuable yards on a number of occasions. To add to this, they looked fit, all putting in lengthy minutes. The loose forward trio of Isaac Anderson, Ben Colvin and Corban Harding also looked very strong, all 3 brought an exciting attack, whilst securing the ball around the breakdown and defending the staunch South Africans well. Ollie Lewis played very well on debut at First Five, his kicking game was strong as always, finding gaps in the oppositions territory whilst remaining composed keeping the backline running smoothly. Alex Harford was exciting to watch at 12, where Ollie and himself worked together extremely well in the insides. The outside backs communicated well, and looked after their half of the field well on defence, Latham Kelly-Foleni was a definite highlight. To get a victory over one of the worlds best schools, with 14 new caps is something truly amazing. Well done to Max Hughes, Nathan Fahey-Baker, Ollie Lewis, Brigham Riwai-Couch, Angus Tucker, Corban Harding, Hamish Cartwright, Ben Satterthwaite, David Langr, Ollie Carter, George West, Hamish Grey and Taine Lanyon.

Work Ons

Defence was poor in the second half, especially in the backs, way too many tackles were missed which effectively let Paarl back into the game. There were a few too many turnovers at the breakdown, where we were getting outnumbered at the ruck and loosing our ball.

Team: Ryan Barnes, Latham Kelly Foleni, Tahu Kaa, Alex Harford (c), Brigham Riwai-Couch, Ollie Lewis, Louie Chapman, Corban Harding, Ben Colvin, Isaac Anderson, Ben Satterthwaite, Nathan Fahey-Baker, Angus Tucker, Adam Reid, Bob Letiu Reserves: George West, Ollie Carter, Hamish Cartwright, David Langr, Max Hughes, Taine Lanyon, Hamish Gray