It all started to kick in after our game against Mid Canterbury Combined. It was finally here. Only 5 days out from the biggest day on the school calendar. No injury, no illness, I had finally made it to college week.

The mood around the school that entire week was electric. Watching the stands go up and camera crew set up around the ground, only made the week that much more special and exciting. We felt like superstars, getting interviewed throughout the week from different media stations and even getting hammered by our own teachers with questions about what was going to happen later that week. Everyone was only thinking of one thing, it wasn’t how the team was going to perform, it wasn’t about the occasion that was to be held, the only thing that was going to be remembered of that whole week is the score that’s engraved into the Jock Hobbs Memorial Trophy after the game. Training picked up another level that week. You would definitely say ‘the boys were fizzing.’ Every pass was seeming to stick, everyone was getting themselves into the right places in our shape, everyone was showing that little bit more effort in the gym. There was a different vibe to our team that week, you could feel that we were gearing up for our big day.

It finally reached game day. 30th May, 2019. The pressure when I woke up was indescribable. My mind was going all over the place. At some moments that morning I was thinking about the good things, my post game speech as the winning captain, a try in front of our crowd, or simply hearing the roar from my schoolmates as I lead my team out in front of thousands of people. But then there were the other thoughts, the negative thoughts, as my mind would wander off to the evil part of my brain. I would think back to two years ago, little Year 11 me watching the ball sail over the sideline for College’s first win in 16 years, and I was part of it. I was not going to let history repeat itself on our home patch again.

As captain, I had the honour of reading out the names of the players at our traditional College Match assembly. It started with Ollie Lewis, our only other third year player, and finished with Jack Sandford, playing his first College match at only 16 years old. Two players at completely different ends of the scale, but with the same dream and hunger for what was to occur that day.

The first two periods that day were frightening. The last thing that I want to be doing on game day is probability concepts in statistics, but it’s a great recipe to keep my mind off the game. I got through the books and our team headed off to lunch, kindly provided at the Hostel. We were met there by Will Jordan, a current Crusader who played in the record breaking 80-0 game in 2015. He told us that it was important to stay as a team throughout that whole day, and that little conversations will help keep everyone on the same page without the pressure and fear that was presented with the tradition. After beating Harri and Rusi at FIFA on the PS4, we made our way back to school to the changing shed. We were met by our classmates who gave us their last bit of advice for the game, piling on the pressure while doing so. I was then called over for my first interview with SKY. You could say that I’m much more comfortable with a rugby ball in my hand rather than a microphone held up to me. I wasn’t even sure of how I was answering Craig Cummings questions, but I think I repeated myself about four times in the process.

With an hour until kick off I was getting through my final routines which I do every other week, but this time, it didn’t feel the same. I put on Kalyn Ponga’s game day playlist and taped my wrists while I put on the rest of my gear and headed out for a kick on the field. With the crowd already flooding in and making a ruckus, our warm-up was terrible. Everyone’s eyes glued to the field. I could see in my teammates eyes, the fear that they were feeling for the game. Mouths glued shut, eyes peeled on the fans, no one’s brains switched onto the game, and it was a virus going through the whole team. Going back into the changing shed made it all normal again. It was just our brotherhood surrounded by four walls. No distractions.

I put my jersey on and thought about the people who have been before me. Dan Carter, Anton Leinert-Brown, Owen Franks, Andrew Mehrtens, playing in that exact same jersey that I was today. It was time for my last speech as captain, I’m not much of a motivational speaker, but I didn’t think that I’d need to say anything to motivate the boys that day. I talked about how fast the game will flash by, but to soak it in, and enjoy every moment of it. As an individual, as a school, but most importantly, as a team that was going out in battle that day. For the 136th fixture against Christ’s College.

The game was very much a blur. I remember being held by SKY TV for what felt like an eternity to leave the shed, then crouching under the sideline rope to lead my team out in front my schoolmates. Walking across the dead ball line was a feeling I could never describe. The goosebumps shivered up my body like I’ve never felt before. I don’t want to sound clichéd, but I literally couldn’t hear myself think at that time, I was almost shedding a tear. After placing my cap and doing the haka, it was kick off.

College started with a hiss and a roar, going the length of the field, phase by phase, but our solid defence held strong, eventually resulting in a turnover. We weathered the first storm but the confidence in that College team was nothing to be reckoned with. My first big decision was a penalty that we had earned 45 metres away from the posts. I’ve seen Ollie kick these every day after training, so I pointed to the posts, and to no surprise, the flags went up and we went to a 3-0 lead. We had grown an arm and a leg after that, and it rolled into some good field positions and we were camped in their 22. I had another decision to make, we earned ourselves a penalty and I believed we had them on the ropes, so I decided to kick for the corner, much to the excitement of my teammates around me. We had Fabian Holland and Jamie Hannah in our lock pairings, towering over anyone else on the field, and to no prevail they pushed the maul over the line and Cam Henderson stood back up with the treats. The rest of the first half was a dog fight, with the breeze behind us but no pill, we were getting frustrated heading into halftime only 10-6 up.

Arch only had one message at half time. “Don’t lose the ball, and run hard. Don’t lose the ball, and run hard.” I swear he repeated it at least 10 times and it was drilled into everyone’s head. So, we did just that. The second half was one of the best performances I’ve ever been a part of. The speed and tempo of the game had ramped up another gear and I was blowing! Going from sideline to sideline just passing the ball to my boys and watching them play a brand of rugby I’d never seen. It was Harlem Globetrotter stuff. Callum Simpson was kicking grubbers to himself and Ben Lopas was even finding himself in open pasture with a number 3 on his back. We scored a heap of points in the second half through a bit of flair but a heap of determination and hunger. As a result, we got out to a comfortable lead and I was finally subbed off with 5 to go, absolutely knackered. Wishing my replacement Bailey good luck and to enjoy the occasion, I left my final college match to the applause of the crowd. It was quite a weird feeling. The game was in the bag, but I still had a shallow feeling within myself knowing I won’t be able to live that game again.

After the final whistle blew it was time to celebrate with my team, my brothers. I thanked our referee George, before shaking the hands of the opposing College team. Then again making our way down the line of our own players and coaches. Every person having a smile glowing from cheek to cheek. Our schoolmates didn’t charge the field after the game, they let us have our moment to celebrate as a team and now we got to celebrate as a school. We reached our supporters and what a vibe there was. The loudest school song I’ve ever heard and pure elation around the field. I got out of the mosh for a second and found my family, watching on as the school celebrated another great win. Inside the changing sheds was a different beast. These were the guys you went to battle with, so the celebrations were that much more special. We sang our team songs and thumped on the walls. We didn’t care what anyone thought of us, we’d just had the best days of our lives.

Max Hughes

Note - Max had his 50th game for school on Saturday 10 August vs Lincoln Combined