The third podium finish in three years for this hardworking group of Touch players!

In December, when other students had finished for the year, the Senior A Touch team travelled to Rotorua to compete in the Secondary Schools Touch Nationals.  The players realised how lucky they were for this tournament to be going ahead in its usual format, when so many others had their events cancelled.

Due to flight changes, the majority of the team travelled up a day early which enabled us to settle in, train and see the sites!  Kerosene Creek and the Wai-o-tapu geothermal areas were a highlight!

The team was vastly different from the team that won gold in 2019, and silver in 2020.  There were 10 students who were debuting at Nationals, with only six players returning.  This was a very inexperienced team, topped off by our Year 13 students, Maia Joseph and Jess Cowie.

Pool play was a tussle and the team knew they needed to win the pool to move into the top half of the draw.  A 5-2 win over Rangi Ruru settled the nerves, followed by a 6-4 win over Marlbrough Girls' and an 8-6 win over Rotorua Girls'.  

We moved into the top half of the draw into a pool of five, needing at least three wins to move into semi-finals.  We knew this day could go either way - all the teams in our pool were top-four contenders, but we just needed to take it one game at a time.  First up were Nga Taiatea where we produced a close win 5-4 over this classy Hamilton wharekura.  St Orans were next, Columba coming out 6-3 winners.  The third game was against a classy Westlake, who were the team we knocked out of pool play last year.  Westlake beat us 7-4, making our final pool game a must-win.  We played Sacred Heart, and the scores were tied 5-5 with 2 minutes to play.  Maia Joseph set up the play and threw long to Zara Pratley on the wing, who scored sending us into the semi-finals!

Our semi-final was an 8.00am game on day 3...a very challenging game for our team.  Hamilton Girls' High School knew to respect us, as we were their opponents in the 2019 grand final.  Hamilton fired right from the starting hooter and did not let up, coming out convincing winners and deserving their place in the final.

This set Columba up against St Kentigern College in the bronze-medal play-off.  St Kentigern are also old rivals, with Columba beating them to the gold medal in 2018 and knocking them out of the semi-finals in 2019.  The team knew they needed to play better than their semi-final, and wanted to win for the Year 13 students who had been in the team since they were Year 9.  The first half was a tight tussle, with Columba leading 3-2 at the break.  In the second half we really showed our skill and commitment, pulling away to win 8-4 and take the bronze medal!

Special mention goes to our Year 13 students:  Maia Joseph, Jess Cowie and Olivia Fowler.  Olivia, having been in the team since she was Year 9, and representing New Zealand last year, was unable to play as she continues to recover from serious injury.  Olivia travelled with the team and took on the roles of coach, manager, mentor and general helper, always with a smile on her face.  This must have been extremely difficult to watch from the side-line, and we admire her commitment and dedication to Columba Touch.  To Maia and Jess, your skills and experience guided the team throughout the tournament and that will be very difficult to replace!  We wish the three of you all the best for your next adventures - we know we will see you around the Touch field.

Thank you to all the parents who were able to make the trip this year with all the uncertainty.  Having supporters on the side-line when we are so far away from home does not go unnoticed.  It is greatly appreciated by the players and management to have you all around.

2021 is another exciting year for Columba Touch...what a game!