It was an agonisingly close final for our National Champion Senior Water Polo team in Auckland on Tuesday.

The HBHS Senior Premier Water Polo team fell tantalisingly short of defending their title in Auckland this week.  The team went through pool play undefeated, beating Rosmini College 20-7, St Kentigern College 14-6, Palmerston North Boys' High School 15-14, and then met Sacred Heart College in the Top 4 playoffs, where they won 12-10.  Our team went on to face perennial rivals and North Island water polo powerhouse Rangitoto College in semi-finals action and won 7-4 to book themselves a final against Tauranga Boys' College on Tuesday the 29th of March.  This match promised to be a tough one, and it lived up to expectations, with HBHS going down 6-7 to Tauranga in the finals.  

Our Division 2 team headed across the Kaimais to contest their NISS Competition where they found the going much tougher.  The team lost to Rosmini College B 1-20, went down to Green Bay High School 6-10 and Tauranga Boys' College B 0-15, before finishing their pool play with their closest fixture, a 5-7 loss to hosts Mount Maunganui.  The team then headed into the playoffs for 7th to 10th place, where they had their first win, 9-6, over Cambridge High School, which put them into the playoff for 7th and 8th place.  Unfortunately, that would prove to be the team's only win as they lost 5-10 to Green Bay High School B to eventually finish in 8th place.

Congratulations to our Water Polo teams and thanks and congratulations to our teachers Mr Rahiti Teokotai White and Mrs Patricia Schmidt for their support of HBHS Water Polo.  A special congratulations to Mr Teokotai White on being named as the 2021 Coach of the Year as well as receiving a Service Award,  and the Senior Premier Team on being named as Team of the Year at the New Zealand Water Polo National Awards.  Tino pai!