As 2023 comes to an end, the HBHS Mystix Touch team thought we would reflect on what the year has been thus far leading up to the Secondary Schools Touch Nationals in early December.

We began our preparation in Term 1, setting a good foundation of skills and combinations between each other. Our foundation began in the second half of Term 1, where we put together a team of talented boys from different year levels within the school to face a strong New Plymouth Touch team in our annual exchange between the two schools. Despite it being a challenge in each game, HBHS was fortunate to come out victorious winning all three games. Following our win against New Plymouth, our players joined their winter sports codes.

Reuniting again in Term 4, our young men have started morning and afternoon trainings as a team in preparation for our next tournament, at New Zealand Secondary Schools Touch Nationals held in Rotorua in early December.

The team is working hard to perfect our attacking and defensive systems particularly to develop and adapt quickly to the opposition strategies as we play on the field. We have passing, speed and good boxing skills that allow us to focus on specific game knowledge.

As Captain of Touch for 2023, it has been an honour and privilege to lead the sport of Touch this year for HBHS. I would like to acknowledge Mr Hotham, Bayley Waudby and Shanan Tomuri for the continuous support and commitment they have given to our Touch programme this year. I also want to express my gratitude and thanks to all the players who have shown great commitment and dedication to the Touch team.

As my time at HBHS comes to an end, I have my utmost confidence in the future of the Touch programme within HBHS and look forward to following their future success.

Rangiwai Te Hira Lunjevich

Representatives:

Congratulations to Kiwa Rata, Lachlan Ross and Riley Turner who were selected for the Touch NZ Under 16 Development Campaign which took place at the end of September.

Congratulations to Rangiwai Lunjevich and Te Maia Huirama who travelled to Brisbane with the NZ Under 18 touch team to compete in the Asia Pacific Youth Touch Cup. 

National Secondary Schools Tournament Report:

The annual National Secondary Schools Touch Tournament was held in Rotorua in early December, 2022. Our team of 16 went keen and prepared to battle through the intense three days ahead and aim towards our goal of a potential 9th National title. Day 1 of the NZSS Touch Tournament began and although the rainy weather was not in our favour we adjusted accordingly and came out on top of our pool with our first game being against John McGlashan. We were able to get up against the strong South Island side, 6-3, and were able to carry our momentum into our second pool game against Kelston Boys' which we won, 7-3.

Day 2 came around and being the top of our pool meant we were placed into Kaurutanga (Cup) Pool B where we were set the difficult task of four hard games that we needed to win to continue to compete for the National title. An early 9am start against Palmerston North was a tough battle through windy and rainy conditions. The boys were strong and played with heart, but unfortunately lost, 5-6, which meant we needed to win our next three games to stay in contention for the title. Our second game against last year's tournament finalists King's High School was a really hard-fought battle where at one stage we were down 5-2, but we persevered and drew the game 5-5. This meant we were dependent on other results and had to win our next two games. With a rough start to Day 2, the boys knew the importance of the next two games and pushed themselves to new limits in our third match against Westlake Boys' High School, finishing with an 11-5 win. We then continued this momentum into our fourth and final game against perennial rivals Rotorua Boys' High School. With our contention of the title on the line the boys turned up and came out with a dominant 12-3 win. Although we finished the day strongly, the scores from other matches unfortunately meant we would not make the top four playing for the National title, and were placed into the 5th to 8th play-offs. The boys were beyond gutted but knew that the job was not yet finished. Although our main goal had not been achieved, we knew we had to prove to ourselves that we deserved to be in that top four by winning our next two games with big margins to gain a respectable 5th place.

Day 3 began and after a tough pill to swallow from the previous day, the boys came out to prove a point. We knew that the next two games were going to be tough, but we backed our preparation, determination, and skill sets to get us through. Our semi-final game was against fellow Hamilton high school, St John's College. With some of the boys having friends in the opposition team, it fueled our fire even more, and with this extra motivation, we were able to come out on top with a score of 9-6. This meant we were playing for 5th and 6th against familiar opponents Westlake Boys' High School. With this being our final game of the tournament we wanted to finish strong and gain our 5th place in the tournament whilst also competing for our three Year 13 boys who were playing for the last time in the HBHS crest. The boys finished the tournament off strongly with a win over Westlake, 7-5.

I would like to thank our coaches Matua Graham, Mr Bayley Waudby, and Mr Hotham for the countless hours they gave up for the overall preparation for the tournament, for the team, and the boy's individual touch development. They helped improve all of our specific touch skills and also the development in our character and personal values as growing men. I would also like to give thanks to Mr Riley O’Donnell and Miss Jodie Tawa for giving up their time to be there for the boys, helping out around the marae, and providing food. We deeply appreciate it.