10 boys and two support staff flew into Wellington on Sunday morning and drove up the Kapiti Coast to Palmerston North for the 50th National Secondary Schools' Championships.

First stop was our accommodation which blew us all away. We were staying at Massey University’s Rugby Sports Institute. Every manager’s dream; free washing, recovery pools and most importantly, meals catered for on-site. With tea times varying from 4:30pm up to 10:00pm depending on the vagaries of the draw and the team's duty load, having meals on-call was essential.

The tournament hosted 177 teams from all over NZ. Eighty four boys’ teams and ninety three girls’ teams. Last year’s national champions were in our pool and we had them first up. We started off a little star stuck but quickly got into our work. Great work at the net on defence slowed down their big hitters and the subtly and finesse of our players started to shine. We pushed them in every set but went down in the end. 

We now needed to win both of the other two games in our pool to go through in the top half. Tight wins over Taupo-nui-a Tia College and Whakatane High School B, enabled us to reach our first goal. Securing a position in the Division 3 section of the tournament.

The cross-over games against Auckland Grammar School, Lincoln College (winners of strangest haircuts at tournament) and Taradale High School saw us finish 3rd in the pool and in the fight for 13th to 16th in Divison 3. We had come into the tournament seeded 63rd and we exceeded this ranking by 17 places finishing 46th overall. 

The highlights of the week included avoiding the norovirus outbreak, cheering on Otago Girls' High A School to a crucial win and, of course, the Division 1 final. Watching the top teams was a real eye opener for the boys which has resulted in a group of very motivated Year 12’s desperate to get back next year and compete in Division 1.

Every member of the team stepped up and it would be remiss of me to mention names. Andy Campbell was perhaps the most knowledgeable coach at the tournament and he was often seen in in-depth discussion with other coaches looking for an edge over the opposition. Belinda Ryan paid her own way to the tournament but was absolutely invaluable in helping the team management, producing lunches worthy of a Michelin star and taking a huge number of impressive photos.

Tour Manager

Garry Turner