We are very proud of the achievements of all our rugby players this year!!

It was an exciting finish to the school season, with our 1st XV battling it out with St Hilda’s in the final of the Secondary School Girls 1st XV competition last week.

In the last two years there has not been a final for the Secondary School girls to finish their season, and it was fantastic for all our squad and community to be able to have finals footy back on the sporting schedule. Otago Girls' went into the final in good form, having been undefeated all season and having a big win against Southland Girls' the week before during triangular. St Hilda’s always rise to the occasion, and the last game of the round-robin had been a real nail biter. A large and vocal crowd gathered for the spectacle, and it was great to see healthy sideline support for both teams.

The game was a tense affair, with Otago Girls’ on the defensive early on. St Hilda's persistently tried to chip over the top to test Holly Mount at full back, but found her in indomitable form as she cleaned up and launched into the counter-attack. At half back Abigail Paton delivered great ball for hard running forwards, Nabaya Quaqua and Shakirah Stephens to run onto. In the backs, it felt like every time Te Atawhai Campbell had the ball, she was swamped by four or five St Hilda’s shirts. St Hilda’s continually tried to target the rucks and did gain some good turn over ball as the game got very physical. Otago Girls finally crossed the line to make it 5-0. Sahara Mason made the best of a difficult kick, but couldn't convert.

St Hilda’s were not out of this match though and from the kick-off really harried the OGHS defence, persistently scanning for weakness and targeting the break-down. Sydney O'Leary had a stand-out game in the tight, securing the rucks and putting her body on the line in defence. St Hilda’s though pegged Otago Girls' on to their own 22 and continued to strike from there. A titanic effort on defence finally kept St Hilda's out to keep it at 5-0.

St Hilda’s started the second half with a roar and got into a really good rhythm on attack and finally the pressure got too much and St Hilda's scored, the kick went unconverted. This felt like it was the wake-up call that Otago Girls' needed and spurred them back into action. A good chase from kick off and a line break from Te Atawhai Campbell was enough to allow Otago Girls' to get over the try line for a second score. This was converted by Sahara Mason to take the score to 12-5. The clock seemed to be ticking slower from now on as St Hilda's tried to get into their rhythm. This rhythm was persistently interrupted by terrifying defence from the Veituna twins. St Hilda’s did manage to peg back another try to take it to 12-10, but the conversion fell short. This made the last 15 minutes of the match tense. Fortunately, Otago Girls' managed to hang on and take the trophy.

Our Junior U15 team displayed some entertaining rugby throughout the season, making good improvement under the guidance of coaches Doug Hill and Gemma Millar. They show a lot of promise for the future!! We look forward to seeing how they perform in the U15 Dunedin wide Rugby Tournament on Friday, the 2nd September at Peter Johnson Park in Mosgiel.

A huge congratulations to current students and ex-students, who have been selected and represented Otago Representative Teams this year. We are so proud of you all and look forward to watching your progress through this exciting pathway.

Te Atawhai Campbell - Otago Women’s Spirit Team, Otago U18 Metro Team

Shakirah Stephen - Otago U18 Metro Team

Sydnee O’leary - Otago U18 Metro Team

Ex-students:

Gemma Millar - Otago Women’s Spirit Team

Oceana Campbell - Otago Women’s Spirit Team

Ella Gomez - Otago Women’s Spirit Team

Rebekah Wairau - Otago Women’s Spirit Team

Rawinia Ngamoki-Moana - Otago U18 Metro Team

Erin Adams - Otago Womens Development Team

A huge thanks to our coaches and mangers this year. You have all done a brilliant job, and we have appreciated your knowledge, passion, time and commitment you have provided to our players to help them be the best individuals and players they can be.

1st XV Coach - Ueli Faletolu, assisted during the season by Simon Maole & Erin Adams

1st XV Manager - Mike Jackson

U15 Coaches - Doug Hall & Gemma Millar

U15 Manager - Duncan Trickey

Our end of season rugby dinner celebrations will be taking place for all rugby players on Wednesday 7th September, 6pm-7:30pm at the OGHS gym. This will involve recognising and thanking our amazing coaches and managers, along with the presentation of awards for both our Rugby 7’s Teams, and the U15 and 1st XV teams.

Many thanks to all of our wonderful supporters this season; parents, family members staff, students, friends. It has been great to have you cheering on the players from the sideline and supporting our teams.

We look forward to seeing you all back next year!!