Roncalli Boys & Girls represent at the South Tournament hosted in Timaru.

On Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 March the Roncalli Under 15 boys and Under 19 girls sevens teams competed in the South Island Secondary Schools Rugby Sevens championship at Alpine Energy Stadium here in Timaru. Both grades consisted of 8 teams, with pool play taking part on the Tuesday and playoff games on the Wednesday.

The Roncalli Under 15 boys team played 3 pool games on the Tuesday, going down narrowly to 12-10 to Ashburton in the first game, before surrendering a half time lead to St Thomas’s to lose 15-10 in the second game and going down 24-5 to Nelson Boys in the third game. In the playoff games on Wednesday the boys lost to both St Andrew’s College and Nelson Boys. This was a good first hit out for the member of this squad and despite not winning any games, the team showed a lot of courage and commitment, often against much bigger opposition. Special thanks to the coaches of this team Simon Richards and Sean Breen, and manager Lisa Richards for giving up their time.

Roncalli Boys Under 15 Seven’s Team:

Ollie Richards, Jarrod Phillips, Petelo Faha, Michael Kotobalavu, Sam O’Driscoll, Hayden Kerr, Max Taylor, Adam Currie, MacKinley Ayers, Angus Rooney, Harper McKerrow, George Laing.

The Roncalli Under 19 Girls Sevens team started pool play on Tuesday with two losses first up to Kaiapoi and Christchurch Girls, although both of these games were relatively close and girls showed lots of improvement throughout. In the final game of the day the team beat Riccarton 15-10 with some spirited defence saving them on several occasions. On Day 2 the girls team faced Villa Maria first up and had a comfortable 15-0 win, putting them into the 5th and 6th playoff game against Riccarton. The team showed excellent defence and tenacity against a much bigger team, and after holding Riccarton out on several occasions close to their own line they managed to score 5 well worked tries to run away 25-0 and claim 5th place in the tournament. This team showed a lot of potential and improvement over the two days and will take a lot of confidence from this tournament into their 15 a side season. Special thanks to coaches John Gregan and Brad Sandri, and manager Debbie Waldron for their support of the team.

Roncalli Girls Under 19 Sevens Team: Anna Gregan, Sarah Waldron, Oksana Volkow, Grace Rossborough, Mia Harding-Richardt, Olivia Black, Ruby Sugrue, Egypt Te Whatu (MVHS), Hayley Tinkler, Ella Sugrue, Liz Thompson.

Special thanks also to our two student referee’s who assisted with this tournament, Lleyton Phillips and Toby Scannell, who both did an excellent job officiating in this tournament.