Rugby, Hockey, Ice Hockey, Canoe Polo

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RUGBY REPORT

The Term 3 section of the Rugby season has rushed by and, in most cases, our boys’ season came to an abrupt halt last weekend. Five teams made finals which is one of our best results over the years. Unfortunately every team came second!

A solid season throughout the grades, in a winter where we have been very lucky with the weather and the state of our grounds. Three teams concluded on 13 August: the 14 C team had a titanic high-scoring game with Christ’s B going down 34-35 in a thriller to finish 6th. 

The 14 B team went down 17-34 to Sydenham in their semi-final match, after which we laid a complaint against the opposition not playing by the rules regarding the half-time substitutes. It took the CRFU until the following Friday to decide they could not overturn the result, but it has forced them to look at introducing rule changes to impose sanctions against teams who transgress. While we might not like, or agree, with a rule, we do expect both sides to abide by it, so at least we have had some positive result.

The 16 A team, by virtue of a one-point round robin loss, ended up in a 5th/6th playoff match with St Bede’s U15A. Our boys secured a hard-fought 18-13 victory to finish on a high note and to start thinking about their Under-18 career.

Finals Day on 20 August was a beautiful day for running rugby, on mostly dry fields, although still a bit messed up from the previous weekend’s mudbaths. The 14 A team endured a tight battle with St Thomas before going down 21-32 in the Section 1 Championship. They finished the season as holders of the U14 Challenge Shield.

The 15 B team were runners-up to Sydenham in their Section 3 Plaque Final, going down 10-37.

The 15 A team were blown apart early by CBHS A in their Section 1 Championship, and never fully recovered, and were disappointed to go down 0-59.

The 2nd XV after disposing of CBHS 3rd XV in the semi-final 29-0, struggled against a Christ’s 2nd XV determined to make up for their 1st XV’s loss to our 1st XV the previous week. Going down 12-32 was a bitter pill after a very good season.

The day culminated with a magnificent game at Rugby Park where the 1st XV contested their third Press Cup/UC Championship Final and their second in consecutive years. Both years we had come from 4th after the round robin to force our way into the finals by beating the leading team after the round robin. This year, it had been Christ’s College, beaten 17-14 in a quagmire on Upper. Both teams in the Final scored three tries apiece, but small errors throughout the game created the one-point deficit and we went down 20-21 in a heart-breaking loss.

Congratulations to all the boys involved, especially those in Year 13 who have finished their 1st XV career. You have certainly embellished the record of the jersey and provided encouragement for the younger ones coming through. Special mention must be made of the co-captains Logan Bell (who played his 50th match for the team, which we believe may be a record), and Josh Archer (who played his 46th) who led by admirable example throughout the entire season. Also Cruz Topai-Aveai, who won Player of the Day awards in the semi and final and who was voted by all opposition teams to be Player of the Season. He shared his Philip McDonald Memorial Medal with Cam Russell from Burnside High School after weekly votes were collated.

Team photos will take place on either 21 or 22 September and we will post a timetable when it is available. The Rugby Prizegiving will take place on Monday 19 September in the Assembly Hall starting at 6.00pm. The guest speaker will be Old Boy and former Rugby League coach (Kiwis, Warriors and Wigan) Frank Endacott. All players who represented the school are asked to attend along with parents and supporters, as we celebrate our season.

Finally, a special thanks to all coaches and managers who have prepared and looked after our teams this year, and also to all the supporters who have enthusiastically crowded the touchlines throughout the winter.

John Fox

Rugby Administrator

1st XV Manager

Hockey

Please see below an attachment for the draw for the Johnson Cup 2016 being held in Dunedin,  29 August-2 September.

Ice Hockey

Last week's narrow loss to STAC 12-11 took the SBHS Ice Hockey Team off the top of the League leader-board, so this week the team needed a win over Burnside High to keep them within striking distance of the new league leaders.

The game started well with a quick first period goal from Matheson Graham, assisted by passes from Ryan Fraser and Sebastian Lallemant, but a late end of period reply from Burnside saw the teams go to the first break tied 1-1.

The second period was a close-fought battle with break-away runs up and down the ice, both teams' goalies saving the many 'shots-on' well; Finley Forbes in goal for SBHS.

SBHS unable to get the puck past the Burnside goalie, and another late end-of-period goal by the opposition saw Burnside take the lead 2-1 going into the second break.

Still sitting at 2-1 with 43 seconds left on the clock in the third period, coach Pete Klemick called a time-out. With a plan being put forward by senior players Ryan and Matheson, the team hit the ice desperate for a goal. The puck-drop in our end was won, Matheson wrapped around the back of our net and released a shot high over the goalie's shoulder into the back of the net, drawing the game 2-2

The team, although disappointed not to get a win, were still pleased to take a point for the draw and remain second overall in the league standings.

CANOE POLO 

The Shirley Canoe Polo Team recently competed in the 7th South Island Secondary Schools Canoe Polo Championships. The championships were held at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre in Oamaru from 5 to 7 August 2016. It had been two years since Shirley had sent a team. For four of the current team it was the first time they had played in a heated swimming pool, and even though three of the six team members were new this year, they were all very keen to give the competition a go. It was always going to be a challenge competing in the Senior (Under 19) Open grade, where the Shirley players were definitely the underdogs!

The players practised at Lake Roto Kohatu throughout Term 2, where cold water and air temperatures were an incentive to paddle hard!

We set off on the Friday afternoon, collecting our newly manufactured sweaters on the way out of town. We travelled on to Oamaru via our accommodation at the Waitaki Waters Holiday Park. The first game was a hard one, against competition favourites Dunstan High School, resulting in an 11-0 whipping.

Saturday saw a disappointing 6 - 0 loss to Middleton B, a team we had closer matches against in the Christchurch League. There then followed losses to James Hargest (8 – 4), to Middleton A, the other tournament favourite and ultimately the winner; (10 – 0) and to Burnside A (8 – 2).

Sunday was the last chance to get a win, which we duly did in a repeat tussle with Burnside, picking up our game and earning a well-deserved 6 - 4 victory. Shirley ended up 5th in the Under 19 Open grade (out of 6 teams). The boys showed determination and good sportsmanship throughout the competition, and overall everyone really enjoyed the experience!

Team members: Cole Yeoman (captain), Ben Klemick (vice-captain), Ashley Gutteridge, Callum Thompson, Campbell Madsen, Olly Northmore.

2016 Table Tennis

Shirley Gold (David Walle, Duncan Smith, Phillip Smith and Alex Thompson) played in the A Grade Open Division and came 4th overall. (Joseph Farrell was also a member of this team until the end of term 2. When Joseph left school Alex Thompson came up from Shirley Blue).

Shirley Blue (Alex Thompson, Josh Loudon, Santiago Rodriguez, Liam Taylor – our founding members and Jasper Mooney, Mitchell Power and Ethan Mathews who played during term 3 on several occasions when Alex was moved to Shirley Gold and/or illness struck another player) played in B Grade Division one, played a round robin competition and came third by the manager’s calculations.

The students in the competition teams during term three were all year 9 or year 10 students often playing against very experienced senior students for team rankings. They did exceptionally well. Many thanks to all the students who played and to Angelika Walle who stepped into the breach to be our coach at the beginning of the season.