Nelson College came to SBHS as defending Miles Toyota Crusader champions and, without dropping a game this year, this match was always going to be a hard task for the Spartans.

The big Nelson pack got to work early and powered over from close range after their no#10 had them in the right areas of the park. The close quarter game worked well for Nelson, and they continued to score points through their size difference.

The Shirley Boys', to their credit, hung in there and kept launching attacks and defending with all they had but it wasn’t enough with Nelson winning 29-5.

The crowd highlight of the game was a well taken try to Evan Hooper and Jackson Burgess was named man of the match for his industrious line carries and organisation.

The Spartans will look to right the ship in the coming weeks with games against STAC, Timaru Boys' and St Bedes.