Round 5 of the Miles Toyota 1st XV Championship 2022

At 1:00pm pm on Saturday 4th June at St Bede’s College on the No.1 field.
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St Bede’s College 1st XV recent history v Roncalli Aoraki Combined:

• 2021: Won by 45-7
• 2020: Won by 44-22
• 2019: Won by 28-0

• 2018: Won by 98 v 5
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Roncalli Aoraki Combined: 

• Roncalli College is a Catholic college in Timaru. It was named after Pope John XXIII, whose birth name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. Roncalli College was created by the merger of St Patrick's High School and Mercy College in 1981. Whilst West Germany was at that time in history separated by the Berlin Wall, these two schools were separated by their own version of the ”Iron Curtain" or "Brown Curtain" - a corrugated iron fence which ran the length of the boundary between the two schools, which kept the boys and girls separated. The penalties for being on the wrong side of the fence were rather severe, any boy caught on the wrong side of the fence without a valid reason was invariably caned. In the last days of St Pats and Mercy, the pupils from St Pats were instructed by the Rector to tear down the fence as a prelude to amalgamation - some have jokingly said a foreshadowing of the historic events nearly a decade later in Berlin.
• Roncalli College became part of the UC Championship in 2010 and stunned in their inaugural season when they finished fifth overall under the guidance of South Canterbury rugby stalwart John Simpson.
• Roncalli became a combined team in the Crusaders Schools Championships in 2017, having had the two seasons prior without a win. With a roll of around 250 boys, Roncalli were the smallest school in the championship and the lack of depth was difficult to overcome. Roncalli, with the support of the South Canterbury Rugby Union, draw on players from Geraldine, Opihi, Mackenzie, Waimate and Mountainview schools.
• In 2020 Roncalli Aoraki Combined had success in winning against Selwyn Combined, which they had also done in 2019 and that year also against Mid-Canterbury Combined. This was an improvement on their sole season victories in 2018 (17-6 over Mid Canterbury Combined) and 2017 (40-14 over Burnside High School). The 2017 win against Burnside broke a three-year drought.
• The following comments were taken from their team’s season review last year “Whilst not winning a competition game in 2021, the Roncalli-Aoraki Combined First XV played some spirited rugby, often against much larger teams. As in 2020, we saw an increased presence of non Roncalli College players in team, further cementing the relationship between Roncalli College, Geraldine High School, Mackenzie College, Waimate High School, Opihi College and Mountainview High School. The skills, character and the bond that is developed between the players and management within this high pressure environment speaks volumes for the coaching and management staff of this team, and there were some inspired performances, particularly against St Thomas’s, Christ’s College, and St Andrew’s College. The First XV also registered 3 wins out of season, with a great first up win in preseason against Waitaki Boys, a large win over a West Coast team in their second game of the season, and a big victory over a touring Inglewood High School team during the July holiday break.”
• Historically, no Roncalli College or Aoraki combined team has ever beaten St Bede’s. Notwithstanding that, nothing is guaranteed in a school boy rugby match.
• In terms of form in 2022, they had a tough outing against Marlborough away, but recovered to push CBHS making them work very hard for their 36-0 victory. They lost a tight encounter with Selwyn Combined Schools, where the result was in the balance right up until the final play.
• Roncalli Aoraki are coming off the competition bye, so will be fresh and ready to play when they take on St Bede's on Saturday…