Memories from the 1st to 16th IRP intakes

• In 2001 at the curtain-raiser to the All Blacks game vs Argentina played at then Lancaster Park, scrumhalf Daisuke Mitsui became so disoriented at a scrum near our goal line when the scrum screwed that he passed to the Marlborough BHS 1st five, who caught the ball and walked over our line to score! In the same game, Daisuke’s friend from Keiko Gakuen HS, Yoshinori Sogabe, dropped a goal for us from over 40 metres out. We lost by two points, but to add to the drama, Daisuke “kicked a penalty” late in the game from 35m that was ruled as having missed (despite video later showing that it had gone over) because the touch judges were distracted by Marlborough BC players lifting a player in front of the posts to try to stop the ball going over - legal that season but not from the following year. Our captain that day was future Crusader Jonathan Poff.
  
  
• St. Bede’s players with the longest rugby careers at the top level (and still playing) are probably Luke Thompson (1998) and Naoki Morita (2003 IRP) of Kintetsu, Japan.
  
  
• Yudai Harada was “sent off” for striking an opponent who had just stomped on his team mate in a 3rd XV game against St. Andrews in 2003. Yudai was touch judge at the time and the striking was done with the touch-judge’s flag. He is now a sergeant in Japan’s special forces.
  
  
• Segopotso Dintwe of Botswana (2003 IRP) played as goal-keeper for St. Bede’s 1st XI in the National Schools Tournament in 2003.
  Segopotso was badly injured playing for Port Macquarie Pirates RFC in Australia in 2004, going into a coma for eight days. He returned to Africa, taking two years off rugby to recover, got in the Botswanan national team, and has since played in South Africa and Scotland. He still insists that the flame of passion for rugby was lit during his time at St. Bede’s College in the IRP and Gary Lennon’s 3rd XV.
  Segopotso:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/4XK7Y9m
  
  
• Kazuki Ueda was probably the lightest loosehead prop in the Press Cup in 2003 at about 72 kgs.
  
  
• When rival captains Kazuki Ueda and Masakazu Toyota (Keiko Gakuen HS and Higashi Fukuoka HS) remained in long and tearful clinch of a “man-hug” after the final of the Japanese secondary school final at Hanazono in January 2005 the television commentator explained why - Kazuki and Masakazu had been room-mates in the St. Bede’s boarding house in the 2003 1st intake of the IRP together and had become friends for life. They both went on to Waseda University where they played together in the 1st team.
  
  
• Kento Sasaki (2004 IRP) was the first Bedean to become a Buddhist priest. He became the 18th generation Sasaki family member to take over their temple in Fukuoka.
  
  
• The IRP has had many siblings through the years: Charles and Pierre Morand from France, Steve, Simon and Sidney Muniafu from Kenya, Daisuke and Daichi Mitsui, Koji and Hiroki Murakawa, Mina & Seina Saito from Japan, Kenichiro and Juntaro Kuwae from Okinawa, and Marco and Luca Businelli from Italy.
  
  
• Daniel N’gonga from Kenya (2004 2nd intake of the IRP) was selected to play for Kenya at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2008, but did not take up the offer, stating that he was too busy with his studies, (to become an actuary). He is now a pilot for Kenya Airways.
  
  
• In 2005 Jumpei Ohira played flanker, second-five, hooker and halfback for the 2nd XV, proving a crucial player in a championship winning season.
  
  
• 2005 1st XV top try scorer Jumpei Tanizaki (17 tries) become known as “Jumpy Tanzania” thanks to the CTV commentator of the day.
  
  
• Jose Valerio (2006 IRP and 3rd XV) from the Toba tribe of indigenous people who live in a very isolated area of northern Argentina had never seen traffic lights before he went to Buenos Aires to depart for New Zealand.
  
  
• Serge Yakan-a-Bessong from the Cameroon (2005 and 2006 IRP), wore a lion’s tooth on a string around his neck. His grandfather had given it to him bring him strength on his great adventure in New Zealand. Serge’s grandfather had killed the lion in the bush in Cameroon with a bow and arrows after it had just mauled and killed his friend.
  Serge’s mother’s younger brother (Serge’s uncle) is iconic French flanker Serge Betsen.
  Serge’s experience in New Zealand helped get him a rugby scholarship to a Japanese university and then a job and subsequently citizenship in France, where he stills plays rugby.
  
  
• Alejandro Nieto-Serra from Uruguay played No. 8 for our 2nd XV in 2006. His mother Edna came all the way from Montevideo to watch Alejandro play vs CBHS 2nd XV and was sitting less than 20 metres away when Alejandro lost the ball in contact over the line in almost the last play of the game, which we lost 3-5. But Alejandro bounced back very impressively to become captain of Uruguay as tighthead prop, representing them at the 2015 World Cup.
  
  
• Njabulo Xaba from Soweto in South Africa had never been given a starting number jersey (13 in his case) by a white coach until Richard Freeman handed that numbered jersey to him in a trial match. He shed tears when Richard handed him the jersey.
  Njabulo was probably the only foreign student to ever lead a St. Bede’s College team (3rd XV) haka, against Higashi Fukuoka HS U16s.
  Njabulo came from a very disadvantaged background in Soweto, but when he got back to South Africa, the kind benefactor who sponsored his journey to St. Bede’s formally adopted him and put him through a good high school and then through university. His IRP experience literally changed his life.
  Njabulo:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/V6acbIp
  
  
• Devlin Hope from South Africa was so committed to a rugby career as a flanker that he had a large “7” tattooed on his back before coming to New Zealand. He played in our 1st XV as a loosehead prop and then as a hooker in the Currie Cup back in South Africa. Devlin has “the gift of the gab”, and is now a top-performing Asahi Beer marketing executive in the UK.
  
  
• Three boys have done consecutive IRPs: Jumpei Ohira (2004 & 2005), Serge Yakan-a-Bessong (2005 & 2006), Hirotomo Ono (2007 & 2008). Tadeo Andriani (this year) will be the first person to do three consecutive IRPs – 2017, 2018, 2019.
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/kxwCz6G
  
  
• Tighthead prop Siate Tokolahi came in to the IRP in 2010 having just broken the Tongan RFU bench press record (202kgs).
  
  
• None of the regular front-row in the 2009 1st XV were born in the main islands of New Zealand. Mark Ocwich (Uganda), Tyson Kamo (Chatham Islands) and Kengo Kitagawa (Japan).
  
  
• Loosehead prop Mark Ocwich from the Lira District of northern Uganda, not far from South Sudan, become the first African boy to appear in a NZ Secondary Schools Final when he played for us vs Hamilton BHS in 2009. The 1st XV that year, captained by Nick Howie, won 18 of its 19 games, losing only to Hamilton BHS in the NZ final, thereby arguably becoming the College’s most successful 1st XV to date. Mark Ocwich is still coaching rugby for the Northern Force RFC in Uganda. World Rugby (then the IRB) made a short documentary feature about his time at St. Bede’s College.
  Mark Ocwich article:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/LbtwKQC
  
  
• Prop Aniol Pagès Soler from Barcelona was never happy being introduced as being “Spanish”. He is a proud Catalonian and is still heavily involved in the Catalonian independence movement.
  
  
• Rhys Llewellyn from Bridgend in Wales played for NZ Schoolboys as a centre in 2009. He went on to play for NZ U20s, NZ Sevens and Canterbury.
  
  
• Current Welsh international flanker Josh Navidi was Press Cup player of the season in 2008. His dad Hedi was a weight-lifter for Iran.
  We arranged for Josh to get us a photo with Japan players Yoshikazu Fujita (2011 IRP) and Shinnosuke Kakinaga (2010 IRP) after the game between Wales and Japan in Tokyo in 2016, but Josh fractured his nose in the closing minutes so he had to go to hospital and was unable to meet Yoshikazu and Shinnosuke.
  
  
• In the televised, season-opening Press Cup game in 2011 Vasco Fragoso Mendes and Francisco (Kiko) Vieira de Almeida from Portugal combined from the first scrum to see Kiko score within two minutes of the kick-off.
  Vasco & Kiko:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/dnUZZOK
  
  
• Greg Gavazzi from Zimbabwe broke the College 1st XV record for tries scored against Christ College in one match, bagging five against them in 2007.
  
  
• Keenan Marais from Zimbabwe went from the IRP to a university rugby scholarship in Japan. He said that his toughest opponent at No. 8 for his university in Japan was Josh Mau who was in our 1st XV in 2004 and also went to university in Japan, where he still is.
  
  
• Shota Horie, IRP dorm master in 2010 went on to captain Japan until Michael Leitch (St. Bede’s 2002 to 2004) took over.
  
  
• Current captain of Panasonic Wild Knights, Shunsuke Nunomaki, played second-five for our 1st XV but is now an open-side flanker for the Sunwolves and the Japanese national team.
  That same Shunsuke Nunomaki was captain of Japan “A” against Highlanders “A” in 2018 with James Lentjes (1st XV in 2010) playing as the opposing captain.
  Shunsuke Nunomaki:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/4dYo983
  
  
• Current Japanese wing Yoshikazu Fujita scored four tries for our 1st XV in the National Top Four in 2011 and was top try scorer in the Press Cup.
  Yoshikazu:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/UPjfQhm
  
  
• Big prop loosehead Mario Mazzucchelli from Italy (2013 3rd XV) asked for an explanation at half-time as to why his opposite number in the scrum vs an U18 club team based not far north of St. Bede’s called him a “big fat c….” after every scrum. Totally unperturbed, Mario continued to give his opponent “a tough day at the office.” Mario was (is!) a larger-than-life Italian character who would entertain the Japanese boys with “pasta parties” from 10:00pm every night when the IRP crew was housed at Top 10 Camping Ground in Cranford Street - fantastic international exchange!
  Mario:
  https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/gMyvn3G
  
  
• Matheus Cruz (12th Intake 2014, Burnside HS era) was given the opportunity by the Brazilian RFU to join the IRP. Matheus was brought up in a favela, but took his chance with both hands. He currently plays both 7s and 15s for Brazil.
  
  
• Nia Toliver (12th Intake 2014, Burnside HS era) joined the IRP after having been brought up in a very tough area of Los Angeles. In her games for Burnside HS and UC Women, she scored a season total of 77 tries, an IRP record that surely will never be broken. Nia is the only American rugby player to have been on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Magazine. She will be someone to watch at the Tokyo Olympics next year.
  
  
• Loosehead prop Lupumlo “Pumies” M’guca (14th intake 2016, Burnside HS era), was a current Springbok Schoolboy player when he came from the Southern Kings Academy in 2016. Despite being 118 kgs he was the fastest runner over 100m in the 1st XV.
  
  
• Moe Tsukui (17th intake 2017, Burnside HS era), after Moe returned to Japan she was immediately drafted into the Japanese women’s national team and that year, after being chosen in the Women’s RWC Best 15 ahead of Kendra Cocksedge, was selected as Japan’s “Player of the Year”. Kendra described Moe as the best young scrumhalf she has ever played against.
  
  
• While Nia Toliver’s 385 points in one season (Burnside HS girls and UC Women) is the IRP record, Takaya Saito (15th Intake, 2017) scored 355 points for the Burnside HS 2nd XV, which is a record in one team.