1st XV vs Christ's College lost 23-26

The 1st XV played Christ’s College at home in a semi-final of the Miles Toyota Championship. It was a cap game for Ollie Robb, and Dom Petelo earned a black tassel for his 25th game. Mason Allison scored an early try but Christ's replied with two to lead at half time 14 to 10. Unfortunately, midway through the second half, the opposition scored two tries in rapid succession. We clawed back on their lead with a late try but ran out of time. The final score was 23-26 in Christ’s favour. It was a disappointing end to what had been a promising season. The team can however, be proud of its many successes. There will be much silverware in the team photo.

Tries: Mason Allison, Ollie Robb. Conversions: Isaac Hutchinson 2. Penalties: Isaac Hutchinson 3.

2nd XV vs Christchurch BHS 2nd XV lost 0-3

Yes, you read that right and no it's not the 1960s. There was an epic struggle play out on St Bede's number 2 on Saturday. Two evenly matched teams, having won a game each from previous encounters, fought it out for the Challenge Shield in the last game of the round.

A major feature of the game were the conditions. 45 minutes before kick-off a gale force wind blew in bringing driving rain that unfortunately turned the field in to a quagmire. It was never going to be free flowing rugby and territory would be king. CBHS had the majority of territory in the first half with very little play occurring deep in their zone. However, gutsy defense held them out and kept the scoresheet clean 0-0 at the half. CBHS started the second half well, pinning us back down in our zone early. Due to the strong defense this time they opted for the 3 points. The team really lifted after this. Strong carries began to roll CBHS back and led to increased confidence in, very cautiously and skillfully, using a little space. Three or four times we got deep into the CBHS zone, seeming like a try was inevitable. But some admirable defense alongside some bad luck and errors keep us out. The final 15 minutes showed quite clearly that, in very difficult conditions, we were the more potent attacking team. Had the game gone for another 5 minutes it likely would have been a victory rather than a ludicrously close loss. The team now looks forward to a home semi final next week. It would be great to get some support down there for it.

3rd XV vs CBHS 7th XV (played on Friday) lost 24-43

A lot of school spirit exists in St Bede's. On realizing this week's draw would mean the 3rds would miss their 1st XV home semi, they lobbied successfully for their own fixture to be rescheduled to after school Friday. Parents, supporters and administration followed the lead and happily downed tools to attend. It was even rumoured that within top management a concrete pour was rescheduled.

It was an important match for the 3rds. With few wins but relatively high bonus points there was still a glimmer of hope this last pool play would give them a chance of making the top 4 playoffs themselves.

Unfortunately it wasn't one of their better matches. It might have been the disruption to routine, the rush to assemble in the middle of Hagley Park on a busy Friday, but the 3rds just couldn't quite make their linkages to string solid consistent team plays together.

The mighty 3rds though are very capable of some remarkable comebacks. There must be some genuine soul searching expected from talks in the half time huddles. Down 21-5 at half time, the 3rds scored a rapid 19 points. They were deservedly within reach for a small while. Highlights: a master class in low driving body position from Josh MacDonald scoring 2 tries and some excellent conversions from stand in kicker Sam Keno. To their credit, everyone played hard .

Final whistle coincided on a very soft Bob Deans paddock with the sun low behind the trees. One of the boys mentioned a self built spreadsheet, it was loaded up, data was plugged and modelled. There was comedic ridicule but its results suggested a scenario that still gave hope for that top 4. Such is the spirit. Highly entertaining and that's how we departed back across the dewy fields.

Many thanks to the opposition, the referee, the Bede's RDO, and administrations on both sides for the support to make this Friday fixture run smoothly.

Tries: Gem Inkster, Joshua MacDonald (2), Sam Keno. Conversions: Sam Keno (2)

4th XV vs Merivale Papanui /Belfast U18 lost 22-29

The Fourths put up a gutsy performance today but just couldn’t quite pull off the victory. Conditions deteriorated very quickly and Nunweek Park turned into a quagmire early on which saw both sides keep it close with pick and goes the order of the day. The fifty fifty calls didn’t go our way and trying to defend after a string of penalties against us ultimately saw the boys struggling to contain the opposition who took their opportunities well. The boys can be proud of the fact that they never gave up and kept battling away to the final whistle. Ashton Haigh controlled play well and was also strong in the contact, while Alex Tino played very well in what was difficult conditions for a winger. Up front, Dylan Mcdonald, Josh Ashdowne and Flynn Greig were to the forefront while in the second half Blake Scott showed real power with the ball in hand. Overall the effort could not be faulted but it was just not our day.

U75kgs Red vs U75kgs Black won by Red 14-7

Red: The semi final between the U75kg Red team and Black team was the third derby match of the season and proved to be another tight contest. The game took place in comfortably the worst conditions of the day with driving rain at times coming in sideways, which meant there were numerous mistakes and made it very difficult for either side to move the ball out wide or play much attractive rugby.

In the first half, the Red team started well keeping the ball tight with the forwards' pods running strongly and getting over the gain line. This led to prop Elijah Butts forcing his way over the line in the second minute for a converted try. With the wind at their backs the Red team were able control the territory for much of the half and some more good forward play led to another converted try for number eight Charlie Coakley. With the score at 14-0, the Black team came back strongly and attacked the line hard and were very unlucky not to score. The Red team were forced into conceding a number of penalties close to their own line, but somehow managed to hold on until halftime.

In the second half with the conditions still poor there were many handling errors, but the Black team were able to dominate a lot of the possession and territory. This led to a well worked try under the posts which was duly converted. Both sides had further opportunities in the second half but were unable to convert them and were at times guilty of not taking the easy points on offer. There was a lot of tactical kicking for field position and player of the day for the Red team, Harvey Scott was forced to work hard at fullback. The match finished with the Red team scrambling in defence, but just able to clear their lines and take the 14-7 win.

All three games this season have been tight affairs between two evenly matched St Bede’s teams. The Red team now go into the final against Boys’ High as underdogs, but confident that with a good week of training they can cause an upset against the one side to beat them this season.

Black: Playing the semi final as a local derby against a well drilled St Bede's Red team was always going to be a great challenge.

With the weather conditions turning just prior to kick off to cold wind and rain it made for some hard wet weather rugby that was difficult for both teams. Early on we were under pressure with the Red team holding onto the wet ball well and taking it through their forwards to score and duly converting.

The next period proved hard for us to get out of our own half as the wind was very difficult to play into, although we managed to hold onto the ball and control for good periods. With the Red team playing with the wind at their backs they threatened our line a number of times though we managed to put in strong defence through the whole team again and hold them out. The continued pressure eventually turned for the Red team to go over and take a 14-0 lead going into halftime.

With the wind at our backs in the second half, we felt we had a good chance to get ahead and after some good sustained build up by the team, a try midway through to Josh Fraher that was converted by Cam Howison put us right in the game. With the ball proving difficult to handle in the wet, the game was played close in and there was some great work on attack and defence by both teams. With the game in the balance there was some strong attacking plays that we put together, but the Red team managed to defend and hold onto the lead until full time.

This was another close game with the Black team building on game over the last few weeks and putting in a great effort today though we could not quite get the win over a strong Bede's Red team.

We have played some fantastic rugby throughout the season with many highlights. There are a number of players in this team who have a great skill set, strong work ethic and the ability to go further in coming seasons.

The game was played in great spirits in tough conditions and we wish the Red team all the best for their final next week against CBHS.

U65kgs no game (won by default over Shirley BHS U65kgs)

U15 Red vs Christ's College lost 10-41

(see feature article)

https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/XIKAYB8

U15 Black drew 17-17 vs Hillmorton HS

This was the final round robin game for our lads, and as they warmed up the conditions were good, but by kick off the southerly had arrived and we were playing into a strong wind and driving rain.
We started well and with purpose, stringing multiple phases together and making ground up the middle and out wide. An early try to Kyle P gave us the lead and the lads some good confidence. As the half wore on, HHS came into the game more with the wind at their backs. They scored on the stroke of halftime to lead by two tries to one.
Our boys started slowly in the second half and HHS scored again to lead by 17 to 5. However with the wind behind them our boys started to get into their work and dominate the game up front. They put a lot of pressure on the Hillmorton line and George Kinder went over.
The weather was atrocious and the referee had his hat on. The boys were playing hard out but shivering on the field.
In the last play of the game big Brad S went over in the corner after concerted pressure on the HHS line. The score was locked up, game over.
It was a strong effort from our lads against a big and committed Hillmorton team. Our boys showed great self belief and team work and did the Bede's jersey proud.
Back of the day - Kyle P
Joint players of the day - Dan P and Henry P.
Well done team.

U14 Red won 41-5 vs Shirley BHS

U14 Black lost 21-26 vs CBHS U14B Black

We had our final round robin game against a CBHS side which we lost to 5-40 earlier in the season. The boys were keen to even the ledger and had a plan to take them on up front before going wide as we knew their defence was good. The game started intensely and we were able to exert a bit of pressure but were unable to convert. The forwards were making big inroads with pick and goes and much better body position. When going wide it seemed there was more space than our previous game although their cover tackling was excellent. We worked an overlap down the right flank enabling Quinn O’Sullivan to cut back through the defenders sliding out to cover to open our account. The match then became a real tussle with both sides very even. Boys' High were able to get some phases together close to our line and despite some stout defence, were able to burrow over out wide. A good conversion from them had the scores tied at 7-7. The rest of the half saw us dominate overall with good variation with ball in hand going up the middle, wide or an attacking kick. Eventually Alex Cowan was able to break through with a strong carry to score a converted try for us to lead 14-7 at the break.

Second half and we went to sleep a bit both in terms of looking after the ball and getting set on defence. Boys' High took advantage of the space and scored two quick tries. To our credit we stepped up the urgency again and it became another real tussle for the rest of the half. They were able to score again but we bounced back with Noah Whitfield running a stunning line after great pressure from a kick chase to score another converted try. With the score now 21-26 we were still in it and the final 15 minutes saw some really exciting rugby. We were unlucky not to score on at least a couple of occasions with either the bounce of the ball or outstanding Boys' High cover defence denying us. Final score 21-26. Not the result we were after but some real positives taken from the game with it being probably our best performance of the season. It was really pleasing to see all 22 players make a contribution, particularly with the urgency that has been missing at times recently. The defence was good, apart from the first 10 minutes of the second half and we played with plenty of variation with ball in hand which had Boys' High guessing a bit. The other positive is the bonus point gained probably means a semi next week which the boys will be looking forward to so they can build on this performance.

Thanks to everyone putting their hand up, which is exactly what rugby is about, it meant it was too hard to single out one player so we had no Back or Forward of the Day. Well done boys!

U14 White won 25-24 vs Burnside RFC U14

We knew this was going to be a tough game up against a team with some pretty big boys in it.
The driving rain and wind arrived just in time for the start with the wind working against our boys in the first half. The match started well with Kody scoring our first try, but after a period of great defence, Burnside managed to get over the line for a converted try. We then got ourselves ahead with a great try for LaDanian making it 10-7.
Things then got tough for our boys with Burnside scoring three tries and converting 1 despite our grit and determination in defence. With a score line of 10-24 the boys had a bit of work to do! The weather was quite a challenge, but with the wind now on our side the boys utilised their kicking game. These boys never give up and with tries from LaDanian and Lochlan we were only 4 points behind. The side line supporters were behind the boys the whole time supporting them as they persisted in the persistent rain! With great kicking work from LaDanain and Matthias, Jack got the ball over the line to give us the win! Fantastic effort from the entire team. Certainly a performance worth standing in the rain for!

U55kgs vs Christchurch BHS U55kgs won 22-0

Today was the semi final (2v3 play off) between St Bede's and Christchurch Boys' High at Boys' High home ground.

The pre game warm up went well and the boys were pumped and ready to go. Just prior to kick off the weather packed in and a gale force southerly wind along with rain hit the ground. Bede's were playing into this wind in the first half and spent the first 20 minutes defending our own try line with heart. With the wind in our faces it was almost impossible to exit this area. It was this period of defence that really set the standard of play for the rest of the match. Boys' High were really struggling to put multiple phases together due to the pressure our team was putting on them in the tackle and breakdown and eventually this pressure led to multiple turn overs and we found ourselves at the other end of the paddock. We made the most of these short moments on attack and ended up scoring two first half tries and took an all important 12-0 lead into half time. The second half saw us use the wind and pin Boys' High into their own 22 and, after some good periods on attack we scored two more quick tries taking the score out to 22-0. The spirit of the Boys' High team had been broken and in an unprecedented turn of events they forfeited the match early in the second half. The team should be absolutely proud of the way they destroyed the will of their opponents to continue the game, a great effort by all the team. Tackler of the day went to Joshua Snelgar. Josh has really stood out in the last few weeks and is really playing outstanding rugby. His skill level is outstanding. Trainer of the Week went to Zander Nutbrown. Zanda continues to impress week in and week out, his dedication to training is second to none and the passion and heart he brings to game day is a real inspiration to his team mates. Well done team, I am once again so proud of you. It was once again great to see our injured team mate George Lingard on the side line in his wheelchair supporting his team, it means so much to us George, your support really helps us weekly.