2:45pm at Straven Road

Preview: 1st XV v Christchurch Boys' High School 1st XV.  At 2:45pm on Saturday 24 July at Straven Road on the CBHS No.1 field. Round 11 of the Miles Toyota 1st XV Championship  

Recent history St Bede’s record against CBHS:

• 2020: Lost by 14 v 31

• 2019: Lost by 15 v 27; and 32 v 42 (Semi-final of Championship)

• 2018: Lost by 5 v 21

• 2017: Lost by 21 v 40

• 2016: Lost by 7 v 21

• 2015: Lost by 11 v 12

• 2014: Lost by 15 v 31

• 2013: Won by 17 v 10

• 2012: Lost by 7 v 13 and 8 v 27 (Final)

• 2011: Won by 15 v 7

• 2010: Won by 24-14 and 27-12 (Final)

Christchurch Boys' High School:

• Founded: 1881

• Motto: Altiora Peto; (I Seek Higher Things)

• Roll: 1400

• Miles Toyota Championship: Semi-finalist: 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 Runner-up: 2010, 2019, 2020 Champions: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 --------

St Bede’s College:

• Founded 1911

• Motto: Fide et Opere; (By Faith and By Works)

• Roll: 800 

• Miles Toyota Championship: Semi-finalist: 2003, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020 Runner-up: 2007, 2012 Champions: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015

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Points of interest: 

• For most of the last 100 years Christchurch Boys' High School has been the benchmark by which other schools judge their seasons. This from a preview written about Christchurch schools' rugby several decades ago "It could be said that any school that defeats Christchurch Boys' High School considers it has had a good season irrespective of any other results. St Bede's College which opened in 1911, lost to CBHS 0-88 in 1920, by forty points in 1921, improved to 6-13 in 1922, and won 9-0 in 1923. Since then they have been a potent force in secondary school Rugby, especially when under the eye of the rector, who has a splendid panorama of the game from his study upstairs."

• There have been many notable and interesting games between St Bede’s and CBHS down through the decades. CBHS has been consistently the most successful in terms of results, but the contest has always been a battle and St Bede’s have had their share of great success. When it comes to rugby the two schools share a common bond. The same article says this of Bede's " St Bede’s are to be congratulated also on their masterly statement which is the last word on schools' rugby - that it is anticipated in autumn, played in winter, and reviewed in retrospect in spring and summer." 

• In terms of great match ups, the 1965 one was an important one for St Bede's (a notable team for a number of reasons). They beat CBHS 12-8 and also set a new record for the college by winning seven traditional college matches in the one season (beating St Kevin’s, Christ’s, St Andrew’s, Xavier, St Patrick’s and Shirley BHS). The team was coached by Fr Matt Durning and he used what were then unconventional techniques and innovations, the most obvious of which was the use of the hooker throwing the ball into the lineout, which had been introduced by Fr Vince Curtain to the St Bede’s 2nd XV the year prior. It provided greater consistency with just one man tasked with throwing (instead of both wingers) and it allowed the blindside wing to remain in the backline as an extra man. John Graham (a former All Black and teacher at CBHS) was heard to be asking where the extra man in the backs came from that day. Durning also had statisticians covering the games - he tracked the stats and got improvements in performance accordingly. That and with the consistency of having a hooker throw to the lineout gave St Bede’s a huge advantage in the set piece. Against CBHS the result was 37 lineouts won against 14. The scrums were much closer 18-15, but the lineout dominance highlighted how much the new technique was beneficial and a key component of St Bede’s success in 1965.

• In modern times - since the beginning of the Crusaders Schools Competition (Miles Toyota Championship) in 2001 - Christchurch Boys' High School and St Bede’s College have between them won 16 out of the 20 Championships. They are the only schools to have won the Championship more than twice (with Nelson College twice, Marlborough Boys' and St Andrew’s College also winning a title). CBHS have dominated, winning 11 championships, and St Bede’s have claimed 5 titles. St Bede’s and Christchurch BHS have twice met in the Championship Final – with victory in 2010 to St Bede’s by 27-12 – and CBHS returning serve with a 27-8 victory in 2012. St Bede’s have not beaten CBHS since 2013, when they won 17-10 at Straven Road. It was a year when St Bede’s was undefeated before falling to Nelson College in a home semi-final of the Championship in what was also their first loss at home since 2007 (62 games). 

• CBHS have produced nearly 50 All Blacks and have a 1st XV track record that puts them right into the middle of any discussion as to which is the strongest rugby school in the country. They won the National Top 4 three times in a row from 2004 and were the first ever winners of the Moascar Cup in 1920. 

• The Moascar Cup is the oldest and most prestigious nationwide trophy in 1st XV rugby and it dates back to the end of World War One. CBHS was one of the first schools to be selected (based on their record at the time) to contest it. The other being Palmerston North Boys’ High School. The trophy hasn’t always been in wide circulation, from 1927 to 1951 it was only used as a trophy played between New Plymouth Boys' High and Palmerston North Boys' High. Then Northland College challenged for it out of the blue and won it. It then moved around the North Island more frequently thereafter, but no South Island teams managed to get a challenge for it for many years until CBHS won it back in the mid 2000s.

• CBHS went on to set a new record for the longest tenure of any school in New Zealand during their 2004-2007 tenure of 22 defences. That tenure was ended by St Bede’s who won it (in their first ever challenge) by 30-18. St Bede’s then held it until the end of 2008 for 17 defences – a tenure that is still the third best. St Bede's lost the Cup away to Hamilton Boys' High in the 2008 National Top4 semi-final. It is usually defended only at home matches (like the Ranfurly Shield is) but there is an exception - that it is also to be put up at the National Top4 if the holder is present. This is a rule that some at Bede's have mused over as St Bede's was not subsequently defeated at home until 2013 (62 games). CBHS became Moascar Cup winners again in 2018 until losing it away to Napier Boys' HS in the National Top4 semi-final. Rotorua Boys' High School are again the current holders and won it from Napier Boys' High School in 2020.

• Gerry Davidson recalls how before the match in 2007 the team decided to prepare at St Bede's and go very late to Boys' High in order to offset the feeling of impending doom that inevitably crept in for teams that arrived at Straven Road too early. Gerry remembers how our Captain, Faimalo Magele, spoke of the tangible air of self-belief that the 2007 team had, and how the victory at Straven Road that year underpinned a good number of wins over Boys' High teams in all grades over the following five or six years. Gerry fondly remembers the crucial drop-goals (one with each foot) kicked against Boys' High by first-five Logan Taylor in 2007 and 2008. 

• Faimalo Magele, Captain of the 2007 1st XV that won 30-18 at Straven Road: "We had true belief and we prepared well. Key moments during the game were a big hit from Elliot Dixon to take their star No. 8 over the sideline and a drop goal from Logan Taylor. When the final whistle blew I wasn’t surprised that we'd won. I didn’t really celebrate outwardly, but the reaction from the crowd made me feel proud. I’ll remember that day forever!"

• Mark Vincent, who with Gerry Davidson, coached our 1st XV's wins at Straven Road in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and 2013 (with Ian Mallard), comments: "I have the fondest memories of coaching teams to play CBHS at Straven Road for many reasons. We were always playing against a school steeped in tradition and usually containing an abundance of talent. Without exception, they were well-coached and well-prepared. Probably more than any other college in Christchurch, we know that to be successful there, we had be at our very best. The games were, as I remember, played in an amazing spirit with significant support from both sides. If you beat CBHS at Straven Road you had generally had a pretty good season."

• Andrew Langley, who coached the championship winning 1st XV in 2015, says: "All fields have corner flags and posts, but they are not all equal. Straven Road is altogether different again. In terms of reception or outcome, it is not ‘Bede-friendly’. The southwest corner in particular —in the prevailing nor-easter—is a death trap. Straven Road is an uncomfortable place for team and coach - few leave as victors."