Won 4, Lost 9

'1st XV vs Waimea Combined Schools won 77-17

The 1st XV played Waimea Combined on Saturday. This team produced a surprise result against our 1st XV last season so there was a strong desire to improve upon that result. Waimea started strongly and took an early lead. After 24 minutes the scores were tied at 17 all. Once our team started playing our own brand of structured rugby, the tide started to turn. Our team lead by 43 - 17 at half time. In the second half this dominance continued and the full time score was 77-17. It was pleasing to keep the opposition scoreless in that half. It was a cap game for wing Cameron Rawling and flanker George Gunn. Seemingly this inspired them and they shared the title of Man of the Match.

Tries: Tanner Stowers-Smith 3, Cameron Rawlings 2, William Sparrow 2, Liam Potts, Cameron Allison, Suliasi Faiva, Ben Shipley, Bede Moa, and Riley Lucas. Conversions: Isaac Hutchinson 6.

2nd XV vs STC 2nd XV won 85-7

A lot of points scored and a win by a large margin. After a disappointing result last week the team was eager to reassert ourselves as the best in the competition. Though there were still areas needing improvement the result was a comprehensive one. Contrary to the score St Thomas' had some big bodies, strong carriers and did look threatening when allowed into the attacking zone - which makes this result doubly pleasing. In such a game, where points were frequently being scored, most players had strong games. On the scoresheet Bede Moa and Iwan Merchant-Williams both dotted down twice. 

Oliver Lawry had an excellent day scoring three tries and slotting multiple conversions to approach 40 points for the game. An honourable mention also goes to both halfbacks, Will Coombes and Sam Rochford who, due to multiple injuries in the backline, both finished a good try playing on the wing. Lastly, Max Coltman, a rangy lock, scored one of the better looking tries of the season after taking an inside pass from Oliver 40m out. Always great seeing someone wearing a low number exceed in some space! Now the focus is on preparing thoroughly for next Saturday before we split for 2 weeks over the holidays. 

3rd XV vs StAC 2nd XV lost 17-26

If we described the 3rds playing last week with heart, this week we watched them play with more heart, belief and hope. The first match against STAC was a disappointing performance going down 31 -7. Every match since there's been an improvement. 

The 3rds are probably on average, younger and slighter than the STAC boys. There's elements in the STAC game that hints greater experience and game maturity. But yesterday the mighty 3rds took the game confidently and fearlessly to STAC....although the score never tells the only story. Down 14 - 3 at half time, the score soon became 14 -10, then became 19 -17. Bedes were in the game desperate to take the lead right at the end. 

However in their last play of the match, STAC scored a runaway. A loss by 2 seemed a closer representation of the match in the favoured opinion of the Bede's supporter. On balance the territory and possession was probably with Bede's. Points didn't come easily. STAC too could claim the same and the Bede's defence would be the reason. It was resilient to shut down their skilful breakouts and often meant defending from deep cover. Bede's scored 2 very good tries. The forwards patiently controlled a ruck near the tryline. They reset and communicated. 

The very hard working Elijah Cullen Reid drove over. The combination of Flynn Bainbridge and Sam Keno always seems to spark something . Flynn skillfully nudged a grubber ahead for Sam to pick the bounce and outrun the STAC defenders 20m to try. In a similar moment Sam locked on to tackled ball earning a penalty right out in front for Flynn to kick the team's first 3 points. Wins have been few for the 3rds.

 There's little to be disappointed about. This is a tight team of 3 year groups working well together and smiling at the end of the game. Meanwhile our coaches Kyle and Caleb keep feeding the belief. Trys: Elijah Cullen-Reid, Sam KenoConversions: Flynn Bainbridge x2 Penalty: Flynn Bainbridge x1

4th XV vs StAC 3rd XV lost  23-26

A frustrating loss for the 4ths at Carlton Corner on Saturday. After working hard to get ahead 23-12 some silly mistakes saw StAC take their chances and a couple of late tries to them gave them the victory. St Bede's started well and were ahead early 10-0. StAC came back well scoring two converted tries to be ahead 14-10 at the break. Two penalties and a try to ½ back Tom Blair after sustained pressure on the StAC line followed by a great sideline conversion by Ashton Haigh gave us a handy lead but failure to control the resultant kick off allowed StAC to get on attack and gave them a sniff which they managed to do well. Once again a failure to control the kick offs and the inability to clear the line when under pressure cost the 4ths and they will need to improve in these areas as the business end of the season approaches.

U75kgs Red vs CBHS U75kgs "Blue" lost 7-19

The St Bede’s U75kg went into the the top of the table clash knowing that they were facing their biggest challenge of the season so far against the undefeated Boys’ High team.
The first half saw Boys’ High start with most of the possession and put St Bede’s on the defensive. A few errors saw Bede’s put themselves under a lot of pressure and Boys’ High managed to force their way over out wide for a converted try. After this the half was evenly matched and the team had plenty of possession and territory but couldn’t quite get an equalising score. Both sides were defending well, but towards the end of the half a missed tackle in the midfield led to Boys’ High breaking out from their 22 and finishing a well worked try for a halftime lead of 12-0.

Early in the second half an injury to one of the Boys’ High players lead to a change of fields as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. Boys’ High dominated much of the possession and stretched the Bede’s defence which was forced to concede a number of penalties. This lead to Lachie Daly being sent to the sin bin. In this period Boys‘ High scored a third try to take their lead to 19-0. Bede’s continued to run hard at the defence and a line-break by Captain Matthew Mun then well timed pass saw Harvey Scott score a converted try under the posts. Bede’s continued to press for another score but couldn’t break down a well organised Boys’ High defence and more defensive penalties saw Todd McDermott also sent to the bin.

This was the first loss of the season for St Bede’s and the team could have no complaints with the final score of 19-7 and on the day a well drilled Boys’ High team were the better side. Bede’s did not play poorly and there were many excellent performers, such as player of the day Ronan Davidson who tackled and carried hard all game. At the end of the game there was a definite belief from the boys that if they cut out the errors and have a bit more patience in attack, this is a side they are more than capable of beating when they meet them again later in the season.

U75kgs Black vs CC U75kgs "Black" lost 22-24

St Bede's went into the last game of the round looking to produce a strong performance against a Christ's College team just below them on the table.

A strong and clinical start by St Bede's ensured we had plenty of field possession and early on Fraser Brown kicked through and regathered to put the first points on the board. The early part of the game was all St Bede's with constant possession through good work by the forwards with Michael Blunt and Ethan Dawson doing some strong runs which allowed Taylor Fahey at halfback to give good crisp passing to the backs to produce some great running and passing.

Connor Stewart was next to score showing fantastic speed to get across and this was followed by Finn O’Donnell going over for the first of his two tries. With St Bede's up 17 – nil after 13 minutes it seemed like we were in for a great performance. Christ's College had other ideas though and eventually were able to put together some good phases and get on the scoreboard.

Finn O’Donnell scored again next, after great backline work enabled him to be put into space and show excellent pace to outrun the defence. Up 22 to 7 unfortunately this would be the last score by St Bede's. Christ's College hung in and scored two further tries in the first half with a crucial try right on halftime which had the score at 22- 19 to St Bede's.

The second half was a turnaround of the first half with St Bede's struggling to put phases together with some dropped ball, penalties and inaccurate passing we struggled to get onto attack. Christ's College increased their defensive effort and intensity to put pressure on St Bede's. They were able to score the only try of the second half to put them in front 24 – 22 which is where it stayed until the final whistle.

U65kgs vs StAC U65kgs lost 12-26

The early exchanges set the tone for the whole match. The StAC forwards attacked our boys in close at the breakdown and made gains with each carry, as the ball went into contact the StAC forwards were first to the breakdown and won the ball. For most of the first half St Bede's found themselves camped in their own half and when they did have the ball they were sat on their own line and forced to kick. It’s a testament to the defence that the St Bede's team put up that they only went into half time 7 - 0 down.

Coming out for the second half the St Bede's team started brightly and were a lot more positive with the ball. They started to move the ball around and retained position well, and started a series of plays deep in their own half that eventually saw Finn O’Kane score under the posts. This brought the scores level and seemed to show that we could match StAC when we held onto the ball. Sadly, this did not last and StAC seemed to play most of the game in the St Bede's 22 where they kept pressure on our line and won most of the rucks. They went on to score 2 further tries before a brief trip into the StAC 22 and pressure from Joey Pawson on the StAC 9 gave us try before the StAC number 8 rounded the game off with a score to bring the game to a close. A hard day at the office for the Bede's boys, they were not on their game today and StAC took advantage, but we have shown earlier in the season that we are more than a match for them and so we look forward to the next time they meet.

A special thanks to Mason Robson, Noah Whitfield, Finn O’Kane, Joey Kilworth and Tyler Ikin who played for us today

U15 Red vs STC U15 "Blue" lost 5-26

A disappointing result with a 26 – 5 loss. With a loss to St Thomas last weekend the challenge this week was to turn the result around which we didn’t manage to do. They are a well drilled team and did a good job of playing a fair amount of time in our half.

St Thomas scored an early try and then went about building on that success. Our lineout and scrum worked well and gave the backs some good ball to work with, but the off-side rule wasn’t policed very well and the St Thomas backs were up on our guys very quickly which made life difficult when trying to build momentum.

In the first half their defence was very good as we camped on their try line for a reasonable amount of time and they managed to keep us out. Some positives to take out of the second half was that the boys did not give up, scoring a good second half try. We were able to build phases and put pressure on St Thomas., however, there will be a few work-ons before our next game which will include positional play as well as on field decision-making.

We had 3 three injuries today. Ollie Monks – Concussion (3-week stand down), Heinrich recurring knee issue and Tom Robertson thought to have a shoulder injury but after an x-ray there appears to be no major damage. All players should be able to return to the field after the school holidays.

The planning and development of the team continues to build as we prepare for the National Invitational U15 Tournament that is to be held in Christchurch at the end of August this year.

U15 Black vs Linwood College U15 won 26-12

In the first round game vs Linwood, Bede's lost 62-0. In a stunning reversal of form yesterday SBC dominated Linwood and came away with an excellent win. Team Black have now won 5 straight.

In the game, Linwood scored early against the run of play to go up 7 - 0. However, not long after Flynn Martin scored for Bede's off a defensive mistake and that gave the lads increased belief that they could take the game.
Play flowed the length of the field on several occasions with Linwood very quick on the outsides. But staunch defence by Bede's - that is becoming a hallmark of their play - kept them in the game.
As the half went on Bede's managed to bring their structures into play which Linwood struggled with. And in two flowing movements, after good forward pressure on the LHS line, both Connor Johnston and Logan Rochford scored. Bede's led 21 - 7 at halftime.
The second half got underway and Bede's were slightly less fluent in their attack, and the game ebbed and flowed across the park. However, Tommy Gunn scored an excellent solo try to push Bede’s further ahead. Linwood responded with a try to their big No 8 and continued to put some pressure on the Bede's line, however good defense kept them out. Bede's closed the game out for an excellent victory. Mention must be made of Max Kirk's great goal kicking, with 3 conversions.
This team is showing the benefit of excellent coaching, team spirit and self belief, and they are consistently improving.  StAC A and SBHS A have been moved into this division so bigger challenges await...
Forward of the day: Jordan Fearon   Back of the day: Vincent Glass    Player of the day: Nick Scully

U14 Red vs STC U14 "Blue" won 38-12

After a 29-29 draw the last time we met, the boys knew this would be a big game. A try in the first 3 minutes to Kymani Hau-Taumoa was the start we wanted, followed by an excellent conversion from Reuben McIntyre. St Thomas scored straight away and the pressure was on. We settled into our game and scored three more tries going to halftime 26-12. Two more tries in the second half to Kymani sealed the game.
Some real highlights of the game were the storming runs from Kymani and Brody and two try saving tackles from Carter.
We saw lots of improvement today... still work to do but great to see the boys enjoying themselves. Thanks to the large contingent of Whanau and friends who turned up to support us.

U14 Black vs StAC U14 lost 10-29

U14 Black met StAC for the first time this season and were looking forward to putting our new pod structure in to play. The game started as an arm wrestle with both sides struggling for ascendancy and with the score 0-5 after twenty minutes anybody would have thought we were playing in cold, wet conditions rather than the sunny day we had at Englefield. With the ball being turned over fairly regularly and both sides happy to go wide early it wasn’t really a day where we did use our pod structure much. When we did, we were able to get behind the gain line in what we hope will mean more structured games from here on. The half finished with a couple of tries to StAC giving them a 15-0 lead going into the break.

The boys were fizzing early in the second half, with strong carries by Dylan Jack, Alex Cowan, Riley Manson and Oscar Cox giving us the space to go wide. One of these led to a try to Max Morris who finished strongly. The game then entered another period where we were on top but couldn’t make the most of our opportunities. StAC were also able to exit well when we had them under pressure. A few key decisions went against us then a period of ill-discipline and StAC were back in the game. They crashed over for a converted try on the back of several penalties close to our line, despite some desperate defence. We bounced back and had Max scoring again out wide to stay in the game. The final 10 minutes again saw us with plenty of opportunity but not quite finishing. A slick individual run by the StAC second five finished the scoring to give a final result of 10-29.

The game was an even contest despite the score and the boys certainly gave their all. It was one of those games where there were a few key moments and we didn’t quite execute as we wanted. All good learnings for our next game!

Forward of the Day – Dylan Jack    Back of the Day – Max Morris

U14 White vs Burnside U14 lost 27-57

The St Bede's U14 White team came up against a physical and direct Burnside team at St Bede’s College.

St Bede's took a while to warm into the game and conceded an early converted try to be down 7-0 after just a couple of minutes. Shortly after St Bede's started to lift the tempo and some strong running from a quick penalty tap saw them hit back to make the score line 7-5. St Bede's then put Burnside under some real pressure and romp an attack down the blindside, they were unlucky not to score again when being forced into touch in goal. Burnside got up some good momentum from this point on and after some strong and straight running saw them crash over for their 2nd try midway through the first half.

From the resulting kick-off, one of the Burnside players was lucky to only receive a yellow card after a dangerous tip tackle and this saw the momentum swing back St Bede’s way. After being denied just short of the line, St Bede’s stuck to the task and were rewarded with a good try just short of halftime. Halftime score: 12-10 to Burnside.

After what was an even first half, St Bede’s were well in the hunt but as happened last week, a lack of concentration and flimsy defence let Burnside in for a soft try. Getting their minds back on the job, the boys were rewarded for good offloading in the tackle and some direct running with an unconverted try bringing the score early in the 2nd half to 19-15. For the next 10 minutes it was all Burnside with their aggressive running, resulting in 3 quick tries which basically put the result beyond doubt. Good forward play saw St Bede's score 2 of the next 3 tries to be scored but a couple of soft late tries saw the final score of 57-27 to Burnside.

Generally it was a good effort from the boys today, however the lapses in concentration and failing to combat the aggressive and straight running from Burnside really cost them in the second half. One of the most important things in rugby is not to concede points straight after scoring and this starts with making sure the ball is secured and doesn’t bounce from the ensuing kick-off. Unfortunately a lot of the Burnside tries came from not securing the kick-off which resulted in easy tries. When the St Bede’s boys ran hard and straight they were at their most effective and it could be said that today’s game is one that got away.

Player of the day: Rhys Gjelstad Tackler of the day: Lachie Claridge

U55kgs lost to StAC 7-39

Feature article:    https://hail.to/st-bedes-college/article/xosgBs1