13 games 6 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw

1st XV vs Roncalli Aoraki Combined Schools won 45-7

On Saturday the 1st XV travelled to Timaru to play Roncalli Aoraki Combined. It was the cap game for lock Oli Lyons. There were moments of brilliance from players like Isaac Hutchinson, but there were other patches where there was poor decision making resulting in some ugly rugby. The goal of a bonus point win was achieved however with a 45-7 score line. The team returns to Timaru next Saturday to play unbeaten Timaru Boys' High School. The Man of the match was half-back Ollie Robb who was dynamic when he came into the game off the bench.

Tries: Isaac Hutchinson 2, Tanner Stowers-Smith, Mason Allison, Liam Potts, Oli Lyons and Loti Sevele. Conversions: Mason Allison 4 and Jamayne Feast 1.

2nd XV vs Christchurch BHS 3rd XV Won 25-18

This week, our 2nd XV played against Christchurch BHS 3rd XV. After having beaten the CBHS 2nd XV at Straven Road earlier in the season, this match against another strong Boys' High team was always going to be closely contested. The final score was 25-18, with St Bede's scoring four tries to their three. At times we looked clearly the better side, but we struggled to kick free of what was a tenacious CBHS team. Our tries were all well constructed and there were moments that were as good as anything so far this season, but for the most part we were caught in an arm-wrestle in channel one where the CBHS defence was staunch. Our inability to adjust our attack and get into our shape is something the coaches will no doubt work on in the coming week.

Ben Hanrahan scored a nice try from a 8-9-13 blindside move. Soon after that Oliver Lawry chased a lovely kick through by Will Coombes to score. In the second half, Sam Rochford supported well to receive a well-delivered offload from Charlie Stenberg and Roan Brown finished a well-constructed attack after a series of breakdowns. We caused problems for their defence when we managed to get the ball wide, but failed to do so often enough, instead getting "caught in the trenches" where CBHS were happy to wrestle all day.

Scorers: Oliver Lawry try, Ben Hanrahan try, Sam Rochford try, Roan Brown try, Elliot Prendergast 1 conversion, Charlie Stenberg 1 penalty goal. CBHS 3 tries, 1 penalty goal.

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

3rd XV vs StAC 2nd XV lost 7-31

The draw almost needed a second look to confirm the opposition as being St Andrew's 2nd XV on their main field. The field was prepared as if for the main match. The STAC student supporters mustered a haka while the teams fanned out from the changing rooms.

STAC 2nds had the look of a solid bunch, clean kit, a bit of strapping. The occasion might have psyched the visitors but St Bede's 3rds focused and started solidly. They controlled the flow and soon scored in a forward drive off a lineout. Well done Kaede Kurosu on the try.

Not much else gelled for the boys thereafter. Replacements for the second half brought some new vigor but execution just didn't spark. It was not for the want of everyone trying. Maybe it was the combination of the break last weekend and a long spell of indoor weather. With the stiff easterly behind them in the second half, St Andrew's took control with possession and territory.

For the 3rds, two persistent battlers in the forwards showed great resolve. Senior boys Elijah Cullen-Reid and Sam Nolan battled from beginning to end. Their post match interview showed expressions of satisfaction with total effort. Unfortunately their audio was destroyed by the buffeting easterly - apologies. The 3rds will know collectively they can play better and will train hard again for next week.

4th XV vs Haeta Community Campus lost 24-27

U75kgs Red vs CBHS U75kgs "Gold" won 64-10

After a two week break the St Bede’s U75kg Red team went into the match against CBHS looking to preserve their unbeaten record. It was a day when St Bede’s played their best rugby of the season. The team started well sticking to the structures they had practised during the week and scored two early tries to lead 14-0. Bede’s then became guilty of trying to force play and CBHS enjoyed a long period of possession and came close to scoring. Bede’s resisted this pressure and broke out to score and Liam Nind finished off a well worked move. Bede’s played well structured rugby and scored some good tries without Charlie Coakley looking a threat running in the wider channels. The first half ended with a 35-0 lead to Bede’s with Liam Nind and Charlie Coakley scoring doubles.

The second half started in much the same way as the first with Bede’s playing all the rugby and there were well taken tries for Nick Read, Elijah Butts and Sam Floyd. As the game wore on and the score continued to build, Boys’ High grew frustrated and their discipline deteriorated leading to three of their players receiving yellow cards. Bede’s continued to play rugby and despite two consolation tries for CBHS, the final try of the game was scored by player of the day Todd McDermott and the match ended with a 64-10 win for St Bede’s.

At the end of the game the referee complimented the St Bede’s team for maintaining their discipline in the face of some provocation, and it was certainly a day where the team let their rugby do the talking.

U75kgs Black vs CBHS U75kgs "Blue" lost 26-29

Playing at home against the unbeaten CBHS Blue team this was going to be a tough battle. We were on the back foot early on with an early mistake that they were able to capitalise on and build early pressure that eventually led to a CBHS try.

From here we were able to reset and have some good possession that enabled us to put together some good phases and led to a great break by Olly Meates to go over to level the scores.

The game continued to be a very even contest and CBHS continued to keep their lead with another well constructed try. Seth Matheson hit back for Bede's with a determined run from a penalty close to the line to even the game back up, however, another two tries to CBHS prior to half time put them ahead 22 – 12 at the break.

The second half continued in similar fashion being very even. After some good team work that enabled us to put together some good phases Fraser Brown was able to score under the posts from a strong run which put us back within 3 points again.

However, as in the first half each time we would get close on the scoreboard we would let CBHS back in the game. With two sinbins for Bede's for high tackles in close succession the team had to work hard on defence which to their credit they did well and held their line firm.

After some good lead up work by both forwards and backs and a strong effort by Christian Gilbert to evade some tackles he was able to score close to the posts which put us down by only 3 at 29 – 26 with the final whistle nearing.

While we managed some breakouts and were hopeful of getting over for a winning try the CBHS Blue team were able to hold firm until the end with their continued solid defence.

U65kgs vs StAC U65kgs drew 19-19

The game was played at South Hagley Park which provided a lovely cold easterly breeze for the players and parents to enjoy.

The boys started off playing into the wind and the early exchanges were tight with both teams having good attacking opportunities in each others 22. It was obvious that StAC had come well prepared for the match after their heavy loss to the boys several weeks before. They draw first blood with a try after some sustained pressure in the St Bede's 22.

Our discipline was not as strong as it has been for the previous games and this kept giving StAC the advantage. StAC's second try came from their backs after a clever kick and chase. As the half progressed our ball security and ill discipline held us back. As the half closed out, St Bede's finally scored after a nice back move off the back of an attacking scrum. Conversion by Joey Pawson. Half time 12:7 to StAC

Half time gave the boys time to regroup and in the second half they were much more accurate with the ball, they held StAC in their 22 and had 2 charge-down tries denied before Joey Pawson took on the StAC backline and scored a lovely try which he also converted. The boys strong tackling has been a theme of the season and Luke Norton picked up and ran a great try in the corner after a series of big hits on StAC in their 22. A difficult conversion was narrowly missed. 12:19 and the boys looked in control, but in the dying minutes handling errors from St Bede's gave a chance to StAC who took it and converted. A draw was a fair result and I am sure the boys will look forward eagerly to the next encounter.

U15 Red vs Christ's College U15 "A" lost 10-38

U15 Black vs Merivale-Papanui/Belfast U15 Won 62-5

The lads came up against a team that beat them in the grading game. But the result on Saturday was very different. The boys started well, were clinical with their pods and decisive in the back play, and an early try resulted. However the opposition struck back in a sweeping move, and dominated possession towards the end of the first quarter. Towards the end of the second quarter Bede's came back well though and scored 3 tries to end the first half leading 26 to 5. The second half was more of the same as the lads dominated possession, tackled and pressed well on defense and scored a number of good tries. Their tactical kicking was strong and use of structured play helped to ensure that it was pretty much one way traffic. However white line fever did set in and a number of try opportunities out wide were missed. It must be noted that the team's attitude towards the match official was very respectful and their discipline was good - this had been a point of discussion during the week prior. Special mention must be made of POD Daniel Kim who had a strong game beating and powering over numerous tacklers, displaying great leg drive. It's Daniel's second season of rugby. Tommy Gunn was excellent and scored 3 tries. Forward of the Day: Solomon S
Back of the Day: Andrew B
Player of the Day: Dan K 

Tries: Tommy G 3, Dan K 2, Andrew 2, George, Sol, Hunter

Conversions: Max 3, Tommy G 3

U14 Red vs Christ's College U14 "A" Won 43-12

The U14 Red had a good win over Christ's College. The team needed a win to get the season back on track and it was excellent to see the boys putting into play some of the things we had practised at training. It was a brilliant start with two well constructed tries seeing Wing Finn Pearson finish well in the corner both times. Unfortunately, a lack of execution, impatience and basic skill errors meant we missed out on several more scoring opportunities and let College back in the game. The second half saw the team building well and assert dominance again in the final quarter to pile on the points and finish well. Overall a great team effort and great to win the Challenge Shield. The St Bede's Loose Forwards and back three were particularly devastating on attack which bodes well coming into next week.

U14 Black vs CBHS U14B "Blue" lost 17-41

U14 Black were keen to put in a good performance playing on Bede's No 1 field against a solid Boys' High side. We started well and were able to put some good phases together but couldn’t clear out of our half. A turnover led to Boys' High scoring early. There was a lengthy period of play where we were able to put pressure on their attack and with some good mid field tackling by Flynn Lawton and out wide by Danny Boyce meant we not only contained them but were able to get turnover ball. With ball in hand we weren’t able to dominate at the breakdown so struggled to get go-forward ball for our backs. It was similar for both sides although Boys' pulled off a nice backline move which led to their second try. Another try came from not clearing from our 22 and by halftime we were down 0-24.

The second half saw better ball retention and Oscar Cox, Luke Spanjer, Nash Moir and Riley Manson started to make big runs up the middle. With a good support line Harry Gorman was able to score our first try out wide. This was followed by a great period of play where we were able to score two more tries to narrow the gap to 17-24. This seemed to fire up Boys' High and in what became an intense period of play, they were able to crash over for two more tries despite some desperate line defence. Another late try to them after a charge down while playing catch up rugby inflated the score line in what was a close contest.

Big ups for the boys' effort and commitment today while acknowledging there is still room to improve. Great to see the non-playing boys down there supporting and big thanks to the sideline support.

U14 White vs STC U14 "Red" lost 10-48

U55kgs vs Christchurch FC U14 "Gold" lost 24-42

The St Bede's U55kg team came up against Christchurch, the competition leaders. This Christchurch team has been unbeaten over a few seasons. The game was played in relatively calm but cold conditions at Hagley Park.
St Bede's didn’t have an ideal start, falling behind with Christchurch scoring 3 unanswered tries. Our inability to look after the ball in contact and failure to stay on our feet at the breakdown lead to countless turnovers/penalties against us.
The second half saw much of the same although we saw longer periods on attack and a hat trick to Patsy Fowley kept Bede's in the game until the final 5 minutes where Christchurch pulled away again.
There were a few lessons learned out on the field today, one being that we need to keep our emotions out of “the red” , no matter how bad we think some calls are against us. And another being that there is a direct correlation between how we train during the week and the performance we deliver on a Saturday.
Tackler of the day went to Malachy Murphy, this was Malachy's first game of the season and he had a great game with ball in hand and completing numerous good tackles. Player of the day went to Lewis Lee, not only for the good game he had today but for his outstanding effort he put into training during the week, Lewis is a real ‘team player’. We can’t wait for the next showdown with this Christchurch side!