Hero photograph
Some say if you do the mahi you get the treats....but in this case for Richie, you get voted as Best Player in the Miles Toyota Championship.
 
Photo by .

Head of Sport Report

Daniel O'Brien —

2021 has been a year of great achievement for both teams and individuals at St Thomas of Canterbury College. We have had an unprecedented number of students representing New Zealand in their chosen sports as well as huge numbers of individuals making provincial teams. On top of this, our participation numbers continue to grow; Cricket has over 100 registered players, rugby over 200 players and basketball continuing to provide great numbers in competitive and non-competitive grades. Our Premier winter teams all finished in the top four Canterbury teams in their competitions with the 1st V making the semi-finals of the Thompson Trophy for the first time in our history.

We have welcomed a vast number of new sponsors to our sporting endeavours. I would like to thank all of those involved in securing these relationships especially our committees who continue to give up their time to ensure our sporting programmes go from strength to strength.

Some key moments throughout the year have made it a special one at STC. Famous victories over Christ’s College and CBHS in the 1st XV, our basketballers making top 4 alongside our 1st XI Footballers and our Athletics and Swimming sports days that bring our community together. A special moment was Richie Tupuailei winning the Phillip McDonald Medal for best player in the 1st XV competition. An unbelievable achievement for a Year 12 student.

Alongside Richie, we have seen great success for individuals making NZ teams; Richie Tupuailei and Jack Coulthard (NZ Schools Barbarians – Rugby), Tyler Tapa-Wither (NZ U18 Touch), Oliver Cosgrove (NZ U19 Schools – Football), Donte Tahuhu-Wilson (U13 NZ Maori-Rugby League), Rorie Poff (Silver National Schools Para Shotput) and Daniel Prescott (2nd NZ Cross Country U16s). In 2021, the school had a number of students nominated for the Zonta Sports Awards; Rorie Poff, Oliver Cosgrove, Jack Coulthard, Tyler Tapa-Wither and Richie Tupuailei.

Finally, our students and myself owe a huge debt of gratitude to all our the coaches, managers, parents and supporters who have allowed our young men to follow their passion in sport. The sports department at STC go above and beyond in their efforts to ensure all students are catered for in their pursuit of sporting excellence. A heartfelt thank you to Daniel Kahura, Alex Coulthard, Joe Hammond and Lexi Cutbush for their service to our community, their friendship and their support of me and the ethos of sport at St Thomas’.

2022 promises to be a year of new heights for sport at St Thomas of Canterbury College.