2017 School Rugby
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@Number-10 Commentators are probably right, because Hamilton played from the same side of the field as Hastings in the first half and it was benefiting Hastings. St Kent's, however, didn't do anything with the advantage in the 2nd half. Doesn't look like the wind has eased.
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@Bovidae You're right. I have seen a lot of comments on FB over the past few weeks/months downplaying the success of Hastings Boys (mostly from people in the Auckland and Wellington area) for several incorrect/unjustified reasons. One of them was that the Super 8 competition must be weaker than, particularly, the Auckland competition. I think today's results have clearly proven that that is just sour grapes.
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From top to bottom the 1A comp probably is the strongest in the country but that doesn't mean that they also have the best teams at the top end, as today's results have shown.
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@Bovidae said in 2017 School Rugby:
From top to bottom the 1A comp probably is the strongest in the country but that doesn't mean that they also have the best teams at the top end, as today's results have shown.
Depends on how you define top end..
Super 8 is in a position where they could have 2 schools in the top 4.. and skew the perception of being the top teams.. -
I'm sure there's enough pre-comp and traditional matches played for someone who isn't as lazy as me to troll through and make a bit more informed decision.
Does anyone know the strength of teams like Dilworth, Aorere, Liston and Tamaki who bring up the rear of the competition?
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@Bovidae
I would argue that the super 8 from top to bottom is the stronger competition. No easy games and a consistently high level remembering that the teams involved are basically the best in the whole north island except Auckland ( whose top 6 or so) are always strong and Wellington , an area that seems to flatter to deceive too often. -
@Higgins
Have to concede that Higgins but they did improve immensely after that. We ( ie Hastings Boys ) have suffered some hidings not too many years ago. Didn't Palmy end up with the Polson banner? Don't want to be critical of any competition and also need to be a bit humble cos who knows what will happen next year. However for 2017 Super 8 rules -
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@Stargazer
Stargazer and Higgins I have followed you both on this site for a long time and love your passion for schoolboy rugby which in my opinion is the best to watch.
Higgins, Napier is always one of our closest rivals and I'm a bit chirpy because I have too many memories going back to the 70s when we felt had the team to beat and then we would go and lose nicely by not very much.
Do you remember the old college day when a lot of visiting school would arrive for a day and frequently be sent home with their tails between their legs after being beaten by Napier/ Te Aute/ Hastings/ Lindisfarne and some of the smaller schools.
Cheers. -
That's my recall too back in the mid to late 70s. Hastings always seemed to have a pretty good team but Napier generally snuck home. Back then Napier were going through a lean spell 1stXV wise and generally lost to Palmy and often Gisborne but usually managed to beat Wairarapa and Hastings (those being the four midweek games that I suppose are what would now be referred to as "traditionals"). From memory around that time (or maybe in the early 70s) Napier and probably Hastings played in the local Under 23 grade where clashes with MAC were always fiercely contested. Sometime around there the schools dropped back into the local schools grade when things were more even than they are now with St. Johns and Central HB (in the days of the Snee brothers) both being strong and Te Aute were always competitive but can't remember how Lindisfarne or Dannevirke rated. Karamu and Taradale generally played against the top schools 2nd XVs and Colenso sort of swung between the grades.
Nowadays I suspect most of the co-ed state schools are really struggling to even field any more than a couple of teams if they are lucky but I stand to be corrected on that. This falling away obviously lead to the formation of the Super 8 which allowed meaningful and competitive games for all those schools involved. The amount of travelling involved must be a strain on those taking part. I can only imaging how huge the number of kilometres Hastings has covered in a bus this year as they seem to have been here there and every where. They are involved in not only the Super 8 but also the Tranzit Coachlines Pre-Season series not to mention a good number of warm up games up north and even down in Wellington (saw HBHS smoke Wgtn College by 40 - after their 2nds killed Wgtn 2nds by 80 early in the season).
The mass interschool challenges at Napier was the Invasion against Palm Nth were every conceivable sport and a few others that weren't like scrabble and debating etc, played their opposition counterparts and from memory we had a smaller one with Hastings but with less sports and not all teams took place. Do they still take place???????
I have a few "adopted" grandkids who I have to front up and watch them play most Saturdays so I still see a lot of schools rugby. One of them is playing for St. Marys in the National Schoolgirls final in Palm Nth tomorrow morning but her father has not yet told me if there is a spare seat in the van so I might miss out. Then again they might just turn up at 6.00am to pick me up like they did last week for the semi-finals!
You get good value at schools rugby as it seems to have way less holdups and delays with scrums assembling and the crouch bind and setting process taking minimal time compared to the professional level. Similarly goal kicking is not a time consuming marathon often seen at the highest levels.
I don't get much of rest in summer as there is cricket, softball and motor racing all demanding my attendance!
