Inaugural New Zealand Marist Colleges match on Saturday

Above: Father Paul Kane SMs, the first of two ordained Marist priests who became All Blacks in the early 1920s. The New Zealand Marist Colleges Team and the Centurions Rugby Football Club U18s contest the inaugural Fr. Paul Kane Challenge Cup on Saturday.

On Saturday, Wellington will commemorate and create rugby history, when the first ever New Zealand Marist Colleges Team takes to the field at St. Patrick’s College in Wellington.
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The New Zealand Marist Colleges Team has been created under the umbrella of the New Zealand Marist Rugby Federation. The Federation was formed in 1965 to foster and promote New Zealand’s national game across Marist Rugby Clubs, many of which were built on the traditions of the Marist Brothers or Marist Fathers. In 1990, the Federation formally became a member of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and is well known for its New Zealand Marist XV, New Zealand Marist Colts and New Zealand Marist Sevens Teams.
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Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Sherwin Stowers, Hosea Gear, Jeremy Thrush and Doug Howlett are all examples of players who’ve achieved national and international recognition through the Federation.
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In 2013, the Federation has selected its inaugural New Zealand Marist Colleges Team following nominations from 49 Catholic Secondary Schools from throughout New Zealand. The squad of 22 players represents 12 Colleges from Auckland to Timaru.
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This coming Saturday, the team will defend the Fr. Paul Kane Challenge Cup against the Centurions Rugby Football Club U18 Team in what is sure to be an entertaining and competitive match.
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Father Paul Kane SM was the first of two ordained Marist priests who became All Blacks in the early 1920s. Father Kane was a member of the St. Patrick's College Wellington staff from 1921 to 1925, when he also coached the SPC 1XV. He was a member of the SPC 1XV in 1910 and was selected for the All Blacks in 1921 after having represented the West Coast, South Island Country and Wellington teams.
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On Saturday, should New Zealand Marist Colleges win or draw the match, they will retain the Cup, to be competed for when the team next plays in 2014. Should the Centurions RFC win the Cup, it will be retained pending a future fixture with NZ Marist Colleges.

The Centurions side is a selection of players from colleges in Wellington. Although a different composition of players will take part in this match, the Centurions U18s recently won the Hurricanes region U18 B division competition, defeating Wairarapa Bush B 20-3 in the final in Palmerston North.
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The match kicks-off at 11.45 am at St. Patrick’s College Wellington on the new Artificial Turf.
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The New Zealand Marist Colleges Team is:

ALIAMALO Solomon, St. Bede’s College, Christchurch; ATAONGO Siope, Liston College, Waitakere; CAMERON Brett, Cullinane College, Wanganui; COSGROVE Liam, Roncalli College, Timaru; DONALDSON Zac, St. Patrick’s College, Wellington; KEECH Cameron, Francis Douglas Memorial College, New Plymouth; HAVILI Onehunga, Sacred Heart College, Auckland; HOLBROOK James, St. Patrick’s College, Wellington; MONAGHAN Sam, Cullinane College, Wanganui; MONTIN Jason, St. Bernard’s College, Lower Hutt; NOBLE-CAMPBELL Aleks, ?St. Patrick’s College, Wellington; RIHIA Jayden, ?St. John’s College, Hastings; ROBERTSON-WEEPU Josh, St. Patrick’s College, Silverstream; SIAUNU'UA Salio, Bishop Viard College, Porirua; SOSEFO Vern, St. Patrick’s College, Silverstream; STAIJEN Matthew, ?St. John’s College, Hamilton; STONE Gus, St. Patrick’s College, Wellington; TAUNAUTA Sanalio, St. John’s College, Hamilton; TIAI Salunami, Liston College, Waitakere; TUPOU Daniel, Sacred Heart College, Auckland; VINCENT Angus, St. Bede’s College, Christchurch; and YOUNG Joshua St. John’s College, Hamilton.