Three Wellington schools at National Condor 7s this weekend

This weekend sees the playing of college rugby’s final event of the year, the national Condor Sevens championship at Kelston Boys’ High School in Auckland.

Wellington once again sends three teams to the showcase event – boys regional winners St Patricks College, Wellington, runners-up St Patricks Silverstream, and girls winners St Mary’s, Wellington.

Both boys’ sides head to the tournament with plenty of optimism about their chances, but also know that Wellington has a strong recent history at this event with Scots College having finished runners-up in each of the last two years.

St Pat’s Town ended Scots’ hopes of going one better this year when they beat them in the regional semi-final, and went on to claim the regional title in beating Silverstream in the final adding the local 7’s title to the 15’s Premiership. Since then they’ve been runners-up at the Hurricanes schools event (to Hastings’ Boys HS), and fielded an experimental line-up in the Colts section of the WRFU’s Ambassador Trophy. Silverstream may have surrendered their local crown to Town, but were the better performed of the two at the Ambassadors event, dipping out to club side the Upper Hutt Rams in the last moments of the Colts final. Ironically, that Rams side contained several players who helped Silverstream to win the Plate final at this event last year (their only loss was to Hamilton Boys in the Cup quarter-final), and that experience will be invaluable to the returning members of the squad.

The two teams will be vying with 22 others for the title. Defending champs and national 15’s winners Rotorua Boys’ HS will be back, along with many others of the national powerhouses – host school Kelston and Hamilton, Gisborne, and Christchurch (who return after failing to qualify last year) Boys Highs – and some unfamiliar names as well; Thames Valley’s Waihi College, Southland winners St Peter’s, Gore, and Counties-Manukau qualifiers Alfriston College. Notable absentees include two of this year’s Top 4 schools in St Kentigern College, who didn’t qualify, and Otago Boys’ HS, who did but aren’t travelling, while Auckland Grammar again didn’t even contest their regional event.

Town are in Pool B with Auckland school Sacred Heart and St Paul’s Collegiate from Hamilton, and will clearly look to replicate the successful formula from the local qualifier. Xavier Numia and Year 13 John Tuia will be looked towards to provide the physicality on both sides of the ball in the centre of the park, with another Year 13, Gus Stone, likely tasked with winning the kick-off ball. Siosaia Paese and Willie Schutz (who has opted to play in this tournament rather than representative flag football in Australia) give the side speed on the outside with Billy Proctor, the star of the Premiership final, the side’s X-factor game-breaking threat. Head Boy Thomas Noble-Campbell will captain the side as well as fill one of the organiser roles.

Silverstream will be familiar with the tournament from their appearance last year. They have some significant firepower, with NZ Schools representative Losi Filipo and trialist Josh Brown likely to play significant places, while Year 11 outside back Todd Svenson is likely to again fill the distributor role as he did at Trentham.

Their ace though is likely to be human wrecking-ball Asafo Aumua. The NZ Schools representative scored more than half his sides tries at the Ambassadors tournament as he proved more than some sides could handle and was selected by provincial coach Scott Waldrom in the Men’s squad following that event. Along with Filipo he’ll look to cap his fine school career with another series of big performances. Silverstream are drawn in Pool E alongside Canterbury runners-up Christchurch Boys, and Wanganui winners Wanganui High.

Rotorua and Hamilton are the likely favourites, though if they both go undefeated they will clash at the semi-finals stage. Gisborne Boys, Mt Albert Grammar School, New Plymouth Boys, St Bede’s, and Feilding High School all shape as contenders while hosts Kelston can’t be ruled out either despite a poor 15s season, and there could be a surprise package lurking somewhere in the rest of the field.

Both Town and Silverstream will need at least one win in their two pool matches to qualify for the round of 16 matches on Saturday afternoon, Should they do that then Silverstream will face a side from Pool D (they will need to win both pool games to avoid a matchup with Hamilton at that stage, provided Hamilton have won both of theirs), while Town’s opponent will be from Pool G. The winners of those games will go onto the Cup rounds on Sunday, with the losers heading for the Bowl section.

St Mary’s were a somewhat surprise winner of the Girls regional, having played the local college season in the 10-a-side second tier (which they won) rather than the 12-a-side Premier grade. That didn’t matter on Labour Day, as they swept through the competition beating defending local champs Wellington East then seeing off Wainuiomata in playoffs.

The challenge in front of them is considerable, even to match East’s Plate title from last year, and will do so without Colleen Faleafaga who was one of the stars of their local triumph. One of their other standouts from that day, Monica Tagoai, will captain the side which could be the youngest at the tournament. There are no Year 13’s, Tagoai is the only Year 12, and half the squad are either in only their first or second year of high school. They are drawn in Pool L alongside Tasman region winners Motueka High, Northland school Bay of Islands College, and perennial powerhouse Feilding High. St Mary’s face Feilding in their final game on Day 1, so wins in their earlier games will be critical to ensuring qualification to the Cup draw on Day 2.

Like last year, Hamilton Girls’ HS start as hot favourites, and will be looking for a hat-trick of titles in this event to go with their back-to-back 15s crowns. The challenges are likely to come from fellow Top 4 sides Southland Girls and Feilding (the fourth, Auckland’s Southern Cross Campus, qualified for this event but aren’t competing), last year’s runners-up New Plymouth Girls, and local schools Otahuhu College and Mt Albert Grammar. As with the boys there are unfamiliar names competing as well, like Long Bay College from North Harbour and St Hilda’s Collegiate from Dunedin.

TV coverage of both days will be carried live on Sky Sports Rugby channel.

Club Rugby will also carry Day 1 and Day 2 match reports, from our correspondant Adam Julian on the ground at the tournament. 

Pools 

Boys

Pool A: Rotorua BHS (BoP), Kelston BHS (AKL), Westlake BHS (NHR)
Pool B: St Patricks College, Wellington (WEL), Sacred Heart College (AKL), St Pauls Collegiate, Hamilton (WAI)
Pool C: Mt Albert Grammar (AKL), St Bede’s (CAN), Alfriston College (C-M)
Pool D: Hamilton BHS (WAI), Nelson College (TAS), Tauranga BC (BoP)
Pool E: St Patricks, Silverstream (WEL), Christchurch BHS (CAN, Wanganui HS (WAN)
Pool F: New Plymouth BHS (TAR), Opotiki College (BoP), Palmerston North BHS (MAN/HK/WB)
Pool G: Feilding HS (MAN/HK/WB), Hastings BHS (HB), St Peters College, Gore (STH)
Pool H: Gisborne BHS (PB/EC), Whangarei BHS (NTH), Waihi College (TV) 

Girls

Pool G: Hamilton GHS (WAI), Christchurch GHS (CAN), Otahuhu College (AKL), Long Bay College (NHR)
Pool I: Southland GHS (STH), Cambridge HS (WAI), New Plymouth GHS (TAR), Tauranga GC (BoP)
Pool R: Te Puke HS (BoP), Kaipara College (NHR), Mt Albert Grammar (AKL), St Hildas Collegiate (OTA)
Pool L: Feilding HS (MAN/HK/WB), St Marys College (WEL), Motueka HS (TAS), Bay of Islands College (NTH)

 Format:

Open Boys

• 8 pools of three teams
• Two pool round-robin matches on Saturday
• Top two only from each pool proceeds to the round of 16 matches on Saturday afternoon. Top team in each pool will play second-ranked team from another. Winners proceed to the Cup knockout on Sunday, losers to the Bowl section.
• Bottom side from each pool go straight into the Shield competition for Sunday 
• Each bracket Sunday is an 8-team knockout. Cup quarterfinal losers contest the Plate competition
•   Cup final scheduled for 4.47pm

Open Girls

• 4 pools of four teams
• Three pool round-robin matches on Saturday
• Top two in each pool proceed to the Cup quarterfinals, bottom two to the Bowl competition
• Knockout games in each bracket Sunday. Cup quarter losers contest the Plate, Bowl quarter losers contest the Shield
• Cup final scheduled for 4.28pm