Southern Schools Outstanding During Tournament Week

Southland Boys’ High School’s historic Top Four rugby victory was a highlight from an outstanding tournament week featuring schools from across Murihiku.

Claiming the boys’ national first XV rugby title for the first time, along with the Moascar Cup (considered the Ranfurly Shield of schoolboy rugby), Boys’ High also claimed the South Island secondary schools junior boys rugby title in a three-day tournament held in Blenheim.

Verdon College track cyclist Caitlin Kelly returned home from the UCI junior world championships in Cali, Colombia with a bronze medal from the keirin event, the only member of the nine-strong New Zealand team to make the podium.

Elsewhere, Central Southland College celebrated a win at the Girls’ 10-aside rugby tournament held in Gore and the division two title at the South Island Rural Livestock junior tournament in Alexandra.

The Winton high school also took out the title at a South Island basketball tournament held in Nelson, which also featured Menzies College.

Competing in the New Zealand secondary schools basketball AA Zone four tournament in Dunedin, James Hargest College’s girls team finished ninth and its boys team finished 13th, with Boys’ High 16th.

Invercargill played host to more than 70 schools at ILT Stadium Southland for the South Island secondary schools netball tournament, with Southland Girls’ High School (sixth) and James Hargest College (seventh) the pick of the local teams in A grade.

Southland schools competed strongly across the traditional hockey and football tournaments that are a fixture of winter tournament week.

James Hargest College was seventh in the boys Linwood Cup in Dunedin, Boys’ High 13th and Gore High School 17th. At the Jim Wishart event in Nelson, Wakatipu High School was 12th.

The Lotto girls event in Timaru saw Wakatipu finish ninth and Fiordland 16th. Boys’ High (fourth) and James Hargest (fifth) was prominent at the Audrey Timlin and Johnson Cup hockey tournament in Nelson, while Hargest was third at the South Island secondary schools Tier 4 boys and girls event in Greymouth.

Girls’ High was also third in the Jenny McDonald tournament in Timaru, while the SISS Mixed Hockey event in Oamaru saw Wakatipu finish third and Central Southland sixth.

Wakatipu had more than a dozen teams competing across the week. The Queenstown high school also finished second and third at the SISS Ice Hockey tournament in Dunedin, ninth in the Southern Cup basketball in Timaru and achieved a fourth in trail riding and 10th in dressage at the SISS Equestrian Championships.

Wakatipu were fifth at the New Zealand secondary schools golf finals, with Boys’ High 17th, eighth at the Junior Girls Zone 4 basketball tournament in Dunedin and runner-up at the South Island under 85kg boys rugby tournament in Mosgiel.

Southland Secondary School Sport regional director Fiona Ward said results across the board were something to be proud of.

“This is just some of the results that we are aware of from tournament week. After a number of years where events have been disrupted by the pandemic it's fantastic to see our young people getting out there and making the most of these opportunities.”