Athletics 

Brothers Kainoa and Tane Keereweer (Years 13 and 10) competed at the Auckland Senior Track and Field Championships in February, Kainoa took out the Gold in the U18M Long Jump and Tane took out Gold in the U16M Long Jump. Tane also took out the Bronze medal in the 100m Final for the U16 Mens.

Tane and Jett Nash (Year 8) year levels mean they qualified for both Championship events, also attending the Auckland Junior Track and Field Champs–once again, Tane again took out Gold in 14 Boys Long Jump, whilst Jett took a Silver medal in the 12 Boys High Jump.

Tane and Kainoa’s results at the Auckland T & F Championships meant they were selected to represent the Auckland Squad to compete at the NZ Track and Field Championships which was held in Wellington last week.

Kainoa took out the Silver medal in the U18 Mens Long Jump. Tane finished 4th in the finals of both the U16ms 200m and 100m races. Tane was part of the U16ms 4 x 100m Relay squad that took out Gold and are now the current national title holders for this event. They also broke the Auckland Record for U16 4 x 100m Relay. Kainoa’s U18 Mens 4 x 100m Relay squad won the Silver medal, missing out on Gold by only .001 of a second!

Cricket 

What a great few weeks for our Cricket teams where the hard work of training up to three nights a week is clearly paying off.

Our Colts team had a memorable win against Kelston Boys where Neil Fernandes (Year 10) was given the tough task of taming Kelston's powerful batters who were fast closing in on the 105 target set by St Paul's. Not only did Neil reduce the run rate, he bowled with precision and accuracy to claim five wickets! A man of the match performance and the difference in a game won in the last over with an impressive run out to seal the victory. The progression of our batting, bowling, fielding and game awareness is very obvious. The Colts are an impressive team who no doubt have their best years ahead of them–keep it up Gentlemen, you are doing the College proud.

Our 1st XI continue their successful season with a close victory over Westlake Boys. Solomon Nash (Year 12) putting in his usual Captain's effort hitting 64 runs and bowling with pace and accuracy. 

1st XI Cricket 

St Paul's 1st XI took on the Westlake Boys' senior team at Devonport Domain on Auckland’s North Shore, and it was a game not to be missed.

After winning the toss, St Paul's got off to an absolute flyer thanks to the explosive batting of Stephen Thomas (Year 12) and Solomon Nash (Year 12). They raced to 50 for no loss in just six overs! It couldn’t last however and things quickly slowed down once Stephen was dismissed for a solid 18, and the rest of the St Paul's middle order didn't quite fire on all cylinders. We lost five quick wickets, and at the 12-over mark, the score had been reduced to 80 for 6. However, Solomon Nash provided some fireworks, smashing one boundary after another, including a towering six that hit a neighbouring house and caused a brief delay while the Westlake team hunted for the ball. Solomon was eventually dismissed for a fantastic 53, which was the highest score of the match.

But then came the moment of truth. Three new players, Joseph Samuels (Year 11), Aisea Makasini (Year 12), and Aaron Te'o (Year 11), entered the fray. Although they only scored two runs each, they batted with determination and rode their luck to survive, collectively, they put on an additional 16 runs that proved to be the difference between winning and losing. St Paul's closed their innings on 97, which wasn't a massive score, but they were determined to defend it.

And defend it they did! St Paul's boys looked sharp in the field, captained expertly by Solomon Nash. They bowled and fielded with enthusiasm and skill, putting the Westlake boys under pressure from the get-go. Atelea Barron-Afeaki (Year 13) bowled exceptionally well, supporting Solomon and Stephen, as did Justus Tele'a (Year 13) and Enoka Sului (Year 13). As the game entered its final stages, Westlake only needed 13 runs to win with two overs to go. The St Paul's boys bowled with a few nerves, giving away a couple of no-balls and a wide, but they held their nerve and managed to eke out a 9-run victory! It was an awesome team effort from the St Paul's boys, who never gave up and fought until the very end.

Special mention to Nico Smith (Year 12), who kept wicket brilliantly and also played his 15th game for the first eleven so revives his cap this week.

Colts Cricket 

Sent into bat by home team Kelston Boys, the St Paul’s Colts got off to a steady start and progressed through to 30 without loss after five overs, before a flurry of wickets saw us fall to be 57/6 after ten overs and in real danger of being bundled out cheaply. 

With a rescue job required, new player Michael Te'o (Year 10) joined Jett Nash (Year 8) at the crease. Putting his natural aggressive tendencies to one side, Michael worked well with Jett to take the singles and byes on offer, with the total also helped along by the regular wides and no-balls given up by the less-experienced bowlers Kelston brought on. The total steadily built to finally reach a respectable 114/7, with both Jett and Michael making double-figures, the partnership only broken by a runout off the last ball when the batters tried to steal a cheeky single.

In reply, the Kelston team got off to a flyer to be 37/0 after five overs, with their left-handed opening batter regularly finding the boundary and with his own score already in the 30s. A change of approach was needed and St Paul's Capitan Hugo Lloyd (Year 9) called on his slower bowlers, betting that taking the pace off the ball would offer more of a challenge to the batters. This brought immediate results, with Neil Fernandes (Year 10) taking two wickets in his first three balls, including the prize wicket of their in-form opener.

A run-out in the same over added to the momentum shift towards St Paul’s, with the pace of run-scoring slowing and wickets continuing to be taken at regular intervals. At 70/6 after 12 overs, Kelston were still up with the required run rate of 5.5 per over, but in a similar scenario to St Paul’s innings, were also at risk of running out of batters.

Something special was required, and sure enough one of the Kelston batters delivered, smashing two huge sixes in one over, helping bring the required run rate down to under four per over and putting the pressure back onto the St Paul’s bowlers. Getting this batter out was the key for St Paul’s and sure enough the team delivered in the next over, but with just 18 runs now required off the final 30 balls, the remaining Kelston batters knew they didn’t have to take too many risks. While the total continued to inch forward – initially helped by several wides and no-balls–St Paul’s also picked up two more wickets, including some quick thinking to turn a dropped catch into a well-taken run-out.

At the start of the 19th the match was still very much up for grabs and the equation simple–seven runs required by Kelston and one wicket by St Paul’s. Some straight bowling at the start of that over built the pressure on the Kelston batters, who responded by looking for a tight single to Ryan Halfpenny (Year 9) at a deep-ish mid-on. Ryan was up to the task, picking up cleanly and getting the ball smartly in to bowler Douglas Calvert (Year 9), who took the bails off with the batter just short of his ground.

In the end it was a well-taken win by St Paul’s, who on several occasions managed to find ways to get themselves out of tricky positions, with some valuable lessons in responding to pressure situations. Equally, the Kelston team can be very proud of their efforts and could easily have come away with what would have been a similarly well-deserved win. Neil Fernandes picked up the man-of-the-match award for his five-wicket haul.

Football 

Football training and trials are underway with a huge uptake so far. With over 20 students competing to be in St Paul's Junior football team, Coach Marc Halfpenny has his work cut out in narrowing it down to 14 players. Our Junior football team will compete in College Sport competition and we look forward to observing this team's progress through the winter months. 

Touch 

Our Senior Touch team is currently undefeated and working towards semi finals in the coming weeks. Bevron Smith-Nansen (Year 13) and Piripi Huia (Year 13) have showed exemplary leadership from the outset, with their attention to detail at training and ability to motivate their team mates on and off the field, well done Gentlemen. Braydon Sapolu (Year 12) and Jackson Hohaia (Year 12) have showed their talents and no doubt will lead the team in 2024. Braydon has exceptional speed and agility, often leaving defenders touching thin air as he makes line breaks and scores tries.

Volleyball  

Senior Volleyball has had a mixed bag of results recently with some great wins and narrow losses. Mavicle Auvaa (Year 11) has been a notable stand out in recent weeks. Ms Tagaloa noted how disappointed the team was after suffering a recent loss which knocked them out of a Top 4 placing. After displaying the usual St Paul's sportsmanship and congratulating Mt Roskill Grammar on their victory, our students slumped and were silent for the van ride home–this is a good thing, this shows that the game means something to this team, representing St Paul's to the community obviously comes with an expectation to these young men. Hang in there team, stay committed and keep working hard towards your next goal, the Auckland Champs. We are all behind you back on Richmond Rd.

Resilience  

Resilience is a buzzword amongst sports commentators and journalists over the last few years, often describing a team or an individual's ability to overcome adversity on or off the sports field. I see examples of this every week in our St Paul's sports teams– from the player who bravely turns up to training, having never played the game but wanting to start from scratch and join the team. The player who turns up to training, week in, week out but perhaps doesn't get many minutes or an opportunity to bat or bowl, these are valuable but tough lessons which crossover from sport into the real world–how we deal with disappointment, our ability to focus, remain steadfast and pursue a goal–even if that goal seems far away or there are roadblocks in the way. At St Paul's, we encourage our young men to participate and try ALL sports, put yourself outside your comfort zone and commit, right until the end, even when things are difficult–that is how we grow. 

Join the Team! 

We enrol the family at St Paul's and sport is no different, we are always looking out for parents, Old Boys and family members to join our sports staff. Experience isn't necessary, just a positive attitude, reliability and ideally an ability to make training after school. Get in touch if this sounds like something you may be interested in, there is a role for everyone in St Paul's sport department.