Football  

13th Grade
Our St Paul's 13th Grade team is this season playing in the Year 9 competition. With a range of players from Year 7 through to Year 9, the team are acquitting themselves very strongly within their grade. Having played four matches this season they sit with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss to sit fourth currently in the 11 team league with one more game left this Saturday against Mt Albert Grammar.

The team will be looking to finish the term with a strong result against MAGS and then begin to prepare for the five matches in Term 3 with a target of finishing as high up the league table as possible, with the possibility of winning the competition still the ultimate goal.

As a team the 13th Grade side are gelling well, with the common goal of doing our best and having fun – the results are secondary. With a breadth of ages, we are seeing Year 7 students Toby Strawbridge and Ben Pham lining up alongside Year 9 students new to the sport in Wayne Kalapa and Zak Morunga and forming effective partnerships on the football field. Meggy and Jezza Al Nuaimi, Jan Maglangit and Etoni Tuifua along with Leeroy Skudder make up the midfield and defence. It is great to see.  Our more seasoned football players in Julius Siu, Ebenezer Asnake, Ignatius Veukiso, Marseille Niuula and Kevin Bentley have taken on leadership roles within the group to ensure this team will stick together through the wins and the losses football delivers.

15th Grade
Our St Paul's 15th Grade side is playing in the Year 11 competition, with a predominantly Year 10 / 11 group of young men assisted by two Year 9 students in Julius Siu and Kevin Bentley who help out with our numbers each week. This side has a goal in mind of representing St Paul's College in the Auckland Secondary School 1st X1 competition in the future as football continues to grow at St Paul's, so the step up in age and quality has seen our young St Paul's men adapt quickly and effectively.

The 15th Grade boys side currently sit second in their league with 3 wins from four matches, their only marginal loss was against the side leading the competition who St Paul's are keen to avenge the result. Their last game of Term 1 will be against St Peter's this Saturday where they will be looking for another good result. The target this team will set for themselves is to continue to learn and develop throughout Term 3 and put themselves in a position for an all or nothing finals match, and ultimately 1st X1 football.

With a few late additions and returning injuries, each week the 15th Grade side is becoming a stronger unit and more capable of creating goals from anywhere on the field. With the core of last year's 13th Grade team being ably assisted by Ardyn McCarthy, Hezza Al Nuaimi, Finn Lloyd and Preston-David Stanley (who scored his first goal against GBHS on Saturday), St Paul's has added strong depth to their senior football side.

We look very forward to seeing the results from this group for the rest of 2024.

The 13th Grade and 15th Grade teams would like to thank all their supporters who turn up each week and continually make us the best supported team on the day.

Both teams and I would like to thank Richard Serra, Jo Lloyd, Erin Halfpenny and the team of people who set-up and pack down the field and gear each week. Also to Finn Lloyd, Hugo Lloyd, Douglas Calvert and Ryan Halfpenny for giving their time after school on a Wednesday to provide an extra training session for the young men who are managing multiple sporting commitments.

Photos courtesy of Scott Coles, full galleries here: www.facebook.com/SCSportsPhotos/photos

Rugby League 1st XIII

The 2024 college rugby league season for our first XIII has been very successful as of late. Looking to build on from last year's success in the Auckland competition, we have five new players who were brought into this year's squad who have all debuted in 2024. Our first game (a non-competition round) of the season was at home against MAGS which saw us win comfortably 56-0. We saw it as a great start to the season however we knew that we could still improve and were still far from our full potential. We came up against Aorere College in round 2 which we ended up winning 20-6. We were set to play against Manurewa High School in round 3, however they unfortunately forfeited from the match which saw us winning by default. Round 4 against Southern Cross Campus really tested our resilience as a team. We had a slow start to the game which resulted in us down at halftime 10-6 to Southern Cross. However we managed to bounce back and come stronger in the second half to finish the game winning 26-10. This test of both character and our connection as a team came at the right time as we were heading into round 5, a grand final rematch against De La Salle College. We knew De La Salle are a quality side who was also undefeated coming into this match, so we also knew that in order to come out on top we would have to be at our very best. The game was both physical and fast paced, however we fortunately were able to walk away with the win 10-6. Coming into this week's game (round 6) we are looking to carry on our form from last week's game and build upon it in our second match against MAGS. We won this game 36-16.

For me personally, I always enjoy putting on the jersey and representing the school every chance I get. I was fortunate enough to have started playing last year as a year 11 so I was confident in my own ability to continue on as a year 12 now. So far this season I have enjoyed playing with everyone in the team, especially the players in key positions who have made my role significantly easier. The likes of our halfback Tyrone Hurt Pickering (Year 13) who takes ownership in running our attack, we can always look to him to steer us when we may be lost on the field. Our hooker Psalms Iosua (Year 13), who accompanies me in the middle is a workhorse who often plays the full 50 minutes of each game; I always know that the middle will be dangerous on attack and strong in defense as long that he is out there. 

Our next challenge coming up will be a do or die semi-final which will be Wednesday 26th June. I’m not sure who it is against yet, however I am certain that we will need to come into that game at our very best if we are hoping to repeat our success in this year's Auckland competition. With only 1 game left; 2 if we win our semi-final, we will also be heading into our preparations for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship. Whilst our current focus is on taking out the Auckland competition, we have our eyes on hopefully winning the Nationals tournament as well. Our school has not won this title since 2012, and being that we came so close last year in 2nd place, we are looking to climb one spot higher in 2024. 

We wouldn’t have the opportunity to be in the position we are right now without the guidance of our coaching staff. I would like to give a huge thank you all staff who have contributed their time into our development as a team so that we are able to put our best foot forward week in week out. Our coaches Sefo, Mr Ryan, Alan and Blade, our team is extremely privileged to have so much experience around us. Where the core principles are constantly coached, areas such as mindset and attitude are also of importance, these not only benefit us as rugby league players but as young men in general. 

Confortare Esto Vir

AJ Balchin, Year 12

Photos courtesy of Scott Coles, full galleries here: www.facebook.com/SCSportsPhotos/photos

Rugby League Under 15

The rugby league community was treated to a highly anticipated match between our two U15 Rugby League Teams; Blue and Maroon. Team blue won the game 42-22. Both teams showed great skill and reminded us that the future of the sport is looking bright at St Paul's College.  

As we reflect on this exciting contest, we look forward to continued growth and success for our rugby league teams. It is testament to the excellent coaching and support provided by our staff. 

Congratulations to Team Blue on their well-deserved victory, and commendations to Team Maroon for their spirited performance. The future indeed continues to look bright for rugby league at St Paul's College.  

Mrs Fiu and Ms Eniata (Team Managers)

Rugby Union

1st XV continued their season with a home game against last year's finalist St Kentigern, who many pundits saw as this year's 1A favorites given the number of returning players this season. With the field in great condition, St Paul’s started the game at a great pace, building phases immediately after kick off, following a St Kentigern error. This placed St Paul’s in a great scoring position, and with an infringement inside the 22m, a quick thinking Ben Tohi (Year 13), tapped the ball, before passing onto a rampaging Noah Hetutu Davis (Year 13) who beat three defenders to score the first try of the game. Within five minutes, St Paul's led the game 7 nil. This was short lived, as immediately from the restart, an error from St Paul’s turned the ball over, only for St Kentigern to respond with a try of their own. A second try to St Kentigern rounded off the first half, as they went into the break with a 12-7 lead. The second half, St Paul’s defensive line speed put St Kentigern daunting backline under pressure, forcing them into errors throughout the second half. Cruz Scott (Year 12) and Troy Fuimaono (Year 11) showed plenty of energy on defense, often making repeated tackles, while captain Meki Sosefo (Year 13) led by example as St Kentigern found it difficult to break down the St Paul’s defense. Several opportunities inside St Kentigern were missed, with the St Paul’s lineout not functioning as well as previous weeks. Eventually, St Kentigern scored in the final 10 minutes to push the score out to 24-7. A valiant effort against a quality side, as St Paul’s pushed St Kentigern to their lowest points so far in the competition. 

The following week, St Paul’s faced Catholic brother school, St Peter's at the cage. St Paul’s looked to build on their performance of the week prior. The game started well, as both teams played conservatively to secure territory in the game. Missed kicking opportunities, forced St Peter's into the half, who then went on to score the first of the points via a try. Constant errors stifled any momentum, with uncharacteristic mistakes not seen in previous games, proving costly, as St Peter's took full advantage, as they scored each time to take the first half lead 15-0. 

Second half started much like the first, with dropped balls, and missed tackles, allowing St Peter's to put more points on the board. Despite an error-ridden game, the forwards went about their work, constantly placing opposing forwards under pressure by dominating collisions and set piece. Impact from Troy Fuimaono from the bench paid dividends immediately, as he scored the teams first try 10 minutes into the second half. Front rowers Rocky Namoa (Year 12) and Charley Hoeft (Year 12) continued the forward dominance, however, St Paul’s were not able to capitalise on it. A final try to Ben Tohi from a scrum ended the game 39-12. A tough loss given the huge effort from the previous week. The team face Mt Albert Grammar at home this weekend at 2:30.

Many thanks again to all our families, rugby community and sponsors for their continued support.