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'It was a classic game of New Zealand versus South Africa rugby': How Hamilton Boys topped the world
Hamilton Boys’ High School enhanced their already formidable rugby reputation when they won the World Schools Rugby Festival in Thailand in December.
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In the final of the ten team tourney, broadcast exclusively by RugbyPass, their First XV defeated Grey College from Bloemfontein, South Africa 22-10.
Grey has produced World Champions like Bismarck du Plessis, Naka Drotské, Ruben Kruger and François Steyn.
Nigel Hotham has coached the Hamilton Boys’ First XV for two decades and has won five National Top Four titles. He identified the Thailand triumph as “a special highlight.”
“It was a classic game of New Zealand versus South Africa rugby; flair and running ambition against big running forwards and lineout drives,” Hotham said.
“Grey won the toss and took a strong wind. They dominated possession early but were kept scoreless in the first half by a tremendous defensive effort.
“One of the few opportunities we had was just before halftime with winger Alex Pitts-Brown scoring a try in the corner after multiple phases.
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“Turning with the breeze gave us real confidence and the second half was one of the most complete we produced this season. Fullback Payton Spencer was outstanding, scoring a try and kicking a 50-metre penalty.
“Aki Tuivailala and Hiraka Waetai-Haenga were strong in midfield and No 8 Oli Mathis really stood up to their pack.
“As you would expect Grey never gave up and scored a couple of tries from lineout drives in the final five minutes but really it was the perfect finish to a great year.”
Hamilton won 18 out of 19 games in 2022 winning the National Top Four, Moascar Cup and National Condor Sevens titles. Hamilton have won 48 consecutive matches at the National Condor Sevens but weren’t unchallenged in fifteens.
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The Super 8 title which they’ve won 14 times since 2006 is notably absent from the trophy cabinet. In the final they were upset by Rotorua Boys’ High School, conceding a try with the final play of the game. Captain Aki Tuivailala believes that setback was a turning point.
“We worked hard the whole year to win Super 8 and to fall short to an amazing Rotorua team was devastating. We were lucky we got a second chance, learned from some of our mistakes, and were determined one result wasn’t going to bring us down,” Tuivailala said
“In the National final against Napier Boys’ we were down until the last play, but we kept our cool and always believed we could win. The try scored by Caelys Putoko to win the final was incredible.”
Of Tongan extraction Tuivailala has been an impressive captain for Hamilton Boys’ this season.
“For me it’s about the relationships I can make off the field. If I can connect with the boys as mates and push the respectful side then I get more trust and better responses on the field,” he said.
The empathic approach of Tuivailala reaped dividends in the World Schools Final.
“Grey was amazing throughout the whole tournament and really pushed us to perfect our game. To play a team like that for the first time was a real honour that brought the best out of us,” he said.
“Thailand was amazing with a few differences in lifestyle. I really learned a lot and saw some things I didn’t really expect.”
The World Schools Rugby Festival is not the first ‘World Schools’ title that Hamilton has won. In 2010, 2011 and 2014 they won the Sanix World Youth Invitational Tournament in Fukuoka, Japan.
What possibilities exist for Grey College to tour New Zealand? Hamilton has an established calendar of demanding fixtures between May and September so it would be difficult to host any foreign side in that window. However, the Term 2 holidays typically fall in July where most local rugby takes a brief break.
With boarding facilities and Auckland only a two-hour drive away, Grey could easily organise a large-scale tour between March and April, in July, or after the National Top Four in September.
With a strong base of local sponsors, experience touring and a respected international reputation, Hamilton Boys’ is well positioned to tour on a regular basis. As recently as 2019 they won all four matches on a tour of Japan.
The World Schools Rugby Festival was high quality sporting competition and educational experience for its participants.
What about a Super 8 Schools’ World Cup for men and women to run alongside the marquee senior events in future? Imagine New Zealand Schools versus South Africa Schools before a World Cup final in Paris. That would be fun.
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments