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2010 - Update 1st XV

After winning the BOP 3rd Division, going through unbeaten, the 1st XV were promoted into Division 2. Their first game in Div 2 was against Katikati and despite scoring two tries to none, they were defeated 12 – 15. The following Saturday they travelled to Otumoetai. Due to transport problems the team arrived late and were given 7 minutes to warm up. The game was close with 20 minutes remaining. Unfortunately Otumoetai scored a couple of late tries and ended up winning comfortably. With one more game before the holidays against Mt Maunganui at home, the team need to get back to their winning ways if they aim to make the play offs. Played 9, Won 6, Lost 3. (We would like to wish Sam Johanson a speedy and full recovery from his injury.)

Waikato Chiefs Under 18s - Congratulations to Ian Walker for being selected for the Waikato Chiefs Under 18 training camp to be held during the holidays.

Under 15s - This team missed being in the Premiership division by 1 point after the 6 grading games. They have recently won both their games in the Championship division. Played 8, Won 5, Lost 3.

Under 14 - After grading games the U14 team were put into the Premiership division. They have won 2 of their 4 games in this round so far. Played 9, Won 5, Lost 4.

King Country Representatives - Congratulations to the following players to make the King Country Under 14 team: Damian Darlington, Tony Matautia, Jake Sutherland and Charlie Henare.

Report for 2009

The first game in 2009 for the 1st XV was against Jeppe High school, a visiting South African team.  It was a great game with our boys narrowly losing.  The Jeppe boys were billeted and enjoyed their stay making many new friends, especially girls.

The first game of the BOP 2nd division competition was against JPC, unfortunately the team was a little under done and were soundly beaten.  However, the next game we played was against Whakatane (the eventual overall winners of the 2nd division).

The team really came together and produced a match winning performance.  Despite a second half fight back by Whakatane, we held on to win 29-26.  Unfortunately the next 2 games were lost (1 by default) due to various reasons including unavailability of players and a lack of commitment to practices.

In the next game we beat Otumoetai convincingly, 38-17.  It was now the start of the 2nd Division championship round with 8 teams and 7 games to decide the overall winner. Also Tauhara was promoted into our division, so we would get to play them for the first time in many years (the team couldn’t wait).   Again the team began poorly with 2 losses first up including a close and last minute lost to Whakatane 10-15.  They were both away fixtures and the boys don’t seem to travel well.

These losses sparked the boys into life.  Attendance at training improved out of sight, at least 20 each night.  As a result the team went the rest of the season unbeaten (6 games), including a thrashing of 2nd placed RBHS III 46-17.

One of the many highlights of the season was the game against Tauhara College.  It was a rather bleak day, strong winds and strong rain at times.  The crowd turned up in the hundreds with the TNT supporters 3 thick on one side and the Tauhara supporters on the other.

The 2 teams performed hakas which can only be described as spine chilling and full on!!  If the game was going to be anything like the TNT haka performance then we were in for a thriller.

The game was fiercely fought and played in a real good spirit.  TNT ran out the eventual winners 22-12 another well deserved win.

A few funny moments

John celebrating before he scored the try

 Aaron tripping up running onto the field

The team were runners up in the BOP secondary school Division 2 competition behind Whakatane.  This was an excellent result however, I think the whole team knows they had the talent and players to win it.

Speaking of talent…there was heaps of it in this team.  From the front row, Thomas Mc Cartney’s first year playing rugby held his own if not dominating at times, Cody King – showed great strength, committed tackler and ball runner, and then there was the back row which was probably one of the best in the competition.  Our 2nd row performed outstandingly as well going from strength to strength throughout the season.  Now the backs ... again potentially the best backline in the competition.  It had real pace out wide, strong runners and tacklers in the centres and a fullback that could score from anywhere on his day.

The entire squad is to be congratulated on their efforts this year, sticking together as a team and finishing the season strongly!

Results: Played 14, won eight lost six….that’s a good season.

None of this would have been possible without the dedication and skill of the coach Des Koko.  His commitment to the team was incredible and by the end of the season the team was a tight, well oiled machine, hungry for more games.

A big thank you to our sponsors

Taupo MacDonalds and Youthtown

2009 Sports awards

Most improved player – Sam Johanson

Most outstanding player (The Mac Donald’s trophy) –

Barry Simeona (c)

Representative honours

King Country U16 - Petio Emani

King Country U16 - Ian Walker

King Country U18 - Mitchell Wood                       

King Country U18 - Isaia Alofa

1st XV NEWS 2008 round-up

The 1st XV Rugby team had a fairly good season this year. They played a total of 18 matches with no defaults. The second term saw the players competing in their division and they managed to come second in the Bay of Plenty division two competition. The third term proved to be more difficult for the players as they had qualified for the 1st Division competition and were playing significantly bigger and stronger teams, with the result that we finished as the penultimate team. It has been a great learning curve for the boys who have realised that the game, like life, is won through hard work, determination and working together as a team. I wish to thank all those boys who completed what they had started and did not leave the squad when the results did not go their way.

I wish to thank all three coaches who played a great role in developing the players both on and off the field. To Des Koko who managed to inspire the boys and keep them hungry for a win and to Birdie who took time off his busy schedule to help out with the team. A huge thank you to the head coach Tony Treloar who remained 100% committed to the team throughout the season. His professional and passionate coaching has been much appreciated by the players who developed as better players and citizens due to his positive, engaging coaching. His mentoring was inspirational and the team was very fortunate to have a man of his calibre to train them.

I wish to thank our sponsors, especially McDonalds in Taupo who made a huge contribution to the team by giving the 1st XV a cheque of $3800. Their sponsorship has allowed the players to have training jerseys and sports bags, with the balance going towards the catering of home games. A huge thank you to the AC BATHS in Taupo who gave the team two months free access to the pools, plus two three month contracts plus 40 one day tickets.  A huge thank you to Mrs Malcolm and Mrs Martin who helped out with the catering and the transport requirements on the few days we did not use the additional bus. Last but not least, a huge thank you to Dr Giles Turner who was the 1st XV team doctor. He attended all the Tuesday practices and the home games and offered professional advice on the many injuries we sustained.

I would like to say that we won every game and emerged as the victors in the 2008 season but this is not the case. The boys tried their best and did the school and themselves a great service by finishing what they had started with pride and honour. I would like to thank everyone who was involved with the 1st XV Rugby team this year.

(Marcello Cecchi)

              The 1st XV rugby team have played five games so far this season. They have won three, drawn one and lost one, with the result that they are presently first in the Pool A second division competition. If they win the last two games this season, they have the option of competing in the 1st division competition in the third term. The three coaches, namely Tony Treloar, Desmond Koko and Brian Purdon have done a great job in developing the players both as individuals and as a team.  Des and Eileen Byrnes from McDonalds in Taupo have sponsored the team to the tune of $3800 for the 2008 season and this funding has been used to purchase training jerseys and bags for the 1st XV team. It has been a great start to the season and the boys have put a lot of dedication and commitment in their training over the last three months. Congratulations to John Koko who has made the 2008 Maori Under 18 League team.

              Taupo-nui-a-Tia 1st XV rugby team proudly sponsored by McDonalds look forward to the second and concluding part of the season in the third term with great enthusiasm and hopefully a good end result.

Games played so far include:

              1   vs John Paul College 1st XV              Drew: 10 – 10

              2   vs Western Heights 2ND       Won: 97 – 0

              3   vs Whakatane 1st XV            Lost: 22 – 48

              4   vs Otumoetai 1st XV                           Won :  27 – 24

              5   vs Mount Maunganui 1st XV             Won: 17 - 7

End of season 2007

The 1st. XV had a bit of an up and down season with some very good results and some less so but finished a creditable 5th. place in a very strong Division 1 BOP league.

Sadly the 2nd. XV season was cut short with injuries and player unavailability in the 1sts. And 2nds. impacting on key positions.   They had performed very well in a hard Division 3 competition containing quite a few 1st. XVs.

The U15 lads did very well in a BOP competition coming 3rd. despite meeting some teams that were very much bigger (and in some cases older) than them.

The U14 team fought through some very hard matches against big opposition early on to finish a very creditable 3rd. in their Baywide league.

Rugby draws and league tables can be found at www.boprugby.co.nz

King Country Rugby Union  King Country Rugby

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union www.boprugby.co.nz

REPORT 2007

In some respects, the year was a “funny old year” for the 1st XV Rugby side.  The start of the year was a bit of a muddle, but once some initial coaching issues had been sorted out, the season began in earnest.  Perhaps we should have started our fitness and training program earlier in the year.

That aside, we had a team full of talent and enthusiasm that on occasion showed signs of greatness but just as easily, fell over at some of the minor hurdles.

The best analogy I can think of is that of taking control of a new, shiny motor car with 25 cylinders and the potential to blitz any opposition. The problem was getting all 25 cylinders to fire simultaneously and occasionally the steering mechanism went awry so that we weren’t always entirely sure where we would end up!!

That being said, we had a squad of fine players who gave their all and achieved some great things on the field (and probably off it!).

We had a mixed bag of results including some great wins with scores which were more in keeping with a cricket match (over 100 points against Whakatane, 77-0 against Otumoetai) and a win over Western Heights for the first time in a few years.  We also won against Taradale at the sports exchange.

We hosted a side from Hilton College in South Africa (from Coastal Sharks country) at the beginning of the season which gave us a great opportunity to get to know boys from another country.

One match that stands out because of the appalling conditions was the rematch against Western Heights in Rotorua where the torrential rain, the mud and the pools of water made the game look more like one of water polo and in the end it was impossible to distinguish one bedraggled miserable player from another.

Overall, I think one of our great strengths was the resolute defense of our try line against sometimes bigger and better teams, camped at our end and determined to score.  We did let in some tries but to see our boys spread out on our line refusing to let the opposition across made us proud.

Our forwards worked hard all year to knock over the opposition and get that ball going forward and to provide a good platform for the backs to show their stuff.  The older stalwarts were well supported by some of the younger players who stood up to the occasion (Well done Cody!)

The backs had plenty of fire power, especially in the form of Daniel (Tana Umaga the 2nd) well supported again by James and the rest of a great back –line.  These guys put points on the board, occasionally leaving the opposition wondering what happened.  Not to be outdone, the forwards scored points of their own in spectacular fashion.

Congratulations to those boys who were recognized for their efforts this year, being selected for various teams and awards:

Daniel Afualo who was offered a Bay of Plenty Rugby Academy contract.

James who made the Harlequins U/17 squad and the K.C. Secondary School’s Team

U/18 Squad:  James, Paora, Isaia, Daniel, Filipo, Ricki

U/16 Squad ?

Congratulations to Filipo and James for their awards at the TNT Sports Evening.  It would have been nice to have been able to include many more names for special mention on that occasion as many of our players did so well at various times.

Overall, I think that we showed we can hold our own against the best and although the results didn’t always go our way, we have a lot to be proud of and we can hold our heads high.

To the team, a great thanks for an interesting year, lots of laughs, plenty of frustration and a huge learning curve.  Also many memories, including Ricki’s voice, Daniel’s hair, Isaia’s strapping, Brad’s running style and many more.

To Filipo, an amazing captain, inspirational at times and a tremendous help on and off the field, ably assisted by the likes of Ricki and Isaia. 

To Peter and Simon, a wonderful team to work with and be part of, and thanks for the help and the encouragement which was essential in a slightly topsy-turvy year.

To the boys who will be at TNT in 2008, best wishes for a great year.  I know that there is plenty of talent and the ability to overcome the obstacles of 2007 and go on to achieve glory.

To those who are leaving, best wishes in all of your endeavours, especially those related to rugby.

To all of you: thanks for the huge effort, especially those who quietly got on with the job with conscientious dedication.  May you all remember the “Beavers” and chasing that ball in the dark on a winter’s evening in the pursuit of perfection?

Byron Lord                                                                                     

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