Collegiate 1st XV inaugural CNI Plate winners
By Jared Smith
It was not the Central North Island trophy that they wanted, but the Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV became the first team to engrave their name on the Plate prize in Taupo on Saturday.
Collegiate’s three year run of making the CNI championship semifinals, twice finalists, was ended after a tough campaign for the 2022 edition of the school side, finishing with a 4-5 record to sit sixth of the table.
After Covid-19 in the past two seasons created the scenario of holding CNI finals at the neutral but accessible ground of Taupo’s Owen Delany Park, it was decided to have all ten schools meet there in 2022 to confirm final placings.
Therefore, at the suggestion of Lindisfarne College, a Plate competition was added to the playoffs with the teams finishing 5th to 8th on the table meeting in their own semifinals.
Collegiate defeated Taranaki rival Francis Douglas Memorial College 26-22 at home on August 6, and then pulled away from St Peter’s Cambridge in Taupo to win the Plate, 38-25.
“The boys maybe played the best rugby of their season,” said coach Steve Simpson of the last game, where his team scored six tries after leading by one point at halftime.
“We were hoping to get the Top 4, but had two four-point losses away.”
After a preseason that saw them play games in the likes of Oamaru, New Plymouth and Palmerston North, Collegiate had a rough start to their campaign with a 46-3 away loss to eventual finalists St John’s Hamilton.
They recovered to rattle off four straight wins across the rest of May and early June, beating St Peter’s (26-19), St John’s Hastings (34-10), Francis Douglas (15-12) and Rathkeale College (38-8).
However, momentum stalled with two games in mid-June that just went against them, beaten by Lindisfarne (14-10) and semifinal-bound Wesley College (7-3) in results which were there for the taking.
Pausing their CNI campaign to host the 96th Annual Quadrangular, where they lost to Christ’s College 47-33 but defeated Wellington College 15-13, Collegiate resumed in July with two tough home games to try and hang onto their semifinal spot.
They just could not pin down seven-time CNI champions St Paul’s Collegiate, losing 20-10, before facing a red-hot Feilding High, who won 36-12 on their way to comfortably beating Wesley and St John’s to claim the title.
Due to injury, Collegiate did not have the services of their influential front rower Konradd Newland until the Quadrangular.
Their standout forward was flanker and captain Harvey Meyer, while stepping into the pivotal No10 jumper was Pita Manamanaivalu.
Midfielders William Johnston and Josh Brunger had strong campaigns.
Collegiate look forward to Wednesday’s derby clash with Whanganui High School 1st XV – a fixture that was missed last year due to Covid.
They will then play Upper Hutt College on August 27, and should they win, go into the final of the Co-ed Hurricanes Cup against Wairarapa College.
The WHS vs Collegiate sports exchange will see the Under 15 game kickoff at 1pm on Wednesday, followed by the 1st XV clash at 2.30pm.
