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Rugby

Whutupōro

St Andrew’s College has a long, rich rugby history, with the inaugural 1st XV formed in 1917, the year the College was founded.

 

Today, our teams play across all year levels in a Saturday competition organised by the Canterbury Rugby Union. The girls play in the Wednesday sport competition and Summer Sevens series. Our teams also compete in many other tournaments and competitions, including traditional fixtures, the Presbyterian Quad tournament and the highly competitive Miles Toyota Secondary Schools' Rugby Competition. The College has a proud rugby touring programme with a regular tournament and performance camp to Australia for our Under 15 teams which provides them with an excellent pathway into higher-level rugby at the College. Our senior teams look to tour overseas every 2–3 years.

The College has an extremely proud rugby tradition and the challenge in this rapidly changing world is to embrace our rich history and combine it with a modern approach to playing the game. Our Development Programme and High-Performance Rugby Programme has undergone many positive changes, with the long-term goal of building one of the best rugby development pathways in New Zealand.

Attracting experienced and skilled coaches, a focus on skill development, strength and conditioning, building a development pathway and having in place a detailed performance programme will ensure that St Andrew’s College can compete with any team in the country. It is all about getting a lot of little things right which helps build success and belief. Attention to detail is critical.

Rugby Programme

At St Andrew’s College, the goal is to create a safe and healthy environment that helps our students learn, grow, develop resilience, and excel. Within our Rugby Programme we want all our players to have a positive and enjoyable rugby experience during their time at St Andrew’s College.

Development Model

“Develop the person as well as the athlete.”

Our Rugby Programme is deliberately broader than just rugby and focuses on the holistic development of the player. It is designed to develop more than just good rugby players. It is a place where students enjoy success while staying humble and understanding (and growing from) failure. We want our players to develop into respectful young people, with good values and strong character. Losing, setbacks and failure are a part of life and team sport is a great place to help build resilience and determination in our students. In this respect, rugby teaches them many things, and this is why it is such a fantastic game to be involved in.

Our players are supported by excellent facilities, including top class grounds, and a High Performance Fitness Centre for strength and conditioning training, nutrition support and a mental skills programme.

In 2015, our 1st XV won nine of the 10 trophies on offer that it competed for, including the famous Moascar Cup, the Ranfurly Shield of 1st XV rugby in New Zealand.

The 2020 1st XV had one of the most successful seasons in the history of the College, winning every trophy on offer and securing the UC Championship. Eight players were selected for the Crusaders Knights Programme and four were selected for the New Zealand Barbarians Programme.

All rugby players at St Andrew’s become part of a group of many hundreds who have pulled on the St Andrew's College jersey and represented the thistle with pride. Each plays a part in the legacy and tradition of rugby at the College.

The message to our players is, “it is all about enjoying your rugby, having fun and striving to be the best you can be in all situations”.

Successes

 

In 2020, the St Andrew’s College 1st XV won the UC Championship and were also winners of the:

  • Trust Bank Cup;
  • John Fox Challenge Cup (vs Shirley Boys’ High School);
  • Milliken-Williams Cup (vs Timaru Boys’ High School);
  • Deans-Anderson Shield (vs Christ’s College);
  • Wyllie-Earl Shield (vs St Bede’s College);
  • Bill Thompson Shield (vs Christchurch Boys’ High School);
  • Crusaders Co Ed Qualifier.

New Zealand Secondary Schools

In 2020, four players were selected as New Zealand Secondary School Rugby Representatives – Mini Toga, Isileli Saumaki, Joel Parry (all OC 2020) and Torian Barnes (Year 12 2020).
 

Director of High-Performance Sport and Rugby Co-ordinator: Mr Rodney McIntosh  RMN@stac.school.nz

College Captain and Chairman of the StAC Rugby Club: Mr Mike Johnson – MJO@stac.school.nz