Raring to defend rugby titles
As Nelson marked the 150-year anniversary of the first game of rugby in New Zealand this week, one of the participating clubs endured a frustrating wait to begin their title defence.
Nelson College’s 1st XV have been preparing to defend their status as reigning UC Championship and South Island 1st XV champions as well as 2019 winners of the annual Quadrangular tournament between Christ’s College, Wellington College and Whanganui Collegiate.
The team also reached the top four final of the National 1st XV competition in September.
With New Zealand now in alert level 2, a likely return to play at club and community level had been set for June 20, subject to restrictions on mass gatherings being increased from May 25.
For coach Jono Phillips and his squad, the season should have been under way, with the first round of the UC championship set to begin last weekend. The lockdown has not only put the brakes on the Crusaders school competition but also scuppered several pre-season matches, including a rematch with top four opponent Auckland’s King’s College.
Isolation has presented alternative ways of staying connected and keeping players engaged, from filming themselves training to skill competitions. Nothing beats time on the paddock and Phillips was looking forward to an eventual return to the College’s front field with an embankment in full voice.
For second year 1st XV player and year 13 student Charlie Perkins, the delay has been frustrating as he looked to play his final year of school rugby. Having started well with preseason training in December, Perkins said the hardest part of the season was the sudden change from seeing or training with his teammates every day to only connecting through video calls.
Despite the uncertainty of the season so far, Nelson College was still hopeful of hosting back-to-back quadrangular tournament titles in 2020. The oldest secondary school rugby tournament in the country, the prestige and history associated with the annual fixture made it a key goal of its participants.
‘‘The history of those four fabulous schools – you want to respect what’s gone before and it plays a huge part in the rating of a season,’’ Phillips said. ‘‘We had a fabulous victory last year in very trying conditions up in Wellington – we want to defend that if we can.’’
Since its inception as a triangular tournament in 1890 and subsequently to a four-team affair in 1925, the ‘‘Quad’’ has never been called off, playing on through two world wars and the Great Depression.
The closest it has come to a cancellation was in 1919, when Christ’s College failed to travel north in the midst of the influenza pandemic. However, it was likely that the unbroken run of events would remain intact for another year.
The school said this week that it still hoped to host the tournament along with several planned old boys events. For Nelson College’s opponents, it offers a prime opportunity to steady the schedule of a disrupted season.
Wellington College coach Lincoln Rawles said a cancelled tour to Argentina had got the season off to a devastating start with fundraising and preparations out the window two weeks before departure.
Rawles said while Wellington College was fortunate to play in a strong local competition, the history and prestige of Quadrangular Tournament made it a big part of the season.
Last year’s Quad finalists Whanganui Collegiate have also missed out on a pre-season overseas tour, with three matches in Queensland called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Head coach Steve Simpson said after two consecutive final losses and a 29-year drought of titles, the team was eager to see the tournament go ahead in the hope of striking it third time lucky.