Traditional match a celebration of Oamaru schoolboy rugby
IT is the game that stops a town — and creates memories that last a lifetime.
Thirty committed schoolboys battle to a standstill over 70 minutes, giving their all for the cause.
Hundreds of their schoolmates cheer and perform the haka on the embankment. Former players dig out their old caps and gather to reminisce over games and days past. And mums, dads, aunties, uncles, grandparents, and siblings look on proudly.
The traditional first-XV interschool between St Kevin’s College and Waitaki Boys’ High School is one of the great days on the North Otago sporting calendar.
For some players, it will be the apex of their rugby careers, and for lots of fans, it will be the highlight of the year.
When it boils down to it, the Blood Match is a celebration of all that is great about Oamaru schoolboy rugby.
The respective first XVs might be intense rivals, but the boys wearing the jerseys are friends and neighbours and mates from primary school.
At stake is the coveted ‘‘Peanut’’, the Leo O’Malley Memorial Trophy. Waitaki Boys’ is the holder, and will arguably be a slight favourite going into the game, despite St Kevin’s winning the competition clash just three weeks ago.
But form is often irrelevant in this clash. Who will win? We will have to wait until 3pm on Friday to find out.
❑ Waitaki Boys’ v St Kevin’s annual rugby match: Whitestone
Contracting Stadium, 1.30pm, July 6.
THE SQUADS
St Kevin’s College:
Forwards: Eli Winders (co-captain), Tama Wooldridge (co-captain), Samuela Babiau, Logan Docherty, Paea Fifita, Tupou Fifita, Dylan Garaway, Quinn Hargreaves, Xavier Kahukura-Davis, Jordan Kennedy, Taine Lanauze, Daniel Ruddle, Brendan Tiffen.
Backs: Marc Boardman, Fem Bootsan, Locky Collins, Cameron Dodd, Josh Eckhold, Frano Flannery, Bailey Howell, Seth Humphries, Ramesh Khatri, Ben McCarthy, Jerome Misiloi, Saluni Palaa, Peleki Tangifolau.
Waitaki Boys’ High School:
Forwards: Lochie Templeton (co-captain), Tonga Malafu, Siketi Tevao, Jake Davies, Cullen Johnstone, Oliver Kinzett, Blake Welsh,
Jack Willans, Drae Hirama, Jacob Pledger, Tevita Katoa, Sione Kaufusi.
Backs: Bryden Skinner (co-captain), Ikenasio Taefu, Glen McClea, Mason James, Bayley Sullivan, Isaia Fariu, Ben Paton, George Parker, Kadin Turner, Joseph Siale, Ryley MacColl.
PLAYERS TO WATCH ST KEVIN’S COLLEGE:
Ben McCarthy: A super talent at first five-eighth who can break a game
open. Paea Fifita: Dynamic flanker who just loves scoring tries. Tupou Fifita: Massive prop who carries defenders with him. WAITAKI BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL:
Bayley Sullivan: Rugged and smart midfield back who links well with
his outsides. Mason James: Composed first five who can kick goals from anywhere. Tonga Malafu: Smiling assassin at prop who has immense strength.
THE HISTORY
This is the 84th traditional interschool rugby fixture between the two Oamaru schools.
The Blood Match began in 1934 with a 14-3 win to Waitaki Boys’. St Kevin’s won for the first time in 1941, 4-3, and also had a one-point win a year later.
Waitaki Boys’ then had a long period of dominance — understandable, given the disparity in school rolls at the time — and holds the overall advantage at 55 wins to 23 for St Kevin’s, alongside five draws.
But the game has become a great leveller in recent times, and in most years, the result is too close to call. St Kevin’s won the game three years in a row from 2013 to 2015, and a very powerful Waitaki team only had a narrow win in 2016.
Last year, Waitaki produced its best performance of the whole season to win 29-0.
Waitaki’s record win was a 66-7 shellacking in 2009, while St Kevin’s celebrated its biggest victory in 1980, when it won 30-7.
The game used to be held on school grounds, alternating between Milner Park and Redcastle, but has been held on neutral territory — Centennial Park, now Whitestone Contracting Stadium — for the past two decades.