Mixed bag for Wellington teams at Condor Sevens

Above: The St Mary’s College Open side made the Cup semi-finals. For more visit Condor 7s on Facebook 

• By Scott Maclean

It was a mixed bag for the Wellington schools at the Condor Sevens in Auckland over the weekend.

Scots College returned home with some silverware, but it wasn’t the Cup title that they’ve been seeking. Their Saturday started well, with crushing 46-10 and 36-10 wins over Whanganui Collegiate and Manurewa HS respectively, before coming unstuck in their final pool game against Auckland’s St Peter’s College, going down 17-24 to miss out on the Cup section for the first time. They weren’t alone, with the likes of Rotorua Boys’, Tauranga Boys, and Wesley College joining them in the Plate. Sunday saw them beat Wesley and then New Plymouth Boys, before easing past Rotorua 31-5 in the Plate Final.

St Pat’s Town enjoyed just one success in pool play, beating Howick College in between losses to Timaru Boys and Palmerston North Boys’. Placed into the Bowl section they beat Gore HS on Sunday, before exiting at the semi-finals with a loss to Hastings Boys’.

In the Girls section, St Mary’s found themselves on Saturday morning in one of three pools of just three teams after the late withdrawals without replacement of Whangarei Girls’, Paeroa College and Inglewood HS, while Avondale College replaced Wesley College. They started well, beating Westlake Girls’ before dropping their second game 5-10 to Manurewa HS. That left an awkward wait to establish their fate, but it transpired that the 28-0 result for the walkover of the game that wasn’t played was enough to see them sneak into the Cup ahead of Gisborne’s Lytton HS and New Plymouth Girls’ as one of the two best second-placed teams. A narrow 10-7 quarter-final win over Mt Albert Grammar set up a rematch with Howick College, but the result was ultimately the same with the defending champions prevailing 35-10.

Queen Margaret College endured a rough first day, dropping all three pool matches against Avondale, Lytton, and Motueka HS. However they found their feet in the Shield section on Sunday, beating Long Bay College and Kerikeri HS, before going down to Auckland’s Aorere College in that final.

Hamilton Boys’ High School continued their domination of this event, winning their fifth consecutive title by beating hosts King’s College 27-12 in the final. Hamilton thrashed Palmerston North 26-0 and Mt Albert 47-7 in the knockout matches, while Kings saw off Kelston Boys’ 14-12 and Feilding 22-17.

The Girl’s title headed across Cook Strait for the first time, with Christchurch Girls’ High School beating defending champions Howick College 29-14 in the final. Howick had beaten Motueka 24-0 before seeing off St Mary’s, with Christchurch accounting for Manurewa HS 31-12 and then perennial finalists Hamilton Girls’ 22-17 in extra-time. 16 year-old Jorja Miller scored a hat-trick in that match including the winner, and then added four more in the final and will be one to watch going forward.

In the Under 15’s tournament played on Thursday and Friday, St Pat’s Town had just one win and a draw as they finished mid-pack, exiting the Plate section at the semi-finals stage. It was the same story for Wainuiomata HS in the Girls, while to the surprise of some St Mary’s struggled finishing bottom of their pool on day one though made the final of the Shield tier on day two where they fell to Hastings Girls’.

St Peter’s Auckland won the boys, edging rivals Sacred Heart 12-10 in a thriller. The girls title was claimed by Manawatu’s Manukura, who beat Auckland Girls Grammar 31-10.

Results at a glance

Scots College
beat Whanganui Collegiate 46-10
beat Manurewa HS 36-10
lost to St Peter’s Auckland 17-24
beat Wesley College 19-14 (Plate QF)
beat New Plymouth BHS 19-5 (Plate SF)
beat Rotorua BHS 31-7 (Plate final)

St Pat’s Town
lost to Timaru BHS 7-28
beat Howick College 19-12
lost to Palmerston North BHS 0-20
beat Gore HS 31-17 (Bowl QF)
lost to Hastings Boys 12-17 (Bowl SF)

St Mary’s College
beat Westlake GHS 19-10
bye walkover 28-0
lost to Manurewa HS 5-10
beat Mt Albert Grammar 10-7 (Cup QF)
lost to Howick College 10-35 (Cup SF)

Queen Margaret College
lost to Avondale College 5-31
lost to Lytton HS 7-19
lost to Motueka HS 5-32
beat Long Bay College 24-12 (Shield QF)
beat Kerikeri HS 22-10 (Shield SF)
lost to Aorere College 12-24 (Shield final)

St Pat’s Town U15 Boys
lost to Mt Albert Grammar 12-24
drew with Lindisfarne College 17-17
beat Wesley College 15-0
lost to Feilding HS 7-19 (Plate QF)
lost to Shirley BHS 5-22 (Plate 13-16 playoffs)

Wainuiomata HS U15 Girls
lost to Howick College 10-24
lost to Manukura 5-31
beat Rangitoto College 19-10
lost to Kerikeri HS 15-17 (Bowl QF)
lost to Cambridge HS 14-19 (Bowl 13-16 playoffs)

St Mary’s College U15 Girls
drew with Hastings GHS 12-12
lost to Hamilton GHS 0-46
lost to Mt Albert Grammar 17-26
beat Rangitoto College 17-10 (Shield QF)
beat Long Bay College 15-5 (Shield SF)
lost to Hastings GHS 17-24 (Shield final)