St Pat’s Silverstream and Wellington College preparing for Sunday’s First XV Final

• By Steven White

UPDATE:  Teams below:

St Pat’s Silverstream and Wellington College meet this coming Sunday at Porirua Park at 12.05pm in the 2025 Wellington First XV Premiership decider.

In a replay of last year’s final, won by Silverstream, supporters of both sides will lay strong arguments as to why their side will win this year and then represent Wellington in the Hurricanes region knockout games in the coming weeks.

Both are stacked with talent and game-breakers, and both are coming off hard-won semi-finals this past weekend. Wellington College defeated St Pat’s Town 34-22 away at Evans Bay Park, while Silverstream had what some pundits suggested was a much tougher than expected 39-19 win over fourth placed Rathkeale College.

Despite conceding the opening try and being held to a 12-10 score at halftime, Wellington College gradually took control against a side that contributed 19 players to the Wellington U16 and U18 representative squads.

In the other semi-final played at Silverstream the depleted Masterton visitors might have sensed an upset when Silverstream lost a prop to a red card early in the second half, allowing a try from rampaging No 8 Jone Ralulu to cut the deficit to 27-19.

However, Silverstream regrouped and tries from replacement halfback Blake Miscall and dynamic loose forward Osaiasi Manu eased their nerves.

Wellington College triumphed over Silverstream in the finals in 2002, 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2013. In the 2013 final, Pakai Turia kicked 20 points, while future Kiwis league international Nelson Asofa-Solomona scored the only try for the victors.

Silverstream defeated Wellington College in the finals in 2000, 2012, 2017 and 2024.

Last year’s final was contested in soggy conditions at Jerry Collins Stadium, with Silverstream winning their eighth Premiership title 31-12. Wellington College started brightly but couldn’t capitalise. Silverstream settled and went to a 14-5 halftime lead, extending it to 24-5 by midway through the second half.

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Below: Re-live last year’s final highlights between the same two schools.

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Heading into this year’s decider, top qualifier Silverstream is 13-3 in 2025. They have scored 812 points and conceded 252. The school record for most points in a season is 957 when Silverstream was 17-1 in 2017.

When these two teams met back in their mid-week traditional on 11 June at a heavy, wet Wellington College, Silverstream triumphed 16-15. The one-point win was sealed at the death with a 35-metre dropped goal to year 11 first-five Fletcher Cooper.

Owing to the conditions that day, the match was a test of attritional fortitude over one of skill and flair.

Since 2017, Wellington College’s Premiership record stands at 58 wins, 30 losses, and two draws. Remarkably, the 14-time champions did not qualify for the semi-finals in 2019 and 2020, requiring them to win grading games to secure their place in the Premiership. Additionally, Wellington College failed to reach the final from 2018 to 2023.

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Below: Flashback to the 2017 Premiership final highlights – St Pat’s Silverstream winning 17-11 that day. 

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Since 2017, St Pat’s Silverstream has had a 12-2 advantage over Wellington College in all matches. Wellington’s only victories occurred during the 2021 and 2024 Ken Gray Memorial Cup games. They have won 17 consecutive games since that 27-24 defeat against Wellington College on June 12, 2024.

Wellington College will also be playing in the memory of two fallen school supporters. Steve Guiney captained the First XV in 1986 and passed away in May, while Neville Paul was a long-time Physics, science and PE teacher and popular athletics coach, who passed away suddenly this past weekend.

MATCH OFFICIALS

The referee for the Premiership final is Nathan Pinder. He is assisted by Campbell Barry and Ethan Loveridge as sideline adjudicators.

SOME PLAYER MATCH-UPS TO LOOK OUT FOR

A number of head-to-heads to watch across the park, here are four of them below. These selections also assume the players will actually play in the final!

NOTE that the teams are being named on Friday morning – follow College Sport Wellington channels for this. 

Game drivers – the battle of the first-fives

Fletcher Cooper (Silverstream) v Archie Sims (Wellington College) – Year 11 vs. Year 13, left-footer vs. right-footer, first final vs. second final – the contrasts between rookie Cooper and veteran Sims are compelling, but their quality is undeniable.

In June, Cooper replicated Sims’ 2024 Ken Gray Memorial Cup feat by kicking a dropped goal to win the game. The right footer has been a prolific scorer in 2025, scoring 38 points in a single outing alone against Tawa College.

Cooper has demonstrated a growing courage and aptitude for attacking the line, occasionally dictating terms with his boot, and striking effectively off both feet. He comes into the final having scored 209 points this season, made up of 10 tries, 72 conversions, four penalties and one dropped goal (in that previous match in June against Wellington College).

Sims is a third-year player with a proven big-match temperament. Who could forget the pressure cooker penalty he kicked to win the 2023 Quadrangular final against Whanganui Collegiate and the 40 metre dropped goal to sink Silverstream in 2024?

Sims kicks extremely well in general play, and though more calculated than Cooper is, he is capable of blowing a game open with timely snipes or by unleashing his outsides. Sims has so far amassed 136 points for season, and 85 in Premiership matches.

The battle of the hookers

Seb Hopkins (Wellington College) v Riley Browne (Silverstream). Both schools have fielded famous hookers to play in finals down the years, from Dane Coles (Wellington College) to Asafo Aumua (St Pat’s Silverstream). Winning the battle up front is key to winning big matches and it often starts with these guys.

The lineout drive is a massive weapon for both teams, so needless to say, both hookers must be accurate with their throwing. Hopkins is a New Zealand wrestling champion with an uncomplicated, but effective and abrasive approach. Watch for Hopkins to occasionally roam on the edges.

Browne has been immense for Silverstream, with his turn of pace startling. His try in a 38-17 win of St Pats Town was as good as any seen this season.

Like all good hookers, both have that nose for the tryline, Hopkins having scored at least two hat-tricks for his team this year and Browne having scored 8 tries in total at the spear of the Silverstream pack.

*Hopkins was sent off in the June game just before halftime. The score was 8-8 in the period he was off the ground but Wellington College could have done with his skill and experience in a tight slog.

Loose forward leaders

Two players that will be leading from the front for their respective schools are Elijah Solomona (Silverstream) and Z’Kdeus Schwalger (Wellington College).

Solomona is an openside flanker Schwalger is a No. 8, so the pair play different roles, but both will be key players in the battle of the loosies. Both bring strength and abrasiveness to their roles and will no doubt clash in many of the breakdowns on Saturday.

Solomona is a dynamic running flanker and has scored 11 tries for his team this year, while Schwalger brings the rugged play of many fine No. 8s to have gone before him in the Wellington College First XV.

A strength of Schwalger is timing his moments, and he is often there with that big tackle or turnover when his side needs it the most.

The clash of the finishers

Shea Bosher (Wellington College) and Ashton Steere (St Pat’s Silverstream) are two wingers to watch in the final.

Plenty of famous tries have been scored by wingers in First XV finals. Not the fastest wingers in the competition – that title belongs to sprint champion Zack Kimmins of St Pat’s Town – but both Bosher and Steere are both quick and both have vision and skill to turn chances into tries.

Bosher is typically on the right wing for Wellington and Steere operates on the left wing, so the two could be marking each other in some big moments.

Another attribute both these players possess in their armoury is their kick and chase games on the edge of play; both are proven try scorers chasing up grubbers, wipers and cross kicks.

Steere has scored 10 tries for Silverstream so far this season.

WELLINGTON PREMIERSHIP – LAST 10 WINNERS

2024: St Pat’s Silverstream

2023: Scots College

2022: St Pat’s Silverstream

2021: Silverstream and Scots shared

2020: Scots College

2019: Scots College

2018: Silverstream won

2017: Silverstream won

2016: Wellington College

2015: St Pat’s Town