Schools in deciding match

Press, 6 August 1976, Page 24

Schools in deciding match

The- first fifteen matches in the under 19 rugby competition will end on Saturday with the game between Christchurch Boys’ High School and St Bede’s College. And the outcome will decide the top school. Boys’ High School has won its three earlier school games and St Bede’s has had two wins and a loss, to Christ’s College. So St Bede’s needs to win on Saturday to share the honours with Boys’ High School. Boys High School will be

favoured to maintain its unbeaten record and it will have the advantage of playing on its home ground. Its strength this year can be guaged from the fact that it only trails the under 19 grade leader, Marist, by half a point. The other three school sides in the grade are Christ’s College, St Andrew’s College and Shirley Boys’ High School. St Andrew’s won two school matches and Christ’s College and Shirley each had one win. There will also be an im-

portant game on Saurday in section one of the secondary schools’ grade. Burnside High School, the leading side, will play one of its strongest rivals, Linwood High School. If Burnside can repeat its first round victory it will almost certainly win the grade.

Although Saturday will mark the end of local first fifteen matches, there are some interesting school games later this month. On August 21 or 22 a Swansea (Wales) secondary schools’ side will play a combined Christchurch Boys’

High School-Shirley Boys’ High School XV. This is thought to be the first visit to New Zealand of a Welsh schoolboy team and follows on from Christchurch Boys’ High School’s visit to Britain last year. On August 28 a combined New South Wales secondary schools’ team will be in Christchurch and it will play Canterbury under 19. On August 30 a combined Christchurch secondary schools’ side, excluding the five schools in the under 19 grade, will meet Tawa College from Wellington.