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Annual match mostly grudge-free

Tatiana Gibbs

The unusual task of being breath tested at noon on a Wednesday meant arguably the biggest schoolboy rugby match in the South Island was about to kick off.

For another year, the physical scuffles stayed on the pitch but supporters got lippy.

The annual grudge match between Christchurch Boys’ High School and Christ’s College first XVs took place on Boys’ High’s turf yesterday, and the home crowd was treated to a 37-3 victory to secure back-to-back wins against their rivals. Both schools issued statements to supporters prior to the match to be on their best behaviour, ‘‘in the wake of offensive behaviour at previous games’’. There was one report of racial abuse being yelled by a spectator at a player, said Boys’ High headmaster Nic Hill.

‘‘We will be following that up using our film footage to identify the person, and that person is not a current student of either school.’’

Security guards, breath testing and rules were in place such as no face paint, no gumboots, no T-shirts, and no water bottles.

Thousands of supporters surrounded the field for the highly anticipated match that was described as Christchurch ‘‘folklore’’ by Boys’ High assistant coach Mike Drury.

Chants – some loaded with coarse language – were bellowed between two distinctive crowds of different coloured school stripes huddled at opposite ends of the field, trying to ruffle each other’s feathers before the whistle had even been blown.

Boys’ High set the tone for the match by dominating the first quarter. After 15 minutes, Boys’ High led 17-0 thanks to some magic footwork from first-five Will Haig and fullback Bogi Kikau, both carving through defenders to score converted tries in addition to a drop goal. In the 22nd minute Christ’s College scored their only points of the match, when first-five Leo Jelley booted a penalty over the post to bring the score to 17-3.

Boys’ High went on to score four more tries that caused the home crowd so much excitement that barricades toppled over and supporters accidentally fell on to the field – twice.

The Boys’ High students picked the barricade back up each time but there was no stopping them when they ran on to the field at the final whistle to celebrate.

The rivalry has spanned more than a century, dating back to the first game in 1892.

Drury said the Boys’ High team ‘‘were keen to have a good physical presence early in the game and they executed that very well’’.

The victory increased the Boys’ High record of wins to 86 – almost double Christ’s College’s 44. The match has been drawn nine times.

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2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281526525437417

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