Shared victory in the return of Top 4 Rugby Championship

The Top 4 Rugby Championship, also known as the New Zealand Barbarians National Girls’ and Boys’ First XV Championship, is a premier rugby union competition for secondary schools. It sees the four best boys’ team and the four best girls’ teams compete for the national title, and to be recognised as the top New Zealand First XV school in the country.

This event has been hosted by the Sport and Rugby Institute since 2016 and with the two-year break now over, the teams were rearing to claim the esteemed title.

After a series of qualifying games, the Boys’ First XV semi-final line up saw Napier Boys’ High take on Westlake Boys High, and Hamilton Boys’ High come up against John McGlashan College. It was the first time either John McGlashan or Westlake Boys had made it to the Top Four in the 40 years the Championship has been played, while it was Hamilton’s fifth time in a row making the playoffs.

For the Girls’ First XV semi-final line up, Christchurch Girls’ High were set to take on Manurewa High, while Manukura were up against Auckland Girls’ Grammar. Mankura were keen to prove themselves, with this being the third year they’ve qualified, finishing third in 2019 and runners-up in 2018.

Finals saw Napier Boys go head-to-head with Hamilton Boys, and Manukura take on Christchurch Girls. Despite the effort put in by the Napier Boys who were eager to claim their school’s second national championship, Hamilton Boys were the stronger team. It all came down to the final thirty seconds which saw Hamilton Boys walking away victorious 17-15.

Manukura were ecstatic to win the national girls rugby title for the first time, until a few moments of confusion when it was then announced they’d be sharing the win with Christchurch Girls. Manukura had led 19-0 up until the last 15 minutes when Christchurch girls managed to bring the score to a draw.

During qualifying matches, a tied game would see the winners determined by who has scored the most tries and if that’s equal, whichever team scored the first try would be named winner. However, this changes in the finals, resulting in the shared title.

It remains an incredible achievement, especially considering Manukura is a much smaller school when compared to the other teams in the Top Four, with less than 200 students to Christchurch’s 1200, and only 27 players in the girls’ rugby programme.

The tournament was watched around the country as Sky TV televised all the matches live across the weekend.

Hospitality Services Manager for the Sport and Rugby Institute Frances Healy said it was great to see the event back in action after the two-year wait and to see the up-and-coming athlete talent be displayed on a national stage.

“What a great couple of days we’ve had here in the Manawatū, it’s been awesome to have the Top 4 Championship back and to see the schools so enthusiastic about the return. Getting to be a part of an event where the country’s top secondary school rugby players get to show off their skills is really exciting as it can be the start of some fantastic careers. The teams have put in the mahi and come away with some great results.”