SPORT One of the best 1st XV games of all
For the 137th time the Christ’s College 1st XV squared off against Christchurch Boys’ High School on a murky Saturday 18 July 2020 – for one of Canterbury’s great sport rivalries dating back to 1892.
Happily, for College, Upper proved a winning ground, their 28–27 win taking the College tally to 44 – their second win over CBHS in 20 years – still trailing the CBHS’s 84 victories. There have been nine draws. While the intensity of training and build up to the match is huge, the game itself was played in a good atmosphere. The person most familiar with both schools is College’s master in charge of rugby Stephen Dods, who was director of rugby at CBHS for 14 years before joining College in 2015.
“The rivalry between the two schools for this match is because of the length of time they’ve been playing each other. It’s as simple as that. I’ve been fortunate enough to view it from both schools’ perspective and I think it’s the same for each of them. This game is a proud tradition.” The match was played in tough conditions on a wet and muddy field, College opening the scoring with a penalty by Nic Shearer, but a counterattack and try by CBHS saw them take the lead. Then the teams traded tries, and when the whistle blew at half time, College was in the lead, 18–15.
The boys in blue and black came out fired up and on attack at the start of the second half and quickly scored another try. College remained resolutely strong on defence, creating some wonderful attacking opportunities. CBHS then secured a good 27–18 lead after a spectacular intercept saw one of their players run straight down the field to score a try. College turned the game around again with a drop goal closing the points gap, and then in the final minutes of the match replacement prop Jack Jones scored spectacularly under the posts and Nic slotted the conversion, to give College the 28–27 win.
Christ’s College Canterbury
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