S eventy years on – and at age 87 – both Tom Tothill (5712) and John Clayton (5652) have been back in play at Christ’s College. The only representatives of their 1952 1st XV to make the big Rugby reunion day at College this year, the redoubtable duo fondly recall their school days. As Tom, a successful inventor, points out, he “used to hold John up” as front-row prop to the hooker, while for John, “Tom was probably the first boy I met at College”.
The pair remain firm friends today. For Tom, Christ’s College is ‘home’. He was born in the school building on the corner of Rolleston Avenue and Armagh Street where his father, teacher Tommy Tothill (2357), and his family lived. He even made his Chapel Choir debut at age seven as his parents tried to keep their mischievous son busy. Both have enjoyed being back, casting an eye over the developing campus, and remembering their Rugby-playing days.
Rotorua-based John – one of the first dealer principals for Toyota New Zealand – is “very impressed with today’s College buildings and the facilities”. Meanwhile, a 1952 match report in the Christ’s College Register recalls their team’s 10–9 win over Christchurch Boys’ High School as the “climax of the season” while the season report describes John as “a good hooker with fire and vim in the loose” and Tom as a “first-class front-row prop” with great promise.
COLLEGE 2022
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