College – Issue 37

THE QUADRANGLE Reunion reports

25 Years On – 1st XV 1994

Back row: Mike Rickman, David Clouston, George Murray, Jaron McMillan Middle row: John Mills, David Hiatt, Ben Acland, Tim Hamilton, Tim Davis, Brian Le Vaillant Front row: Dan Foulds, Ben Lucas, Alex Haley, Hamish Jenkins, Tom Harwood, Hamish Bell, Will Parker, Jeremy Innes

Sixteen players, two coaches and our famous manager from the 1994 1st XV spent an enjoyable couple of days together back in May. We kicked off the night before the annual College vs Christchurch Boys’ High School match with a function at No. 4, aka the Mansfield. Quite a few of our parents were able to attend which was fantastic, although unlike 25 years ago, they didn't pick up the significant bar tab! Special mention was made of the fact that two of our teammates, Billy Dawson (11095) and Will O'Meara (11161), are no longer with us. We caught up with the CBHS team that night too and, as we both had enough players to field a team, we decided to have a rematch at 9am the following morning on Upper. The College boys assembled as arranged, but CBHS were a no-show. We thereby won by default and, having lost 25 years ago 15–6, this evens the ledger at 1–all. After a nice cup of tea and a tour of College followed by lunch in the Dining Hall, we headed across to Straven Road for the big game. College fought

valiantly and played a brutal forward-led game, but CBHS were slightly more dominant in the back line. We really enjoyed the match, and commented that the boys on the paddock looked a lot fitter, stronger and faster than the players of our era. After the match we joined the CBHS reunion members on half-way. We placed two bouquets for Billy and Will, as did CBHS for Nathan Kennett and Mike Mehrtens who have also sadly passed away. After a moment's silence we all headed around the corner to the Jenkins residence for a few cold refreshments on the deck. The short memorial held at the ground proved a great icebreaker, and the two teams got to know each other over the next few hours. We chartered a bus to take us into town where we met CCOBA Secretary Justine Nicholl and many supporters from different year groups and several generations for refreshments. Our manager Brian Le Vaillant (BDL) was in top form as usual and was an excellent guest speaker during our dinner.

Christ’s College Canterbury

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