During the school holidays, the Lindisfarne/Napier Girls Kī o Rahi team competed at nationals. We had a tough pool, which included traditionally strong teams, and teams that have been improving over the last few years.  We as a team were quite inexperienced, but the attitude of our players was great, and our team culture was fantastic.  This was reflected in the teams’ performance on the field with 9th place overall. This is a great result for two schools who have never participated at regional level before, let alone nationally. Read more about the tournament fixtures in detail below.

"Game 1 saw us up against Lincoln from Christchurch who were a very fit and athletic team. Through some great defensive work, and an outstanding performance from our kaitiaki – Reon Werahiko – we won 8 - 5.  Game 2 saw us face Hastings Boys and Girls, who had just come of a loss.  Although we scored more tries in the game, we didn’t collect as many points and lost 10- 19.  We knew we could only really afford one loss if we were to go through in the top eight. Game three was a 14–0 win over Taumārere, then we came up a very competitive Hīrangi side from Tuwharetoa. We won 13–11.  Next was Hoani Waititi, who had beaten Hastings B/G in game one. James Kennedy was assigned the task of locking down their number one scorer, and we ended up with a comfortable 15-4 win.  We then beat Hawaikii Hou 9–2.  In the final game of pool play we faced Te Kūiti High School who were unbeaten in pool play.  This was definitely a great game to watch.  We were unfortunate to lose it 7–10.  At the end of pool play, Te Kūiti were unbeaten, and Hastings B/G and us had 2 losses each.  With a better points differential, Hastings advanced to the top eight, and we went into the cup division.

On finals day we found ourselves up against Lincoln again.  We knew they would be tough and they certainly had us in the first half where we found ourselves down 2–12. The team really turned things around in the second half and through superior team play we ended up winning 21–12.  In the semi-final we came up against a very aggressive Rotorua boys/girls side. By this stage it was raining, and we lost a couple of players to injury. The players off the bench really stood up to secure us a 9–5 win and a spot in the cup final.  The final was a very close game, but a game which we seemed to have control of. We won the final over Western Springs College 13–10.

Unfortunately, Reon suffered a serious head injury in that game and was taken by helicopter to Whangarei hospital.  This was really concerning for all involved at the time, but he was cleared and released later that evening.

I would like to thank the school for the support that you have given. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the support of Pomare Sydney, and especially Emma Akeripa. Her behind the scenes organisation allowed for things to run really smoothly, and she has been a great point of contact within the school. We were also supported by Derek Goodison from Scott Clinic (uniforms), and Gerard Kennedy from New World Waipukurau (food).

The Lindisfarne boys conducted themselves with humility and dignity throughout the tournament.  They also performed on the field when the pressure came on. They got along really well with the Napier Girls High Players, which contributed to such a positive team culture. The Lindisfarne players were:

Bradley Kaikilekofe, Quin Stephens, James Kennedy, Patrick Tuifua, Marino Tipiwai-Chambers, Sean Lagikula, Reon Werahiko.

Once again, thanks to all involved who helped to make the team a success”

- David Stephens

(Te Whitireia Kī o Rahi)

Article added: Monday 03 May 2021