The Magazine of St Aloysius' College • 'Men for Others' • Issue XLVII ...

Rongotai First XV haka.
Opens after Rongotai Game.
to learn a great deal in an intense two days. There was
little rest for the squad with games against the strong St
Patrick’s College Silverstream on the Thursday. On this
day the weather turned wet and miserable, more like the
New Zealand we expected to see. In the wet conditions
the Aloysian sides fought very hard but proved no match
for their much bigger Kiwi opponents. The Development
Squad faced the Silverstream Second XV and went down
5 - 24. The First XV game was a tremendous challenge
with Silverstream fielding an enormous side and winning
0 - 41.
After six straight days of rugby, a rest day was much
needed and on the Friday the boys visited the New
Zealand National Museum, Te Papa, and spent the rest
of the day exploring Wellington city. The rest was needed
ahead of the game against Rongotai College, another very
strong Wellington school, with predominantly Maori and
Pacific Islander students. The games were hard against
much bigger opponents, but the Aloysians played extremely
tough rugby, implementing the many new skills gained on
tour. The Development Squad recorded their second victory
of the tour with a 31 - 0 win over the Rongotai Under 15s
squad. The First XV were in their game until the very end
when Rongotai scored a late try to seal the match 7 - 19.
Rongotai Under 15 haka.
The tour dinner that Saturday night was a wonderful
event with prizes awarded to the best players on tour. For
the Development Squad, prizes were awarded to Joseph
Riordan (Year 10) for Most Improved Player, Thomas
Hundleby (Year 10) for Best Forward, Matthew White (Year
10) for Best Back and the Best and Fairest player in the
Development Squad was awarded to William Thompson
(Year 10). The Opens Squad prizes were awarded to Harry
Hampton (Year 12) for Most Improved, Jeremy Gooden
(Year 12) as Best Back, Oscar Doughty (Year 12) as Best
Forward and the Best and Fairest player in the Opens
Squad went to Thomas Priddis (Year 11).
A special toast was given to every boy who had played
in the front row on tour. These players had displayed great
courage and strength against much larger opposition and
never shirked their task. They rightly received the admiration
of all the Tour Squad for their efforts.
All members of the Tour Squad had a tremendous time
and we are greatly indebted to the tireless work of Mr
Michael Turton who expertly organised the tour. All aspects
of the tour worked like clockwork and his efforts are greatly
appreciated.
Mr Paul Harkin
First XV Coach
2007 European Football Tour
On December 3, thirty Aloysians departed Sydney
for the football tour of a lifetime. Ahead lay fixtures
against Jesuit schools in England, Scotland and Italy,
as well as training sessions at some of Europe’s elite football
academies - Chelsea, Liverpool and AC Milan. Held every
three years, boys from Years 9, 10 and 11 were selected
to form two teams – the first comprising solely of Year 9s,
the second a combination of Years 10 and 11.
Our arrival in London in the early hours of the morning
allowed us ample time to take in the sights. Buckingham
Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and the London
Eye were all points of interest. After a good nights sleep at
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 aloysiad / page 29