Scrum pressure key for King's
The King's tighthead reigned supreme in the traditional battle with Otago Boys' at Littlebourne on Saturday.
The burly prop dominated his opponents and created the platform for King's to build a 31-17 win in the Southern Schools Rugby Championship game.
The fierce local rivalry was best demonstrated by some tough defence in the opening 10 minutes.
But Otago Boys' forced a couple of turnovers to get into a position to strike first, and lock Tom Wilson burst free from a ruck to score under the posts.
King's missed a penalty to close the gap but continued to press.
Hunter made some strong carries and blindside Justin Talalima-Wineti got close to the chalk with a powerful charge.
Otago Boys' winger Te-Ava-A-Kuta Nicholas picked up a yellow card for getting himself offside, and King's finally breached the defence.
Hooker Kavahn Saville-Tonih drove over and Lafa Tofiga nailed the sideline conversion to level the score.
Otago Boys' responded immediately when openside Charlie Ottrey ran through a gap off the back of a lineout and sprinted 30m to the line.
He had to step around a cover defender to get there. It was quite something.
Otago Boys' spent the remainder of the half hard on defence and eventually loosehead prop Semisi Fakataha dived over just before the break.
There had been a long build-up and the home team had defended admirably.
The conversion missed, so Otago Boys' nursed a 14-12 lead at the break.
Otago Boys' extended their lead with a penalty early in the second half but King's kept chipping away.
They had the dominant scrum and won another scrum penalty. They kicked for touch and mauled their way over.
Saville-Tonih flopped over for his second and the conversion helped the visitors take a 19-17 lead.
Hunter was putting so much pressure on his opposite in the scrum. Mark him down as a prop with a very bright future.
He helped shunt the Otago Boys' pack back and that created the opportunity for King's to score again.
Replacement Tautai Taiala put in a grubber and centre Henry Smale collected it and scored.
Talalima-Wineti sealed the win with a try out wide following some nice work in the lead-up.
In the other division 1 games, Southland Boys' 2nds beat St Kevin's 27-14 in Oamaru, and Southland Boys' dispatched John McGlashan 61-0 in Invercargill.
Dunstan consolidated their lead at the top of the second division standings with a 32-5 win over Wakatipu in Alexandra, Waitaki Boys' cruised to a 64-14 win over Otago Boys' 2nds in Oamaru, and South Otago beat Mt Aspiring 17-0 in Wānaka.
Central Southland remained unbeaten in division 3. They beat John McGlashan 2nds 36-0 in Mataura. Māruawai-Menzies edged Cromwell 34-31 at home and King's 2nds secured a 19-15 win over a much-improved Taieri side.
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Otago Daily Times
20-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Scrum pressure key for King's
All hail Henry Hunter. The King's tighthead reigned supreme in the traditional battle with Otago Boys' at Littlebourne on Saturday. The burly prop dominated his opponents and created the platform for King's to build a 31-17 win in the Southern Schools Rugby Championship game. The fierce local rivalry was best demonstrated by some tough defence in the opening 10 minutes. But Otago Boys' forced a couple of turnovers to get into a position to strike first, and lock Tom Wilson burst free from a ruck to score under the posts. King's missed a penalty to close the gap but continued to press. Hunter made some strong carries and blindside Justin Talalima-Wineti got close to the chalk with a powerful charge. Otago Boys' winger Te-Ava-A-Kuta Nicholas picked up a yellow card for getting himself offside, and King's finally breached the defence. Hooker Kavahn Saville-Tonih drove over and Lafa Tofiga nailed the sideline conversion to level the score. Otago Boys' responded immediately when openside Charlie Ottrey ran through a gap off the back of a lineout and sprinted 30m to the line. He had to step around a cover defender to get there. It was quite something. Otago Boys' spent the remainder of the half hard on defence and eventually loosehead prop Semisi Fakataha dived over just before the break. There had been a long build-up and the home team had defended admirably. The conversion missed, so Otago Boys' nursed a 14-12 lead at the break. Otago Boys' extended their lead with a penalty early in the second half but King's kept chipping away. They had the dominant scrum and won another scrum penalty. They kicked for touch and mauled their way over. Saville-Tonih flopped over for his second and the conversion helped the visitors take a 19-17 lead. Hunter was putting so much pressure on his opposite in the scrum. Mark him down as a prop with a very bright future. He helped shunt the Otago Boys' pack back and that created the opportunity for King's to score again. Replacement Tautai Taiala put in a grubber and centre Henry Smale collected it and scored. Talalima-Wineti sealed the win with a try out wide following some nice work in the lead-up. In the other division 1 games, Southland Boys' 2nds beat St Kevin's 27-14 in Oamaru, and Southland Boys' dispatched John McGlashan 61-0 in Invercargill. Dunstan consolidated their lead at the top of the second division standings with a 32-5 win over Wakatipu in Alexandra, Waitaki Boys' cruised to a 64-14 win over Otago Boys' 2nds in Oamaru, and South Otago beat Mt Aspiring 17-0 in Wānaka. Central Southland remained unbeaten in division 3. They beat John McGlashan 2nds 36-0 in Mataura. Māruawai-Menzies edged Cromwell 34-31 at home and King's 2nds secured a 19-15 win over a much-improved Taieri side.
Otago Daily Times
20-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
King, Andrew poised to debut for Tall Blacks in Asia Cup
A member of Otago basketball's royal family and a son of St Kevin's College have been named in the Tall Blacks squad for the Asia Cup. Both rising guard Mojave King and former Otago Nuggets centre Jack Andrew will be on debut when New Zealand play at the tournament in Jeddah next month. They will be joined by fellow newcomer Dontae Russo-Nance, who played for the Nuggets last year but is now with the Manawatu Jets. The selection of Dunedin-born King, in particular, in the 11-man Asia Cup squad is a significant moment for New Zealand hoops. King, 23, the son of Nuggets great Leonard King and former Otago basketballer Tracey Paul, and grandson of late Otago hoops stalwart John Paul, has spent more of his life in Australia but he has declared his hand for the land of his birth. He became just the third New Zealander drafted into the NBA when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and his rights are now with the New Orleans Pelicans. King, who plays for the Tauranga Whai in the NBL, has impressed Tall Blacks coach Judd Flavell. "We always knew that Mojave was very talented," Flavell said. "When you look at the Tall Blacks in the past, we've had to have a guy that can score, shoot the ball and get hot. And we know Mojave can put on 10-12 points in a short period of time." King averaged 8.5 points for the Breakers in the Australian league last season. He then averaged 22.2 points for the Whai, shooting at a decent 38% clip from three-point range. "His role for us is going to be scoring," Flavell said. "Mojave has that unique skillset that I think past Tall Black teams have really leaned on to carry some of that scoring load." There will be whoops of joy around the halls of an Oamaru school at Andrew's debut selection. Andrew, 24, was a stand-out at St Kevin's before playing 80 games for the Nuggets — helping them win the NBL championship in 2022 — and having two spells with the Perth Wildcats. He flourished when he moved to the Taranaki Airs this year, posting 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game . "Jack has had a phenomenal jump this season," Flavell said. "He just really seemed to grow in confidence as well. For a big man to actually run and have a high activity rate — that's something that we really like about him. "He's been the first man down the floor, he's been active on the glass, and he's had great success in tandem with Carlin (Davison) off the pick and roll. I think those two have been one of the most dynamic duos." Leading Tall Blacks including Shea Ili, Tai Webster, Hyrum Harris and Yanni Wetzell are unavailable for the Asia Cup, leaving Jordan Ngatai (84 caps) and Tohi Smith-Milner (69) as the senior men. New Zealand are in group D with Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, and Iraq. Before the tournament, they have three games in China at the Solidarity Cup and Four Nations tournaments, for which they will also have New Zealand under-19 star Hayden Jones, Jordan Hunt and Luca Yates on the roster. One of those three players will become the 12th and final member of the Asia Cup squad. Tall Blacks Asia Cup squad Jack Andrew, Taylor Britt, Flynn Cameron, Max Darling, Carlin Davison, Ben Gold, Mojave King, Taine Murray, Jordan Ngatai, Dontae Russo-Nance, Tohi Smith-Milner Gold has been selected for Asia Cup only. Jordan Hunt, Hayden Jones and Luca Yates will join squad for preceding Solidarity Cup and Four Nations.
Otago Daily Times
17-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Underdogs' time to scrap at top
You can expect tacos on the menu at a Mexican restaurant. A Friday afternoon meeting will always drag. And by October, you would have heard Snoopy's Christmas at least once. But you cannot always rely on the favourites getting through to the Dunedin division 1 final. Teams placed fourth and sixth after the regular season will lock horns in the final at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Harbour edged University 32-28 and Taieri 15-10 to book their place. And Kaikorai prevailed 25-16 against Taieri and 13-10 against Southern. Dunedin, who set the benchmark for a good portion of the season, were tipped out in the opening round of the playoffs, and Taieri, who had a second life in the playoffs, were eliminated in the semifinals. Kaikorai coach Andy Hunter said there was "just so little between all the teams all the way through the season that it never really sort of bothered us too much [to finish sixth]". Both Kaikorai's playoff wins came down to a couple of key plays. They defended with tenacity, and they have also made some big improvements up front. Their scrum was dismantled by Southern earlier in the season, but they have adjusted. Their game plan is still to push the ball wide quickly and probe for gaps on the flanks. Loose forward duo Slade McDowall and captain Lucas Casey thrive when the game is played with width. They will enjoy the dry track under the roof. Harbour would probably prefer some mud so their big pack can go to work. "They're a different team to us, that's for sure," Hunter said. "They're a big physical pack ... a little bit similar to, say, Southern in that they've got some big ball-carriers and a big, strong tight five. "We've just got to come up with some good plans to be able to manage them." Kaikorai have beaten Harbour twice this season. Hunter described the 69-15 win earlier in the season as an "outlier". The 24-20 at Watson Park on June 21 was a better indication. Ben Miller kicked three second-half penalties to help secure the win for Kaikorai. Harbour coach Peter McIntyre expects it will be another close fixture. "We've got quite a strong set-piece, but I think Kaik's set-piece is pretty strong as well," McIntyre said. "I think they started to dominate that Southern eight in the second half of the semifinal. "But each team has a different sort of style, which makes the final a little bit more interesting from that aspect. "We're not going to change too much. What's worked for us has been, over the last three weeks, the clarity around our game plan and putting it in place and playing for each other." The Hawks will lean on the classy combination of halfback Nathan Hastie and first five Rique Miln to get the team in good positions and create opportunities. Hooker Gabriel Francesconi and flanker Toni Taufa have led the pack, and Aleki Morris-Lome has been a solid influence at centre.
