The Whanganui High School 1st XV stands atop of Manawatu schoolboy’s rugby after a strong second half against Manukura 1st XV carried them to the MRU Premier 1 title, 31-17 in Palmerston North on Saturday.

After identical 5-1 records in the regular season, WHS beating Manukura narrowly but dropping a game to Palmerston North Boys High Development to finish second on bonus points, both sides navigated their semifinals on August 10th to set up the trophy match on Manukura’s home turf at Massey University.

Trailing 17-7 at halftime, WHS piled on 24-unanswered points to lift the crown, ultimately scoring five tries with three conversions.

WHS winning the top schoolboys title completes a six-year rebuild across two generations of 1st XV players, which included winning the MRU Premier 2 title in 2021.

Another WRFU-affiliated school claimed that latter crown this year as the Ruapehu College 1st XV lifted the Premier 2 trophy with a strong 28-10 win away to the Feilding High Colts in the final.

Having topped a very competitive Premier 2 points table with a 5-2 record, Ruapehu held on for a two-point home semifinal win over PNBHS Colts to set up the trip to Feilding.

Trailing 5-3 in a tight fixture, Ruapehu earned the advantage before halftime with a converted try and another penalty, while the hosts had a player sinbinned, to lead 13-5.

The weather packing in also suited Ruapehu’s tactical kicking and forward pack control - scoring two more tries plus a conversion and a penalty to take the silverware back up the mountain.

In the other school games played on Saturday, the Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV made sure they avoided the Central North Island wooden spoon by claiming a big 60-35 win over St John’s Hastings in their 9th-10th playoff match in Taupo.

The CNI title was won by St John’s Hamilton, runnersup in the previous two seasons to Feilding High, who this time they defeated 42-33.

WHS Under 16’s lost their MRU Premier 3 match away to Queen Elizabeth College Senior Boys 34-12, while in Youth 2 the WHS Under 15’s defeated Freyberg High Youth 47-39 away.

Another local school has qualified for a MRU final as Whanganui Collegiate Blue beat St Peter’s College Juniors 29-26 in the Youth 3 semifinal, setting up a home playoff on Saturday against PNBHS Junior Grey.

By Jared Smith