According to rugbydatabase.co.nz statistics, Auckland still owns the overall record with 44 consecutive wins but that included six victories over teams in divisions below them. To be fair – it also included five wins against test nations (Argentina and Australia among them) and the Māori All Blacks. But even that Auckland side of the early 90s (packed with All Blacks) could only manage 27 in a row in their own 1st Division weight class (from 1989-1991).

The black and green machine also has an All Black (Hika Elliott) – though he’s 38 years old and last played a test nine years ago.

For South Canterbury to rewrite the record books, they’ll need to roll through King Country (September 7) and North Otago (September 14) in Timaru, then Horowhenua-Kapiti (September 21) in Levin. They’ll start as overwhelming favourites in all three of those matches.

From fourth to first ... Lincoln Uni do it the hard way

It may have featured the same teams as 12 months ago, but it was a different result in this year’s Christchurch Netball Premier 1 final. In a rematch of the 2023 decider, Lincoln University A proved too good for the defending champions – Technical A.

Victorious head coach Andrea Cousins said she couldn’t have asked more of her team.

“How hard they played is how hard they’ve trained.”

Lincoln led through every quarter in their 41-33 win, capping an impressive finals series that also saw them topple the previously unbeaten Kereru A in the semis. Cousins’ side judged their title push to perfection after finishing the round-robin in fourth position.

“We put all our emphasis on growing the individual and then hopefully when it came to the business end of the season that the individual could cope with anything their opposition could throw at them,” said Cousins.

Winter tournament week

If you’ve noticed a lack of traffic around your local high school this week – it’s probably because thousands of students from around the South Island are away at various winter tournaments.

In Prebbleton, the SISS (South Island Secondary Schools) Rural U15 Rugby Tournament features sides from as far south as Queenstown and Winton – while the boys from Golden Bay High School made the trip from the north.

Dunstan High School have proved as entertaining in their DIY barber shop as they have on the field, turning up with different hairstyles each day.

At Christchurch’s Nga Puna Wai indoor facility, teams from across the South Island are competing in three divisions of the SISS Netball Tournament. The tournament concludes with finals on Thursday.

In Dunedin, 55 junior basketball teams battled it out in the zone 4 premier and open grades. Hillmorton High School (Christchurch) and Nelson College contested the boys’ final, while St Andrews College and Ashburton College battled it out in the girls’ decider.

Winter tournament week is huge for secondary school students who can choose from a diverse range of sports, from girls’ rugby 10s in Buller to premier girls football in Nelson, boys’ football in Rolleston, equestrian in Christchurch and ice hockey in Dunedin.

Nelson College’s title tilt

Nelson College’s quest for a national First XV title continues Friday when they face the champions of the Blues region, Kelston Boys’ High School, in Palmerston North.

The South Island champions are two wins away from a perfect season and a first Top 4 title – but coach Jono Phillips knows there is plenty ahead of his team, and much of it is a mystery.

“Don’t know enough about the others yet. There’s a little bit of an unknown there because we don’t get to see those [North Island sides]. There’ll be some great match-ups,” said Phillips.

For all their recent dominance in the Miles Toyota Premiership, Nelson have only twice been to the Top 4 (Covid playing a part in that) and they’ve never won a match there. Arguably, they’ve never been in a better position to take the title than they are this year, but Phillips isn’t interested in being the favourite.

“We’ll all be pretty similar. They’ll all be well coached and conditioning will be good and the players understand their games.”

If Nelson can get past Kelston on Sunday, they’ll play the winner of Feilding High School and five-time champions Hamilton Boys’ High School in the grand final. That match is scheduled for Sunday.

U15 rugby nationals

Meanwhile, the future First XV’s are doing battle in Tauranga. New Zealand’s top Under-15 teams are contesting the national tournament and the South Island’s finest are more than holding their own. Christchurch Boys’ High School have taken their form north after an unbeaten run in the Canterbury Metro Competition. They easily accounted for Palmerston North Boys’ High School (26-3) on day one, before holding off Rotorua Boys’ High School (23-17). CBHS completed a clean sweep of their pool on day two with a 17-0 win over Otago Boys’.

The Dunedin school had also started with a win over PNHS (15-10) but were no match for Rotorua Boys’ High on day one.

St Bede’s also made the trip to Tauranga but struggled against two strong sides in Hastings Boys’ High School and Tauranga Boys’ High before a narrow loss to St Patrick’s College, Town (Wellington) early on day two.

CBHS are scheduled to meet Hastings Boys’ High School in the quarter-final.