The First hockey team played 6 games during their tournament week.
St Pauls played with determination and commitment in all their games. Some results did not go our way due to some dubious refereeing decisions and failing to follow the game plan. Conversely, S. Pauls played some excellent hockey on each of the days. The coaches and supporters were very happy and proud of boy’s results over the week. The young team was well captained by Devon Nolan who remained positive, thoughtful and inspirational to motivate the team.
In the first two games against Rangitoto College and Napier Boys High Schoo,l St Paul's dominated the opposition with good accurate passing and communication in all areas of the field. This qualified us into the top eight. In our third game against St Andrews (Canterbury Champions) the team failed to put it together. We played like individuals and forgot about the team patterns which resulted in a loss. Unfortunately, this placed us second in our pool, therefore we crossed over to play old rivals Hamilton Boys High School (No. 1 Ranked team in NZ). The game against HBHBS was fast and furious with HBHS taking the lead ten minutes into the game. However, we scored an outstanding goal from a Jonathan Bloor’s deflection. The game was intense and HBHS finally scored with seven and half minutes to go of the game. St Paul's went on the attack which created space for the HBHS to score two more goals. The boys were outstanding in their performance and commitment.
This meant we played off for 5th place – 8th place. Kings College (Auckland Champions) took to the initiative and we couldn't match their energy levels and accuracy in the circle. Having lost to Kings College, we played off for 7 – 8th position in the last game of the season. The boys started slowly against St Andrews who put immense pressure of the back four. This played dividends for opposition who scored two scored two goals in succession. However, St Paul's came back into the game. Jonathan Bloor’s pressure created a goal for himself. For the next 30minutes St Paul's were sublime in a number of areas both in attack and defence, as they scored five goals. Unfortunately, the opposition scored two more goals in the last few minutes of the game. St Paul's held on to win the final game 5- 4 with some excellent saves from goal keeper Simon Morbey.
St Paul’s finished up 7th in New Zealand, an outstanding result. The team only loses four players from the squad of 16.
Results
Won 6 – 1 Rangitoto College
Won 3- 2 Napier BHS
Lost 1- 4 St. Andrews College
Lost 1- 4 Hamilton BHS
Lost 1-3 Kings College
Won 5 - 4 St Andrews College
Most Valuable Player of the tournament - Finn Duetz
