Selwyn Sports Exchange
College House were prepped to take on the strong Selwyn athletes in the annual sporting exchange. Our rivals from the South arrived on the 12th August with a bus full of eager competitors ready for a weekend of intense competition. The Colleges competed in Men’s and Women’s Rugby, Rowing, Men’s and Women’s football, Basketball, Netball and Boat Racing (different to rowing).
The weekend kicked off under the lights on Ilam Fields with the Women’s and Men’s rugby games. For the girls, many were playing the game for the first time. With College House and half of Unihall cheering on from the sideline, they showed that their training had paid off. They began strong, scoring some well created tries in the first half. However, the Selwyn girls fought back and the game ended a very close 19-17 to Selwyn. Unluggy. Anna Percy showed her pace by creating multiple scoring opportunities for College House. Grace Steinmetz (a new rugby import) proved an asset, drawing comparisons to Beauden Barret and Sam Lane.
After a long dry spell, the boys were keen to put out a winning performance. Right from the kick off, they put Selwyn under pressure and were rewarded with tries from Clezy and McCormack in the first half. However Selwyn came out firing in the second half. The College House boys defended valiantly to ensure Selwyn were only able to score one try in a long period of dominance. First-five Declan McCormack wrapped the game up for College House with a breakaway try, much to the home crowds’ joy. The game ended 15-7.
After a night of catch ups and College House traditions, the rowers headed early to the to contest the prestigious oar. Veteran coxswain Rhys Fitzgerald skippered the vessel on the 1km course. The race began well for the visiting crew who built an early lead. The CH team then turned on the taps around the corner and reached the finish line by half a boat length in front of the visitors.
The football games were played the following afternoon in wet conditions at Villa Maria College. The girls’ team was headed by Hannah Zydenbos who controlled the game excellently and allowed Rebecca Calderon to put the home team up 1-0 after some dominant play. College House doubled their lead shortly afterwards from a well worked corner. Anna Hardy saved all attempts in the second half to ensure the game ended 2-0. Other highlights were from Tori McNoe and Richard Gresson
The boys’ fixture was a much tighter affair which resulted in 0-0 at the half-time break. Manager Tate Steele delivered a rousing speech to the boys to get them playing to their full potential. Josh Barry finally hit the back of the net but soon Selwyn equalised due to a lapse in the otherwise strong College House defence. Dean “Messi” Franklet tested their goalie with a barrage of shots; the Selwyn keeper was lucky that none were on target. Chants of “Lukey Elsen” began ringing out as the game wore on, despite Luke watching on with a leg injury. At full-time the score remained 1-1, sending the game into a penalty shootout. Up stepped local star Morgan King. The seasoned goalkeeper thrived under the pressure and saved two of Selwyn’s penalty attempts to win the game for CH. These heroics wrote his name into the history books.
The contestants then headed to the UC Rec Centre to contest the Basketball and Netball in front of a packed crowd. Ben Anderson’s shooting precision put College House out to a massive lead after the first quarter. The tall duo of Ben Costley and Louis Coetzee stopped Selwyn getting back into the game and the final score was 46-22.
Netball proved a struggle for the Cantabrians with the visitors fielding a strong team. Selwyn’s excellent shooters put the home team under pressure early. Although Shnece Duncan’s accurate shooting kept the deficit to a minimum, Selwyn were able to run away with the victory 28-20.
That night the Colleges came together to enjoy a formal dinner. For the first time in years College House had won the cup for the sporting exchange, winning 5/7 fixtures. The cup was presented to College House sports representative Simon Reeves, albeit missing a handle. The principal from Selwyn exclaimed “we thought it would be right for the trophy to be returned to Christchurch broken; the mechanical engineers need something to do”.
Once the formalities were complete the students then competed in the annual Boat Race. The prestigious event was taken by Selwyn. This gives us motivation to train a better team for next year’s competition. The weekend was then wrapped up at the Foundry bar. The band ‘Little Red Cookbook’, made up of College House students, delivered an epic concert, featuring some golden oldies such as “Why Does Love Do This To Me” along with some modern hits.
Big thanks to all the people involved in organising the exchange, including sports rep Simon Reeves, College House management, the tutors, the referees, and of course the competitors. We look forward to another hard fought exchange in Dunedin next year.