The Rankin Cup is New Zealand’s premier Men’s Secondary Schools Hockey Tournament, bringing the best national teams together to compete for this coveted award. Over Tournament Week, St Bede’s Hockey XI made history as the first St Bede’s side to not only make it to the Rankin Cup, but advance all the way to the final.
The tournament highlighted the strength of the local Canterbury competition – of the semi-finalists, three of them were from Canterbury schools (St Bede’s alongside Christchurch Boys’ High and Timaru Boys’ High). The team was coming in fresh from their victory in the School Sport Canterbury tournament, but faced impressive competition from across the North and South Islands.
Some notable games included our pool match against Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata, our impressive 5-0 win against Wellington College, and the dramatic penalty shootout against Christchurch Boys’ High in the semi-finals.
The final pitched the boys against a spirited Timaru Boys’ High, with neither side having won the Rankin Cup in their history. Ultimately, our boys came away with the silver medal with a score of 0-2, but that didn’t take away from what was an extraordinary week of hockey. The team was undefeated up until the final, and carried themselves with a discipline and spirit of teamwork that was acknowledged from every team they played against. Well done lads!
