The last St Andrew’s College team to make the national Top 4 First XV tournament. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
A former England and Crusaders halfback, Heinz is in his first year at St Andrew\u2019s, having worked with Christchurch Boys\u2019 High School last season. St Andrew\u2019s beat CBHS in the Crusaders region final last weekend 33-17. <\/p>\n
St Andrew\u2019s, a co-educational private school since 1992, was excluded from this year\u2019s South Island Boys\u2019 School Competition, which pitted some of the South Island\u2019s heavyweight First XVs against each other throughout the season. It was ultimately won by CBHS, who held off Southland Boys\u2019 High School for the inaugural title. <\/p>\n
Heinz believes there were pros and cons to not being involved in the new competition. <\/p>\n
\u201cI guess the benefit of being involved in a competition like that is you\u2019re getting good, tough rugby every week,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some challenges to deal with at the back end of the season. The way the draw worked out for us it means that going into finals we had a month without competition rugby, but that\u2019s why we took the boys over to Australia for a couple of games. <\/p>\n
\u201cOn the other hand, maybe some of those weeks have allowed us to freshen up a little bit where other teams have still effectively been playing almost every week.\u201d<\/p>\n
St Andrew\u2019s College First XV preparing for their South Island final match with Southland Boys\u2019 High School in Christchurch. Photo \/ Anna\u00a0Heath. <\/p>\n
That downtime has allowed injuries to heal and St Andrew\u2019s will go into the final with near-enough a full squad to call on \u2013 including rich front-row stocks. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always talked about the way we train is the way we play and right from the start of the season, particularly with Owen [Franks, forwards coach] and lately Trent Harris, who\u2019s taken over since Owen moved on to his Japanese stuff, was just the way that those boys set themselves up each week. They\u2019ve battered the crap out of each other in training, to be honest. I think that\u2019s created a really competitive edge amongst the forwards and it sets them up for game day,\u201d Heinz said. <\/p>\n
The experienced Heinz is now turning his attention towards how they can use that physicality against Southland Boys\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust spending a bit of time looking at them this week, they\u2019re a quality outfit, they\u2019ve got threats right across the park. It\u2019s going to be a hell of a challenge for our boys.\u201d<\/p>\n
St Andrew’s head coach Willi Heinz says his side has trained the way they play all season. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath. <\/p>\n
For Southland Boys\u2019, it may be a new opponent; in fact, some SBHS old boys wonder if the schools have ever played before \u2013 but this end of the season is very familiar. Winners of the Top 4 title in 2023, the Invercargill school finished third in the national finals last year and have now been in the past four South Island finals. They won the Highlanders regional final against King\u2019s High School 49-15 in Invercargill last weekend. <\/p>\n
Long-time coach Jason Dermody says this year has been a challenge with the extra SIBS fixtures. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s helped in the way that you have to be better planned every week. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve planned most weeks pretty well. Not knowing the opposition and making the boys get up every week was tough. We thought we would have weeks where we could rest people, but that didn\u2019t really happen. We played our best team week in, week out. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe boys are pretty battle-hardened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southland Boys’ High School First XV coach Jason Dermody. Photo \/ Debbie Fahey Photography<\/p>\n
Dermody says it had always been in the back of his mind that St Andrew\u2019s would get right through. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve sort of timed their run as well. I know they went to Aussie for a 10-day tournament. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll be very difficult, especially at home as well. They\u2019ve got a big crowd and they\u2019ve got a lot of support, so we\u2019re under no illusions about what we\u2019re going into.\u201d <\/p>\n
Maintaining a standard like Southland Boys\u2019 have managed takes careful planning as boys finish their schooling and new faces move into the top team. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of hard work. We\u2019re always looking at boys that would fit into our mould. We pick good people first before good players, and we make the boys buy into what we\u2019re about. And if we don\u2019t think they\u2019re up to that, then we won\u2019t pick them. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe spend a lot of time with our boys, so we want to be around good individuals. We don\u2019t really deal with any muppets. I haven\u2019t got time to be dealing with people like that,\u201d Dermody said.<\/p>\n
2023 National First XV champions, Southland Boys’ High School. From left, Justin Shaw, captain Gregor Rutledge and Lachie Riley with the National First XV Trophy and the Moascar Cup.<\/p>\n
The long, hard season has seen Dermody use 34 players this season, adding to the side\u2019s depth for years to come. But this year is still the primary focus. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal from the start of the season is to be the best in the South Island. So, our goal is definitely to win on Saturday.\u201d <\/p>\n
Both sides wear a very similar kit \u2013 so one will need to wear an alternative. Dermody says he\u2019s not sure who it\u2019ll be, but he has an idea. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s usually the home team.\u201d <\/p>\n