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Kelston Boys’ High School have capped a stellar year with a 26-19 victory over Nelson College in the final of the BNZ Condor Sevens.

Defending their title from 12 months previous the Auckland school, who also won the Moascar Cup and the Top 4 championship in the XVs season, were too big and fast for the gallant Nelsonians, playing in their first Condor Cup final.

Two tries to Sosiceni Tokoqio and others to Lolagi Visinia and Leon Fukofuka in the first half took Kelston out of sight in the wet conditions, although a spirited comeback from Nelson saw them retain a faint chance of forcing extra time at the end of the second spell.

Richard Kaisia, Steven Soper and Jackson Harvey scored for Nelson College.

“It’s a great honour to win this title as it’s been a hard tournament,” said Kelston captain Tayler Adams. “We came out blasting but Nelson hit back and showed real courage so all credit to them. We had to use the full squad and 1 to 12 all worked hard and knew the game plan throughout the day.”

Adams also praised the organisation of the tournament, the 25th edition of the national schoolboy sevens but the first sponsored by the BNZ.

“It’s a much better tournament this year, much more challenging and a real national tournament,” continued Adams. “We saw today the great talent that is around New Zealand.”

Teams from the length and breadth of New Zealand made up the 16-strong field that included a number of rugby powerhouses.

Kelston BHS, last year’s runners-up Mt Albert Grammar School, six time winners Wesley College and Hamilton BHS, who were without Joe Webber due to is recent selection in the New Zealand team, were the top seeds at the College Rifles RFC.

But the lesser lights produced the upsets in pool play, notably Rosmini College and Feilding HS both defeating Wesley (17-12 and 17-7 respectively) and Rotorua BHS tipping MAGS 19-17.

Rosmini went down to Hamilton in the quarters while Feilding lost to Auckland Grammar at the same stage and Rotorua were edged by MAGS 19-14 in the Plate final.

Wesley gained some consolation winning the Bowl 19-7 over Napier and St Pat’s Silverstream won the Shield 31-0 over New Plymouth.

BNZ Head of Sponsorship Ross Halpin was delighted with the quality of the players on display.

“Having 16 teams representing their respective regions across New Zealand is a clear display of the tournament’s evolution,” he said. “With the BNZ Condor Sevens we see a way to discover the next wave of Sevens superstars.”

The tournament team selected by the Condor RFC will train under New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens in the new year.

Results from the BNZ Condor Sevens

BNZ Condor Cup

Final

Kelston BHS 26 Nelson College 19

Semi finals

Kelston BHS 22 Hamilton BHS 19

Nelson College 12 Auckland Grammar School 10

Quarter finals

Hamilton BHS 26 Rosmini College 19

Kelston BHS 24 Mt Albert GS 15

Auckland Grammar School 26 Feilding HS 5

Nelson College 14 Rotorua BHS 12

Plate

Final

MAGS 19 Rotorua BHS 14

Semi finals

MAGS 15 Rosmini College 12

Rotorua BHS 17 Feliding HS 15

Bowl

Final

Wesley College 19 Napier BHS 7

Semi finals

Napier BHS 28 Whangarei BHS 10

Wesley College 17 Otago BHS 12

Quarter finals

Whangarei BHS 22 Southland BHS 7

Napier BHS 10 St Patrick’s College (Silverstream) 5 AET

Wesley College 47 Shirley BHS 0

Otago BHS 22 New Plymouth BHS 7

Shield

Final

St Pats Silverstream 31 New Plymouth BHS 0

Semi finals

St Pat’s Silverstream 19 Southland BHS 12

New Plymouth BHS 31 Shirley BHS 5

Tournament Team

Luke Nadurutalo (KBHS), Sosiceni Tokoqio (KBHS), Lolagi Visinia (KBHS), Steven Soper (Nelson College), Shaun Devine (MAGS), Tain Lam (MAGS), Trinity Spooner (Napier BHS), Semisi Masirewa (Feilding HS), Kane Jacobson (Hamilton BHS), Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Rotorua BHS), Renata Roberts Tenana (AGS), Charles Elton (Rosmini)