Tour Blog
4/8/09 - 2pm.
After safely arriving in Auckland International at the civilised hour of 9am on Saturday morning after a rather uncivilised 25 hours in the air (thankfully broken by a couple of hours in Hong Kong Airport where a few of the boys managed to sample the local cuisine) a still rather jet-lagged tour party headed out on Sunday afternoon to play Auckland based Rosehill College. In a hard fought game the Oratory emerged with a 26-7 victory and all match fit players had a run out during the game.
The Oratory Tour Party and hosts, Rosehill College, after the game.
As I write, we are about to play the tour's second match, against St John's College, Hamilton. The boys have had a light practice session on the school's pitches this morning and the weather, which is currently mild and sunny should hold at least until after the match.
We arrived to heavy downpours on Saturday but since then it has been largely warm and sunny during the day with the odd short shower - in fact very much like the weather we left behind in Britain although it is the middle of winter here! The sub-tropical climes of Auckland and Hamilton will soon be left behind as we begin our journey south at the end of the week.
The boys had their first evening of the tour spent with host families and they all seem to have enjoyed the experience. Tonight we will be staying as a group again at Waikato University where we shall receive a traditional Maori greeting (Powhiri) and then a dinner.
Details of this, today's game and other tour highlights will be added to this blog soon depending on internet access availability.
Ronan O'Sullivan
8/8/09
Having enjoyed a successful second outing against St John's Catholic College (31-0) the boys experienced Maori culture first hand when they stayed at Waikato University. After the formal greeting ceremony and nose pressing the tour party enjoyed a traditional Hangi feast the tour party then settled down for the night as a group in a traditional Maori house.
We then moved on to Rotorua for a couple of days R&R enjoying the naturally heated spa baths and the beautiful setting by Late Rotorua. The boys also enjoyed visits to the local attractions of Agrodome and Agroadventures where they watched a sheep show and to see the now endangered kiwi. They also saw geysers and hot mud pools and springs at the Te Paiu geothermal park.
After a long coach ride south we arrived in Upper Hutt, Wellington, the site of St Patrick's, Silverstream (where the boys are being hosted for three nights). Today we took a trip into the centre of Wellington where we went up Mount Victoria and thanks to the continued excellent weather we enjoyed spectacular views of the city and the expanse of the harbour.
Our next game has been re-scheduled for Sunday at midday against our hosts St Patrick's.
A few techincal challenges to overcome but some photographs should be forthcoming in the next few days.
Ronan O'Sullivan
11/8/09
On Sunday, as mentioned above, we played St Patrick's College, Silverstream, Wellington. In a highly contested, physical game, which belied the score of 42-14, the Oratory backs came through their third game on tour scoring 8 tries and taking all their opportunities to score; the forwards battled hard and never succumbed to their larger opponents helping to secure a third victory and reach the halfway point of the tour unbeaten. One disappointing aspect of the game was the injury to the captain, Richard Turner, who sustained a fractured ankle during the first half of the match.
The stay in Upper Hutt, Wellington, was also an opportunity for staff and boys to renew acquaintances with several of the old Gap students - Phil Stanley, Matt Donnelly and Roy McGrath - as many of the boys were in St Philip's House when these St Patrick's old boys were on their gap year at the Oratory.
Monday was an early departure from the North Island for a quick Air New Zealand hop down to Christchurch. The Southern Alps, which run the length of the South Island were clearly visible from the plane as we continue with our excellent fortune in terms of the weather - clear, bright and sunny during the days with tempatures dropping rapidly as soon as the sun goes down.
Our new coach driver, Ricky, took us on a quick tour of the Christchurch area and from a high vantage point we were able to view the flat coastal land of the Canterbury province. The boys have once again been billeted with families.
Today we drove down to New Brigton beach which also has a pier as one of its main attractions and had the boys running along the beach with the Pacific surf lapping at their feet. We then had a productive training session at New Brigton Rugby club pitch before easing muscle aches and strains at the QEII swimming complex, used in the 1974 Commonwealth Games, which sported a 50m pool, diving pool, hot spas and, a particular favourite, the figure-of-eight whirlpool.
Tomorrow we have our game against Rangiora High School for whom this will be their last game of the season.
Ronan O'Sullivan
14/8/09
Match reports:
v Rangiora High School (Won 22-0)
A strong forward performance was the platform for what was a well deserved victory against the South Canterbury champions. In front of a crowd full of students who had been let off afternoon lessons to watch the game, we scored 4 excellent tries without reply.
V Roncalli College (Lost 7-18)
Despite a spirited performance, with a squad now carrying some key injuries, we succumbed to our first tour loss. After leading for most of the first half we had a crazy 2 minutes before half-time and conceded two soft tries. We had much of the territory and possession in the second half but couldn't convert pressure into points as neither side got on the scorecard in the 2nd half. This was Roncalli's last game of the season in front of another packed crowd and they thoroughly deserved their victory.
Patrick Hennessy
Wednesday morning gave us the opportunity to visit the centre of Christchurch which features some of the oldest English style buildings on the island. An antique tram passes through the heart of the city and enables you to see such sights as punting on the river Avon, Christ's College School, The Arts Centre and the Anglican Cathedral. The boys took the opportunity to enjoy some sightseeing and shopping (the Canterbury shop being a particular highlight for purchasing All Blacks' kit).
Following the physically demanding game at Rangiora High, we returned to the restorative waters of the QEII Commonwealth pools and spa on Thursday morning. We then travelled down to Timaru in mist and rain, the sunshine having finally deserted us, to the final hosting school of the tour – Roncalli College. The boys have been particularly happy with their host families throughout the tour and many reports suggest the boys have been true ambassadors for to school.
Ronan O'Sullivan