29 August 2025
The 2025 NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament (NZSST) kicked off across Auckland’s Bruce Pulman Park and Walter Massey Park, launching what is set to be a massive weekend of school rugby league.
A record 60 teams are taking the field this year across all four grades: Boys Premiership, Girls Championship, Boys Championship, and U15 Boys Carnival.
Day 1 consisted of round-robin matches within the different sections of the U15 Boys Carnival. The Girls Championship and Boys Premiership featured both section match-ups and cross-over games, while the Boys Championship teams battled it out in grading matches.
Amongst all the action of the day, 2024 champions St Thomas of Canterbury College, Westlake Boys High School, and St Paul’s College were all toppled. Stay tuned for Day 2’s cross-over games and semi-finals, to see who advances to the grand finals on Sunday.
2024 champions Southern Cross topped Section A with a dominant win over Haeata and narrowly beating out James Cook 18-14.
The combined Section B & C was highly competitive, with six teams including 2024 grand finalists Auckland Girls’, previous champions Manurewa High, and strong new entrants Avondale, all in the mix. The wāhine from Manurewa finished top of the table, with Auckland Girls’ close behind, both winning two matches each.
In Section D, Rotorua Girls got off to a strong start with a 30-16 win over St Mary’s, later beating Tokoroa High to go into Day 2 as section leaders.
Standings
Section A:
Southern Cross Campus
James Cook High School
Haeata Community Campus
Section B & C
Manurewa High School
Auckland Girls’ Grammar School
McAuley High School
Avondale College
Tauranga Girls College
Kelston Girls’ College
Section D Rotorua Girls High School
St Mary’s College
Tokoroa High School
Sacred Heart College
The Boys Premiership came down to the wire, with the final round of games in the combined Section A & B seeing crucial wins and losses.
Mt Albert finished top of section after dominating newcomers Papatoetoe High 32-10, then beating Southern Cross 16-10.
Similarly to their girls team, the boys from Manurewa High won two from two to finish in second. This included a nail-biting 20-16 upset of two-time champions St Thomas, who finished the day third in the section.
In Section C, 2023 grand finalists and Auckland champions St Pauls finished on top. In the opening round they narrowly beat Kelston Boys’ 8-6, then dominated new entrants Tangaroa 30-10.
Section A & B:
Mt Albert Grammar School
St Thomas of Canterbury College
Papatoetoe High School
Alfriston College
Section C:
St Pauls College
Rotorua Boy’s High School
Kelston Boys’ High School
Tangaroa College
Day 1’s grading games for the Boys Championship took place across both Bruce Pulman Park and Walter Massey Park, seeing a mixture of results in what is the tournament’s largest grade with 24 teams.
New entrants Dilworth emerged ranked first, after dominating Francis Douglas 40-10, then beating Wesley 28-10.
Tauranga Boys’ head into Day 2 ranked second, recording a 28-14 defeat of Haeata, and beating Hamilton Boys 14-4.
2024 grand finalists James Cook finished the day ranked third, securing two wins over debutants Shirley Boys, and Whangaparāoa College.
Standings (Grading):
Dilworth College
Tauranga Boys’ College
New Plymouth Boy’s High School
Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae
Tamaki College
Westlake Boys High School
St Bedes College
Hamilton Boys’ High School
Gisborne Boys High School
Trident High School
Western Heights High School
Wesley College
Shirley Boys’ High School
Marcellin College
Papakura High School
Whangaparāoa College
Otahuhu College
Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate
Onehunga High School
Francis Douglas Memorial College
The biggest-ever edition of the Carnival saw 13 teams battling it out, with the reigning champions defeated and impressive debuts of new teams.
In Section A, 2023-2024 champions St Paul’s were upset by Kelston Boys’ in Round 1, losing 16-6. Despite St Paul’s dominating Hauraki Plains 40-0 in Round 2, Kelston Boys’ finished top of the section.
The combined Section B & C was highly competitive with six teams, seeing Southern Cross come out on top after comfortably beating Papakura High 26-0, then Tokoroa High 14-4.
Newcomers Tipene St Stephen’s entered their first NZSST with a bang, defeating both Tamaki and James Cook to finish in the forefront of Section D.
St Paul’s College
Hauraki Plains College
Section B & C:
Section D:
Tipene St Stephen’s School
For all draw and results updates visit sporty.co.nz
On Day 2 Bruce Pulman Park Field 1 and 4 will continued to be live-streamed here nzrl.co.nz/watch-nzsst25
