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History was made last week as Timaru Boys’ High School fielded its first ever rugby league side.
Held last Wednesday at School Park, TBHS First XIII went up against St Thomas of Canterbury College.
Battling tough weather conditions, the debutant side went on to pick up a hard fought 6-4 win.
Coach Nathan Robinson said while it was great for the side to pick up the win on its debut, the biggest win was just having the game.
"I painted the picture to the boys — I told them I wasn’t fazed on the result as long as we don't get embarrassed.
"The win is actually having the game and we've got to thank St Thomas for travelling to play the game and Timaru Boys’ for helping us get the game off the ground.”
He said while the game was a one-off for the side at this stage, the hope was to establish a school team on a more permanent basis.
"There was a lot of, let’s call it, red tape before we could actually get a game going. Because it’s not like just making a club, there’s protocols, procedures and health and safety from the school’s side of things.
"Initially we registered for New Zealand Schools Rugby League tournament, which is on this weekend, but we couldn’t quite get everything across the line in time. So this [game with St Thomas], in hindsight, was the next best thing.
"The plan is to talk to the school a bit more, get round the table and discuss how it works. The calendar is pretty tight, New Zealand Schools is on at the same time as Top 4 Rugby Union [National First XV Championship] and other sports like basketball and cricket, so it’ll be trying to find that happy medium."
Robinson said rugby league was continuing to grow in the region and the demand for a high school side was very much there.
"Aoraki Rugby League is 10 years old now and the kids coming through, the year 11 group in particular, they’re our day 1’ers. They started 10 years ago and have grown up playing league or wanting to have the game.
"Our local league is the biggest it’s been. We have over 400 registered kids running around at the moment on Saturdays, so that’s going to be tenfold for us when they come into the school system.
"We’ve got good coaches amongst the grades coming through, so I don't think it's going to be a flash in the pan. We’re here to stay and hopefully we can keep working to sustain something at a high school level.”