The teams have played each other in the championship final five times in the last two decades and with both schools currently in the top three of the competition, this game will certainly be the match of the round.
CBHS coach Rhys Archibald said the match is one of the “benchmark” games of the season for the team.
Although the team takes each match week-by-week, the clash against their northern rival is treated a bit differently as Nelson College is a team which is “consistently good every year,” he said.
But Archibald says every game is important and his team just want to get out there and win their first overnight trip of the season.
“We’re just trying to keep it simple and play our best rugby.”
This weekend, St Andrew’s College will look to continue to climb the points table following their first two wins in the last couple of weeks while currently sitting at ninth on the standings.
It will be a tough task as they face fourth-placed Shirley Boys’ High School who are hoping to bounce back after their first loss of the competition last weekend.
Shirley Boys’ director of sports and manager of the first XV Jamyn Keats said a good result against STAC would cement their position in the top four of the standings.
This year’s success is the result of a “pretty young team” last year that learnt the hard way.
“I think we still class ourselves as underdogs. That mentality is still there.”
Before the weekend, Shirley Boys’ were leading the table before suffering their first loss (24-12) against CBHS on Saturday after leading 5-0 at half-time.
Rangiora High and Roncalli College: Aoraki Combined will both be searching for their first win of the competition when they play each other this week, along with Waimea College who will be hoping for a big upset when they face table-toppers St Thomas of Canterbury on Saturday.
Eleven-time winners CBHS are the only team yet to lose a game but sit second behind St Thomas’ on the standings due to having a bye.
Currently, behind St Thomas’ on 25 points is Christchurch Boys’ (24), followed by Nelson College (22) and Shirley Boys’ sitting at fourth (21).
-By Jaime Cunningham
