Year 10 students William Couldrey and Sam Nash represented New Zealand at Lacrosse as part of an Under 15 squad that took part in the Australian Lacrosse Association’s U15 National Tournament, held in Melbourne during the first week of the school holidays.
This is the first time NZ has fielded an U15 national squad since the sport came to our shores in 1884. The NZ U15s faced off against eight representative teams from across the Australian regions.
Following a tough Auckland Schools Championship Lacrosse Final between the MAGS Premier Boys and arch rivals Rosmini College on the last day of Term 3, William and Sam joined forces with four of the Rosmini boys in the 16-strong NZ squad, made up of players from Auckland and Waikato.
The team had played just one warm-up match together prior to heading across the Tasman for the annual tournament. The Kiwis competed hard for the entire week against stiff Australian competition.
Sam (#3/#33, white helmet) formed part of a rotating mobile midfield combination, while vice-captain William (#19, black and red helmet) played in goal for every minute of every game and earned himself Most Valuable Player medals for two of the matches.
The NZ players learned a great deal playing against much more experienced opposition. The NZ boys convincingly won one game, and did well to keep some of the leading teams to low scores. The Kiwis formed tight friendships with many of their trans-Tasman counterparts, and are looking forward to meeting them again through the grades. The MAGS boys did their school and country proud, and have helped pave the way for exciting opportunities for the Year 9 newcomers to the MAGS Lacrosse squad.
