Liam Baber, Sam Nash and William Couldrey at the U15 tournament in Adelaide.
Lacrosse players Liam Baber (Year 10), William Couldrey (Year 11) and Sam Nash (Year 11) represented New Zealand as part of a squad that won a Bronze medal in the Australian Lacrosse Association’s annual under-15 national tournament, held in Adelaide during the first week of the school holidays.
This is just the second time NZ has fielded an U15 Boys rep squad since the sport came to our shores in 1884. The NZ Boys team faced off against nine representative teams from across Australia. In addition, two U15 Girls teams from Waikato competed against eight Australian regional teams.
During the seven months leading up to the tournament, the MAGS boys, including Sam Tebbutt (Year 10), who was in the wider squad, trained hard alongside players from Rosmini, AGS, Mt Roskill Grammar and Waikato. Liam (#27) and Will (#19) formed part of the strong NZ attack, which scored 59 goals in NZ’s six games. NZ co-captain Sam (#33) formed part of a rotating mobile midfield combination that grafted tirelessly in the Adelaide heat.
The 17-strong NZ squad competed beyond all expectation against some tough Australian opposition. In pool play, NZ won three of their four matches, and had the closest of losses during sudden death overtime against the infamous Southern Crosse outfit.
Having then been beaten in a high-quality semifinal by the eventual competition winners Western Metro, the NZ lads brought a focussed determination to their Bronze place playoff: a re-match against Southern Crosse. Another nail-biting neck-and-neck tussle saw the Kiwis earn a 9-7 victory. Third is the highest place that any NZ men’s lacrosse team has achieved in an international competition during our history of the game.
All of the NZ matches were played with excellent competitive spirit, and throughout the week there were unanimous accolades from the referees, organisers, opposition coaches, players and parents regarding the outstanding attitudes, respect, sportsmanship and overall friendliness shown by the Kiwis on and off the field.
Not only did the boys learn a great deal playing against experienced opposition, but they also formed tight friendships with many of their inter-school and trans-Tasman rivals, and are looking forward to meeting them again through the grades in local and international competitions.
The MAGS boys did their school and country extremely proud, and have helped to pave opportunities for newcomers to the MAGS squad.
On that note, this term sees a new Auckland schools 6-a-side Boys Lacrosse competition to help grow the sport. The MAGS Boys have started training on Wednesday afternoons from 3.30pm on the bottom fields at school. All newcomers are welcome to join in (gear is available to borrow during training).
– Photos courtesy of EX Photography, and there are more photos on their Facebook site
