It was a history-making moment when the Tauranga Boys' College First XI Football team became the first from their college to win the NZ Secondary Schools premier title when it defeated Hutt International Boys' School in the final in Napier 1-0 last Friday.

The win capped off a remarkable season that's seen the team win 20 of its 22 fixtures as well as the Waikato/BOP schools title and the Super 8, to go with the national crown.

Team coaches Alex Bryant and Neil Howard, both teachers at the college, have spent the last nine years together, building towards this success. In 2019 the team came fifth and with the last two tournaments cancelled, they, along with the boys, have been itching for the opportunity that presented itself last week.

'We have nothing but praise for the application and dedication of the whole squad on and off the field,” says Neil.

'The support they received from parents and old boys has also been excellent and they were overwhelmed with messages of congratulations in the wake of the win.”

An experienced 17-man squad, captained ably by George Brown, had good early wins in pool play against Nelson College (5-0), St Kentigern's (3-1) and Christ's College (5-1). Alex Searle scored four times in pool play to finish with a remarkable 38 for the season. This saw the team qualify for the top 16 where they faced Westlake BHS. A class finish from Ry McLeod set the boys on their way to a comfortable 4-0 win and the best performance of the week was reserved for multiple former champions Mount Albert Grammar. A 9-0 win saw goals come from all over the park with Jonty Bidois, Nathan Rostron and Mirko Brinkmann starring.

Tauranga Boys' College First XI Football captain George Brown. Photo: Wareham Sports Media.

The semi-final saw Tauranga Boys' College dominate St Paul's of Hamilton – but it wasn't until the last kick of the game that Xavier Maddox broke the deadlock to earn a 1-0 win. The final was played at the home of Napier City Rovers and saw Jonty Bidois score a fine header after two minutes. Both sides proceeded to squander chances from the penalty spot with Tauranga Boys' College keeper Troy Taylor making a fine save. The boys then failed to knock off HIBS with many chances going begging. Quality late defending however by Troy, Kyan Cundy, Zach Bryant and Henry Kemp saw Tauranga Boys' College hold on to win the trophy for the first time in the tournament's 45-year history.