U15 Blues Compete Strongly at Prestigious Tanner Cup

By OBHS | Posted: Monday July 14, 2025

Over the recent holidays, our Under 15 Blues Hockey team travelled to Hamilton to compete in the prestigious Tanner Cup, hosted at St Paul’s Collegiate from 28 June to 3 July.

This national tournament brought together top school teams from around the country, and our players did us proud in a week of hard-fought matches and memorable moments.

The tournament opened with a strong 1–0 win over Lindisfarne, setting a positive tone. A 0–0 draw against Auckland Grammar followed, which saw us finish equal first in our pool, but second overall due to goal difference. That meant we needed to win our next two games to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Our third match, a tense 0–0 draw with Timaru Boys', was decided in a shootout, where we held our nerve to win 2–1. The pressure was on again in our fourth match against Christ's College, where a 1–0 victory secured our place in the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, we faced a very strong Westlake Boys' side and went down 1–3 in a tough match. Undeterred, the team bounced back with a 1–0 win over Tauranga Boys' in the 5–8 playoff, and finished the tournament with a narrow 1–2 loss to Cambridge High, securing an impressive 6th place overall.

An outstanding achievement for our U15 Blues, made even more special by the support of a large and enthusiastic group of parents who travelled with the team—thank you for your energy and encouragement! A massive thanks to our Coach/Manager duo of Ms Franki Traini and Mrs Linh Ashton. We were also fortunate to have Fred Dowling, a current 1st XI player, join us as an assistant coach. His guidance and experience were greatly appreciated throughout the tournament.

Congratulations to the team on their performance and sportsmanship.

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