Repelling Rosmini - Auckland Grammar wins Super City hockey title

​“Rosmini is a great side. We lost to them 6-0 in the round robin. It was our biggest loss ever and we were way off our best. We resolved if we played them again, that wouldn’t happen again,” asserts Jack Seton goalkeeper for the Auckland Grammar School First XI hockey team.
 
Last Wednesday in the Super City final, Grammar upset Rosmini 1-0. In the round robin Rosmini had outscored all opponents 38-1.
 
“We decided our best player Harry Ratcliffe would mark their best player. That didn't happen in the last game. It was a gamble, but we wanted to weather the storm,” Seton explains.
 
Rosmini was contained for the first fifteen minutes and Grammar’s confidence began to grow. After 15 minutes the underdogs had a major breakthrough.  Ishan Naik scored a goal from a penalty corner.
 
“Rosmini like to play fast so we wanted to frustrate them, slow it down and catch them on the break. Ishan took his chance,” Seton praises. 

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In the last fixture of the regular season Grammar was beaten by fierce rivals King’s College, a result they managed to reverse in the semi-finals the following week. Seton was a major player in that success.
 
“The semi-final was a great game. Three times we went down, three times we came back. It went to penalties and I managed to save one and they missed two. It was a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t want to do it again,” Seton laughs.
 
Grammar’s resilience was telling. Rosmini was unable to breach the defence and lacked their usual polish even sacrificing their own keep late in the contest in pursuit of an equaliser.
 
“It was a huge effort by the boys. We’ve had a couple of losses this year, but we have learned from them and are training hard for Rankin Cup,” Seton enthuses.
 
Grammar is grouped with three South Island schools in John McGlashan College, St Bede’s College and Christ’s College who they beat 5-0 in the 9th placed playoff in 2016.
 
The Rankin Cup and India Shield tournaments start in Hamilton next Monday.
 
View the draw here: https://hockeynz.altiusrt.com/competitions/203