Angus Gray – Rugby, Rowing, Relax

“I don’t think I will experience another day like it. The reaction of the boys in Twizel and the messages of support from family and friends have been overwhelming,” exclaimed Angus Gray of Christ’s College following his schools’ Maadi Cup success last weekend.


The head prefect was in the bow seat of the boat. His role is to provide calls to the crew and ensure stability.

Christ’s established control of the Maadi Cup Boys under-18 final at halfway, holding a half-length lead from Hamilton Boys’ High School. Christ’s pulled further ahead over the last 1000m to win the final by three seconds. For the first time in four years Hamilton Boys’ had to settle for a silver medal.

The ability to control emotions and make sound judgements is something Gray has learned a lot about in the past year.

May 28, 2015 was a dark day for Christ’s. The First XV was humiliated by a record 80-0 in the annual traditional rugby fixture against Christchurch Boys’ High School. The game was broadcast on national television and Gray was playing first-five.

“I was so nervous before that game. I knew it was a big deal, but when I got on the field I just froze, we all did. We should have competed more. We didn’t man-up and it was very hard going back to school the next day. We were embarrassed.”

Overcoming embarrassment and disappointment was a key for focus for Gray when he attended the Crusaders Knights rugby camp.

“A sports physiologist came along and he spent some time talking about how to channel excitement into performance. Everybody gets excited about big games, but the key is to not get carried away or nervous. I found it very helpful,” Gray admits.

Last year Christ’s finished second in the Maadi Cup and Gray says an overly aggressive start was a factor. That problem unearthed itself at the 2016 South Island Rowing Championships in the under-18 coxed fours too. Christ’s finished an extremely disappointing third place. Gray reflects on the result.
“We didn’t row well at all. We went out too hard and had no speed at the end. We knew we were better than what we preformed. We tried to put the result behind us quickly.”
Every year before Maadi Cup Christ’s College’s rowing team descend to Twizel for a week to train. This proved to be highly beneficial to the fours crew of Cameron Smith, Oscar Acland, Rowan Taylor, coxswain Paddy Hon and Gray.

Christ’s improved their time from the South Island championships by 19 seconds at the Maadi meet and won the Springbok Shield in 6:38.49.

“It was an awesome result. I knew we could do a lot better than South Island’s, but to win was bit of a surprise. We peaked at the right time, enjoyed ourselves and left everything out on the course,” Gray says.

Christ’s had three members of their eight’s crew return from 2015. Gray was more confident about winning the Maadi Cup and his crew delivered. Gray explains the advantages of training at the venue in which the regatta was held.

“In Twizel the temperature is cooler so the water feels a bit heavier. By contrast Lake Karapiro is warmer and requires a slightly lighter stroke. This all sounds a bit weird, but the feeling is just different and having the extra time on the course really helped establish what kind of rating and race we had to perform to win.”

Gray hopes the lessons of careful preparation and a more relaxed approach translate to the rugby season. Christ’s have new coaches in former All Black captain Reuben Thorne and Canterbury first-five Cameron McIntyre.
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“We have been doing a lot work on strength and conditioning. We were a bit weak in that area last year. We have some new patterns and the boys are quietly confident about an improved showing.”
Christ’s beat Waitaki Boys’ High School, 62-14 in their first pre-season game.

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