Brisbane’s Iona College has narrowly fallen short of taking out the Rugby Heritage Cup, finishing second in the unique tournament.
It was a successful Cup for both Australian sides, with Stuartholme’s Rugby 7s finishing second for female teams and fourth overall.
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Last week’s tournament celebrated 200 years since the formation of the sport, offering a unique mix of Rugby, cooking and a short-film challenge.
Iona were dominant in the Rugby aspect, finishing second after going unbeaten through the pool stages.
This included a 55-15 win over England’s The Rugby School, the birthplace of where Rugby was created
It was their first loss in a competitive match in close to two years, setting the Brisbane school up as one of the teams to beat heading into the finals.
Iona was dominated in the quarter-finals against Tonga College with a 35-5 win before defeating Northern Ireland’s Ballyclare 20-5.
It set up a trans-Tasman clash in the Final with New Zealand’s Condor, New Zealand’s specialist Secondary School Sevens side.
Unfortunately for the Australians, the Condor’s came out flying to take a 20-5 lead.
Whilst Iona fought back into the contest, the bigger-body Kiwis were ultimately too strong as they took the 40-20 win.
Meanwhile, Australia’s representatives in the girls’ competition, the Stuartholme School, were defeated in the semi-finals by the Japan Rugby Academy.
They would finish fourth in the tournament after going down to the Condors, although rose to second after excelling in the other two aspects of the event.
IONA COLLEGE AT THE RUGBY HERITAGE CUP 2023 Pool matches:
- Iona d Old Resian Club (Argentina) 55-0
- Iona d The Rugby School (England) 55-15
- Iona d College de Pontlevoy (France) 65-5 Quarter-final:
- Iona d Tonga College (Tonga) 35-15 Semi-final:
- Iona d Ballyclare HS (N Ireland) 20-5 Rugby Heritage Cup Final:
- Iona lost to Condor (New Zealand) 20-40
