Miles Toyota Premiership and Championship set for kick off new era in 1st XV Rugby

This weekend sees the full first week of competition in the newly formatted Miles Toyota Premiership and Championship, with all 20 teams in action this weekend.

After St Andrew’s and Nelson College’s round robin match last week, played early to accommodate scheduling issues later in the season, the competition will have it’s full compliment of teams in action, including some new and returning sides.

In the Miles Toyota Premiership, the top 10 teams from last year’s competition will compete for supremacy, with teams split between Tasman (2), Canterbury (7) and South Canterbury (1).

Canterbury will be well represented in the new competition, with traditional powerhouses Christchurch Boys’ High, Christ’s College, St Bede’s, St Andrew’s, Shirley Boys’ High, St Thomas and Selwyn Schools in the Premiership division.

In the Miles Toyota Championship, the bottom three teams from last year’s competition are joined by new, returning and 2nd XV sides, creating a competitive second tier of 1st XV Rugby that should produce tighter games and a shorter competition in both divisions as part of Canterbury’s continuing work on the balance is better and player welfare areas of our game.

Regions represented in the Miles Toyota Championship include Tasman (1), Canterbury (7), Mid Canterbury (1) and South Canterbury (1).

This includes new teams in Cashmere High School’s 1st XV and a Horomaka Combined 1st XV, made up of players from Riccarton, Hornby and Hillmorton High Schools, and a returning side in the Mid Canterbury Combined 1st XV.

Other Canterbury sides include Rangiora High School’s 1st XV, and 2nd XV’s from St Bede’s, St Thomas, Christ’s College and Christchurch Boys’ High, setting up a series of competitive games starting this weekend!