Congratulations to Mercury Bay Area School on being crowned the 2026 Coulter Cup Winners! This team went undefeated all season and went back to back winners of 2025 and 2026 Secondary Schools Finals day. The final score was MBAS 35-29 Waihi/Whangamatā.
A huge congratulations as well to Waihi/Whangamatā for an outstanding performance, battling right through to the final whistle. It was a great contest and a credit to both teams.
For the first time Mercury Bay had won the rights to host the Thames Valley Secondary School Rugby Finals Day at Mercury Bay Multi Sports Park on Sunday 2 August. The sidelines were packed as U15 and both girls and boys 1st XV finals were played out. The atmosphere was alive with supporters from schools from all over Thames Valley.
Thames Valley Swamp Foxes on camp in Whitianga joined in with supporting the young up and coming future of regional rugby and welcomed players onto the field with team banners.
Thank you
A massive thank you to our referees, coaches, managers, volunteers, parents, and supporters who helped make the day possible. Your time, dedication, and encouragement are what make school rugby so special. We would like to acknowledge & thank our sponsors Sunz Seafood, Planners Plus Ltd, Percival Construction Ltd, J D Hoyland Builders Ltd, GDW Builders Ltd & Ideal Building Ltd & Peninsula Boat Valet Ltd without your support we could not achieve what we do.
Future Competition
Now the top 4 Thames Valley School teams will compete against Bay of Plenty, Counties and Waikato in the Provincial Union Cup which is a new concept to extend on from the Secondary Schools Rugby comp.
Results from other finals on the day:
• U15 Finals: Whangamata 30 v Hauraki Plains College 18
• Hauraki Plains College 40 v Paeroa College 31.
