St Bede’s loose forwards
Adam Julian did some digging to find out why a certain Christchurch school produces top loose forwards.
Just as Christchurch BHS churns out top No 10s, so too does St Bede’s with loose forwards.
Abritish Lion, rugby world Cup captains of uruguay and Japan and an All black are among the impressive cohort of flankers playing professional rugby out of st bede’s College, Christchurch.
If fierce rival Christchurch Boys’ High School is a first five factory – think Andrew Mehrtens, Daniel Carter and several others – St Bede’s has become a flanker factory.
In the past two decades, Josh Navidi, Michael Leitch, Charlie Gamble and Billy Harmon are just some of the household names in the loose forward position that have passed through the gates of the all-boys’ Catholic school on Main north road, Papanui.
St Bede’s College opened in 1911. It won 21 Christchurch secondary school championships prior to the incarnation of the present Crusaders regional First XV competition in 2001, which it has won five times. With six national Top 4 appearances and 11 All blacks, its rugby pedigree is long and significant, but what is it specifically about St Bede’s that lends itself to producing top-class flankers?
gerry Davidson has been at the college since 1997 and has coached the First XV in the majority of years since. He stresses the values of the school closely align to the attributes required to be a successful flanker.
“being a bedean is about believing in the institution, which leads to belief in yourself and your teammates and this leads to action and a willingness to work hard,” he says.
“The qualities of a successful flanker from my point of view are: mental toughness, physicality, ability to read a game, able to be a lineout forward if necessary. A flanker must be a strong defender, fearless at the breakdown and on the loose ball.”
James Lentjes is a leader at the Highlanders. The openside was a member of the 2008 St Bede’s First XV that won a school record 28 out of 30 games. He agrees with Davidson’s observations.
“The values of the school are to get on with it. St Bede’s is a little bit out of town and there are some hard-nosed boys from working-class families. Maybe some of us have that chip on our shoulder.
“As a coach, gerry really challenged the forwards to play physically. He had a knack for firing us up, convincing us the opposition didn’t think much of us. His approach wasn’t dissimilar to that of Jamie Joseph when I first arrived at the Highlanders.”
In 2008, Lentjes played his first three games at No 8 for the First XV until the first choice lock broke his finger.
“In our teams, flankers often had to convert to lock to cover our lack of height,” Davidson says.
“While Elliot Dixon and James Lentjes were excellent jumpers, Dominic Gardiner was perhaps the most dominant both on his own ball and the opposition’s.”
Toughness coupled with versatility is a favourable point of difference for St Bede’s players. Gardiner was head boy in 2019, the best player in a First XV that went 16-3. He is already contracted to the Crusaders with the school magazine noting he has “an elite edge in his game.”
Lentjes’ competition at st bede’s included Elliot Dixon and Josh Navidi. Dixon made the New Zealand Schools in 2007 from a team that won 24 out of 26 games. He went on to play three Tests for the All blacks.
“Elliot was a man among boys at school.
He’d score tries from the kickoff. It was ridiculous,” Lentjes reflects.
navidi has played 35 Tests for wales and toured South Africa with the British Lions in 2021. The son of Iranian wrestling representative Hedy, Navidi spent two years playing rugby at St Bede’s, culminating in him being named 2008 Press Cup player of the year.
“Josh brought a new level of professionalism to the First XV. He was into the gym and protein, whereas the rest of the boys were more interested in beers and girls for the first time,” Lentjes says.
“They offered him a place in the Canterbury academy as a hooker. He turned them down and I guess that worked out pretty well.”
The st bede’s College international rugby programme started in 2003. Long before other schools in New Zealand established genuine and ongoing ties with rugbyplaying high schools in Japan, st bede’s had built a sister-school relationship first with Keiko Gakuen High School in Hirakata City (Osaka), and then with its arch-rival Higashi Fukuoka High School in Kyushu.
Hiroki Yamamoto (five Tests) and shunsuke nunomaki (seven Tests) are two flankers who graduated from the programme, which combines rugby and education.
Michael Leitch captained Japan at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, including the incredible victory against the springboks. In 2004, he went to Sapporo Yamanote High School as part of the international programme. Leitch never played First XV but advocated keenly for the programme.
Not all internationals were Japanese. Alejandro Martin Nieto Serra played 71 Tests for uruguay and captained his country at the 2015 World Cup. He was No 8 for the St Bede’s Second XV. sione Lavemai scored 14 tries in 15 games for the 2013 First XV that won 17 of 18 games, finally losing a 62-game home winning streak against Nelson College. The damaging Tongan has been with Toshiba for several seasons and has been named in the Japanese squad for its July internationals against uruguay and France.
Remarkably, Lavemai played with Maori All Black Billy Harmon and Waratahs menace Charlie Gamble. Harmon helped St Bede’s win the Press Cup in 2011 and was rewarded with the Vance Stewart Trophy for tackling. Stewart was an All Blacks lock from St Bede’s who played much like a flanker.
Gamble was captain of the Canterbury Under 19 team that won the Jock Hobbs Memorial national tournament in 2015. He received the Sir DJ Graham Award as player of the tourney before a foot injury curtailed his progress and he found a new lease on life in sydney.
st bede’s has not only produced excellent contemporary loose forwards. Kevin Meates passed away in April, aged 92. He played in the 1946 First XV and
‘Toughness coupled with versatility is a favourable point of difference for St Bede’s players.’
later appeared in two Tests for the All Blacks in 1952. In 1957, he was part of the Canterbury side which beat the All Blacks at Lancaster Park.
Andy Earl switched seamlessly between lock and loose forward in his long 126game career for Canterbury. He played 14 Tests for the All Blacks between 1986 and 1992.
Johnny Leo’o (First XV 1995-96) won three Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders. Jonathan Poff, a New Zealand Schools’ pick in 2001, enjoyed a long professional career.
In 2020, No 8 George Methven was picked for the paper New Zealand schools squad.