The Jonty Carran Memorial Rugby 10’s Tournament is run annually in memory of Jonty Carran, who loved rugby with a passion.

Written by Mason Coulthard

Jonty Carran had been at Southland Boys' High School for six weeks when he passed away in his sleep on 28 February 2016, aged 13. Countless tests followed his death in the search for why this healthy and athletic boy never woke from his sleep. Jonty was a talented sportsman, with rugby being one of his passions. In his memory the Jonty Carran Memorial Rugby 10’s Tournament is now run annually with teams from all over Southland converging on his hometown of Otautau to play in his honour. 

2024 saw us take a combined Year 7 and 8 team to the tournament, coached by a team of three - Mason Coulthard, Mr Drozdzak and Mr Bakker. With a couple of teams defaulting, it was going to be a tough day with six games each. Our first game was at 9.40am, and we played Otautau School and won 40-nil - a great start. Then at 10.20am we played Aurora College Boys and again we won 35-5.  Next game was against James Hargest College at 11.20am and another win at 30-nil. Next on the ranks at 12.20pm was Central Middies and another win.  We then played last year’s nemesis team – Drummond Limeshills Star (DLS) 1.00pm and unfortunately, we lost this game. Our 6th game at 1.40pm was against Aparima College Boys, and we won this game.

The boys then prepared themselves for their final game at 2.40pm against DLS who they had recently lost to – this was going to be tough! Although it may sound from the scores that it was a walk in the park, it wasn’t. The boys played 8-minute halves, and they played hard. They were quick and their defence was strong – it was great footy to watch. The score doesn’t reflect how exhausting the game was. The boys put their heart and soul into it and played hard, to win 29-17.

Sam Coulthard (Captain) received the trophy from Mr and Mrs Carran and Rugby Southland.

Sam Coulthard was player of the day for our team (each team had a player of the day), and Charlie Vincent was the in-teams Player of the Day. Congratulations to both boys, and the whole team. The boys played as a team, with only three practices before playing and they were communicating and working well together.  Lots of sportsmanship was shown, everyone played their part and made the team great.

The team consisted of:

• Liam Ankerson
• Sam Coulthard
• Nixon Fahey
• Koah Godden
• Jackson Kereama
• Max Manson
• Harlan Mason
• Ollie McCullen
• Benji McDonald
• Mason Mcllwrick
• Sabin Rutledge
• Damian Sekone-Teremona
• Brock Smith
• Charlie Vincent
• Wyatt Templeton