Rongotai College First XV 2026: a proud side flushes it and finds a famous win

Rongotai College came into the 2026 Wellington Premiership with plenty to prove and every reason to believe. As College Sport Wellington's Premiership preview noted, after a lean previous year “the only way is up” for a school with a genuinely rich rugby history, semi-finalists in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022. With 14 players returning and an experienced group around them, the Rongotai squad set out to close the gap on Wellington's traditional heavyweights.

A settled leadership group

The side is led by hooker and captain Levi Aukuso and coached by Whetu Henry, a former Oriental-Rongotai prop and teacher at the school, per the College Sport Wellington preview. Around the captain sit familiar faces including third-year player Faiva Foua, James Raemaki, and Wellington Under-16 representatives Marco Stevenson-Loboa and Lome Va'a, a nucleus the coaching group has backed to rebuild the Green and White's standing.

Testing fixtures against the big names

The Premiership offered no easy weeks. In the traditional clash for the Heron Scarf in early June, Wellington College proved too strong at Ma'a Nonu Stadium, ClubRugby.nz reported, with the visitors' scoring highlights telling the story of a long afternoon. Rongotai lost their captain to a first-half injury yet kept battling, and openside Cameron Jacobson, halfback LJ Curtis and wing Jonah Radravu were among those who kept turning up.

The turnaround: a first win, and a trophy back

Then came the moment that made the season. Two weeks after a heavy loss to St Pat's Silverstream, Rongotai regrouped around a simple mantra, “we had to flush it”, and produced a rousing 38-33 victory over Scots College, ClubRugby.nz reported. It was their first win of 2026 and, tellingly, their first Fiso-Meaclem Trophy success since the trophy was introduced in 2015.

Soni Sola crossed twice, with Cameron Jacobson, Aisah Johnson and Kingston Tuioti also scoring, while Codie Tawhiri was reliable off the tee with six conversions and a penalty. Lome Va'a's all-round display was, in ClubRugby.nz's words, “worthy of acclaim.” For a young side that had taken its lumps, it was exactly the reward the effort deserved.

What's ahead

With the competition tightly packed at the top, Rongotai sit near the foot of the table as the rounds run down, but the Scots result shows what this group can do when it all clicks. The bigger picture is a proud school reconnecting with its best rugby traditions and giving its returning core real belief to build on into 2027.

Follow the team at @rongotai_college_rugby.