27/08/2026
First XV rugby: Prop culture – the schoolboy front-rowers who caught the eye this year
Adam Julian & Bruce Holloway
NZ Herald 7 Aug, 2026 09:00 AM
Patrick Keenan
Matamata College
Matamata College made the step up to the Central North Island (CNI) competition for the first time this year and performed respectably by winning three matches.
Tight head prop and co-captain Patrick Keenan, a First XV player since Year 10, helped ensure Matamata weren’t easy beats by earning the most points by a prop in the Jordie Barrett Best and Fairest Medal standings. In August, he was selected for the Waikato U18 squad.
Coach and New Zealand Heartland XV representative Logan Williams, who’s pushed Matamata’s departure from the Waikato competition to the more lucrative Taine Randall Cup, emphasised Keenan has been a massive part of Matamata’s growing ambition.
“He plays 70 minutes most weeks, despite shoulder surgery,” Williams said. “He’s mobile, tough, rarely bettered in the scrums and a real leader.”
“In fact, he goes against the stereotype of props in that he’s really intelligent. He was in Auckland recently, invited to consider some sort of scholarship involving neurological brain studies. I wouldn’t know the half of it,” the coach laughed.
Keenan’s two brothers, Casper and Darcy Keenan, have also played in the front row for Matamata.
Meanwhile, St Paul’s Collegiate, who won the CNI for the eighth time since 2014, but for the first time since 2021, also had a trio of front-rowers who had the measure of most in Chris Kahotea, Lucas Hull and George Kennedy.
