default-output-block.skip-main
Regional | Rangatahi

Māori medium school in the Bay of Plenty making waves in Rugby

Te Wharekura o Mauao based in Tauranga is the only Māori medium school in the Bay of Plenty to have students selected to represent the region in the U18s and U16s rugby teams.

Kaydin Budd, Te Hira Roberts and Tanati Bidois made the cut for the U18s which was announced last week and met with the rest of the selected players yesterday in their first training held in Tauranga.

Jake Gardiner, Joe Dinsdale, Cruise Clarke and Ronin Ainsley were named in the U16s Wider training squad Bay of Plenty.

Heywood Kuka, head rugby tutor at Te Wharekura o Mauao says that it’s an achievement for their small Māori medium school which only started in 2009.  This year the school invested into pathways leading to rugby and it has paid off with Mr Kuka stressing that rugby goes hand in hand with the school, and that their boys are responding well on and off the field.

Recently the school attended and played rugby in the Gold Coast Carnival tournament held in Australia coming second in their division.  Two players not in the Australia team stayed back because of Chiefs U18 Camp duties, team captain for Te Wharekura o Mauao Kaydin Budd and Te Hira Roberts then went on to play St Paul’s Collegiate.

The achievement marks a milestone is the school’s history in securing pathways for their students.

To see a full list of the Bay of Plenty U18s and U16s team visit www.boprugby.co.nz.