Youngsters take on their own rugby world cup
Fairfield and Te Kuiti Primary School Rippa rugby sides are through to the national tournament.
One rugby world cup in New Zealand this year is already well underway, with schools around the country competing in the Rippa Rugby World Cup qualifiers.
Hamilton’s Fairfield Primary and Te Kuiti Primary go through to the national tournament in August after winning qualifying stages in the Waikato, King Country and Thames Valley.
Rippa Rugby is a safe, non-contact form of rugby aimed at primary school children where instead of tackling, players rip Velcro-fastened tags off each other’s waists. The Rippa Rugby World Cup is a New Zealand Rugby Union initiative to promote the new game to both boys and girls while delivering it in a competitive format for year six primary school teams.
Sport Waikato Kiwisport rugby officer Wayne Bootten, who has been responsible for co-ordinating the Rippa rugby tournaments in Waikato, King Country and Thames Valley, said participation had been phenomenal.
“We have covered schools from the top of the Coromandel down to Taumarunui and had 1886 year six girls and boys involved in 179 teams.”
Bootten said the qualification process had been thorough with 26 tournaments played throughout the Sport Waikato region over the past three months.
“It’s been a long journey. We started with our first tournament on March 8 and worked through to our Waikato final on June 17 and our King Country/Thames Valley playoff final on June 22.”
Qualification culminated in three finals tournaments held in Hamilton (Waikato), Taupo (King Country) and Thames (Thames Valley).
The Waikato final was won by Fairfield Primary who defeated Ngaruawahia’s Bernard Fergusson School seven tries to five in what Bootten described as an outstanding game to watch.
“Fairfield had to go through the qualifying tournament and come in the top two. From there they came to a 28 team finals day and went through the round robins of that, then made the cup quarter finals, semi finals and won the final,” Bootten said.
King Country champions Te Kuiti Primary had an equally difficult path; they had to knock off the competition in King Country before taking on the best the Thames Valley region had to offer – beating Parawai School of Thames in a playoff match.
The two winners now compete at the national tournament at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on the 8th and 9th of August against the winning schools of 20 provinces throughout New Zealand.
“They get to go to Kelly Tarlton’s and Sky City, and it is all paid for by the New Zealand Rugby Union,” Bootten said.
“Also, since it is a ‘World Cup’, they play as a country. They get drawn out a team on Small Blacks TV and will get kitted out and play as that country for the tournament.”
