Annual Under 15 Boys' Tournament

As part of Winter Tournament Week, the annual Under 15 Tournament comprises sixteen teams from secondary schools (on an invitational basis) who compete in a Cup and Plate section for the Rex Kerr Trophy.

Annual Under 16 Boys' Tournament

Every year in the third term school holidays, the Council holds New Zealand's premier tournament for Under 16 players, comprising teams from all member Provincial Unions, competing in two divisions for the Don Broughton Shield, the Saracens Cup and the Manaaki Tangata Trophy.

Annual Under 18 Boys' Competition

Every year in September, the Council holds a competition for Under 18 teams from member Provincial Unions, competing for the TrustBank Central Secondary Schools Shield first competed for in the 1990's.

Annual Under 19 Tournament

This competition comprises teams from Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu, and a Hurricanes Heartland Team (comprising players from the Council's member Heartland Provincial Unions), competing for the Central Region Shield on a home and away basis.

Annual Under 20 Heartland Development Series

Comprising teams from the regions Heartland Provincial Unions, the Heartland Development Series is held annually over two weeks, with teams competing for the Hurricanes Under 20 Cup.

Girls' Rugby Development Programmes

Every year, with the support of New Zealand Rugby, the Council provides Development Days, an Under 15 Tournament and an Under 18 Development Camp for young women within the Hurricanes Region.

Annual Hurricanes Sevens Tournament

The best secondary school Sevens players in the region (in Boys and Girls divisions) compete for the Hurricanes Secondary Schools Sevens Cup, hosted by Wairarapa-Bush.

Lindisfarne College Defend Life Members Cup At Tremain Park

It took 55 minutes for Lindisfarne College to take the lead against a gritty St. John’s College side in today’s Life Members Cup Final - and they had to withstand a late-attack inside their own 22-metre area to successfully defend their 2019 title by a two-point margin, 12 points to 10.

While Lindisfarne had the first opportunity to score through a missed penalty kick, it was St. John’s who opened the scoring with a converted try after 10 minutes, following a series of direct forward-led charges against the Lindisfarne line. In a match played under overcast skies in cool conditions, Lindisfarne were able to equalise within minutes of the restart, with a subsequent penalty kick to St. John’s giving them the half-time lead by 10 points to 7.

A yellow-card against the St. John’s hooker early in the second-half meant that they were pinned-down inside their own 22-metre area for an energy-sapping period. Having defended their line for nearly 10 minutes, a non-converted try to Lindisfarne following a right-wing bust gave them the lead for the first time in the game, which they never relinquished.

With time-up on the score-board clock, (expertly manned by Hawkes Bay RFU CEO Jay Campbell), St. John’s had one final attempt inside Lindisfarne’s 22-metre area with a thirteen-man rolling-maul, which when stationary, brought-down the curtain on a keenly-contested match.

Lindisfarne No. 6, Lanson Randell, received the Karaka Café "Player-of-the-Final" award, while former Council President, Grant Gilbert, was on-hand to present the Cup to the winners.

The Council would like to thank Napier Old Boys Marist RFC, the Hawkes Bay RFU and the Hawkes Bay Rugby Referees Association for providing the use of their facilities and team for this fixture. With thanks also to Emma Rodger for the use of the photos provided in this report.

You can read the Hawkes Bay Today report of the fixture, by clicking here.

(Published : 19/09/20)