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.

Provincial Union Rugby Celebrates Traditional Community Rivalry

Before the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was formed in 1892, Rugby Union in New Zealand was organised around regions which had earlier been administered by their own Provincial Governments. When Provincial Government was abolished in 1876, these regions became known as “Provincial Districts”, comprising Borough and County Councils. Provincial Districts never lost their sense of fierce parochialism, often based on the ethnic traditions and customs of the communities which settled in particular locations around the young country.

Rugby’s “Provincial Unions” of 2019 have their history based on the provinces of these earlier times. Today’s Mitre 10 Cup and Heartland Championship competitions (and the Council's age-group competitions) are built on this historic community tribalism and rivalry.

(Published : 05/08/19)