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.

Trustbank Central Shield Challenge Kicks-Off This Weekend

The Trustbank Central Secondary School Shield competition for Under 18 Boys kicks-off this weekend, with two fixtures to be played in Napier (East Coast vs Hawkes Bay Saracens and Wanganui vs Poverty Bay), together with a fixture in Waikanae (Horowhenua-Kapiti vs Wellington Samoan) and a fixture in Masterton (Wairarapa-Bush vs Centurions RFC).

The competition welcomes the Hawkes Bay Saracens team to this year’s competition (a separate story on this team will follow shortly). Defending Champions, the Centurions RFC from Wellington take on Wairarapa-Bush, Wellington Samoan and Horowhenua-Kapiti in their goal to reach the Grand Final on Saturday, 21 September.

The Shield was donated to the former Central Region Secondary Schools governing body in the 1990’s by TrustBank Central (formerly Wanganui Savings Bank and Eastern & Central Savings Bank) which operated from Gisborne in the East to Masterton and Levin in the South and New Plymouth in the West. In 1996, Trustbank Central was sold to Westpac Banking Corporation to become WestpacTrust.

The winners of the Shield over the past three years have been: 2016 - Wellington RFU; 2017 - Wellington Samoan RFU; 2018 - Centurions RFC (Wellington RFU).

(Published : 28/08/19)