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.

Central Region Shield Commences On Saturday, 21 August

In 1983, Robert Muldoon was Prime Minister and professional rugby was still over a decade away from making an appearance in New Zealand. At that time, Hawkes Bay’s Peter Loomes donated the Central Region Shield for age-group competition the then Central Region. Now in its 38th year of competition, Hawkes Bay have won the Shield 15 times, Wellington 18 times, and Manawatu four times.

(Peter Loomes donated the Central Region Shield for regional competition in 1983)

Loomes coached 13 Hurricanes region teams at the U16 and U18 level to Championship Titles before becoming an Age-Group Selector. Earlier, he played premier rugby for Napier Technical Old Boys and Colenso Pirate, however a broken hip and the loss of an eye forced an earlier than expected end to his playing days. He became a member of the Hawkes Bay Rugby Referees Association, often good-humouredly being referred to as a “one-eyed referee”. Sixteen future All Blacks played for Hawke's Bay teams Peter Loomes was involved with during the 1980s including Norm Hewitt, Tane Randell, Josh Kronfeld, Stu Forster, John Timu and the Cooper brothers, Greg and Matt. Loomes died in 2014, but his memory lives on in the region's Under 19 competition.

In this coming weekend’s Round 1 matches, the Hurricanes Heartland XV host Wellington U19 at the Sport & Rugby Institute, while Hawkes Bay U19 host Manawatu U19 at Tremain Field, in Napier.

(Published : 15/08/21)