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.

Hawkes Bay & Wairarapa Bush In Box Seat In Under 18 Competition

The Wellington Maori Under 18 side recorded their first victory in this year’s competition, with a hard-fought and entertaining win against a determined Horowhenua Kapiti side who will be disappointed at not being the victors. There were three lead changes in the match, with Horowhenua Kapiti outscoring their hosts by three tries to two in the second spell of the match.

Played in a gusty northerly breeze, the team playing with the wind behind them had the better of the pitch, with Wellington Maori scoring two tries to one in the first 35 minutes. To retain the Gordon Noble-Campbell Cup next week, Wellington Maori will have to defeat Whanganui away and hope that Horowhenua Kapití’s run of form will result in their defeat of Wairarapa Bush in Levin. In the other match in the B division, Wairarapa Bush defeated Whanganui at home by 37 points to 29 (after leading 22 points to 10 at half-time), to take a five-point competition lead heading into next week.

In today’s other match, Wellington Samoa faced Hawkes Bay with some trepidation, given the latter’s 109-point demolition of Poverty Bay the prior week. That trepidation resulted in the visitors scoring two pummeling tries in the first 15 minutes of the match, following which Wellington Samoa sparked into life, scoring two particularly good tries of their own, with the match all tied up 10 points all after 35 minutes. In the second half, an early yellow-card against Wellington Samoa gave the Magpies further impetus and opportunity, scoring three successive tries to take a 17-point lead into the final quarter.

To their credit, Wellington Samoa re-discovered their mojo, scoring their third try to bring the final score in the match, to 27-15. Hawkes Bay No. 8, Carter Pirie (Napier BHS) was in menacing form throughout the match, scoring a hat-trick of tries. In the other Division A match, the Wellington Centurions were too strong for a much-improved Poverty Bay side, winning in Palmerston North by 55 points to 0 after leading 31 nil at half-time, with Left Wing for the Centurions, Lindsay Fraser (Wellington College) scoring a double. The John Hornal Shield title will be decided next Saturday, when Hawkes Bay host the Centurions.

In the first round of the Under 16 Tournament matches played today, in Division A (Don Broughton Shield) Hawkes Bay over-powered Wellington Maori by 63 points to 10 in Napier, In Division B (Saracens Cup), Poverty Bay defeated Horowhenua Kapiti in Napier by 48 points to 12 and Wairarapa Bush scored an emphatic 69 points to 7 against Whanganui at home. The Under 16 Tournament continues at Whanganui Collegiate on Monday 22 September.

(Published : 13/09/25)