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BNZ Condor Sevens Spreads Wings

Almost 30 secondary schools take to the pitch this weekend as the BNZ Condor Sevens spreads to the rugby heartland.

Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu-Horowhenua and Taranaki are all staging qualifying tournaments for New Zealand’s national schools rugby sevens in Auckland on Sunday 4 December, with a prized place in the finals going to three teams.

Among those seeking qualification are some of the strongest rugby schools in the country.

“New Plymouth Boys’ High School will, as defending champions, be one of the favourites at Yarrows Stadium on Sunday but we expect great competition from seven other schools in the province as well as Ruapehu College (King Country) and Wanganui City College,” said Willie Rickards, Secondary School Coordinator, Taranaki Rugby Football Union.

The other regional qualifiers also see traditional inter-school clashes with Napier BHS, Hastings BHS, Te Aute College, Palmerston North BHS and Feilding HS entered in their respective tournaments.
Rickards, the former New Zealand Sevens representative who played eight tournaments in 2006-09, said the province was excited by the prospect of the BNZ Condor Sevens and the opportunities it brings to the aspiring player, in particular the prospect of an Olympic medal.

“Taranaki has focused on Sevens in the last couple of years with plenty of success including making the final of the nationals in Queenstown,” he said. “In Jackson Ormond – who played for the New Zealand Sevens team in Adelaide last weekend - plus Scott Waldrom, Ben Souness, Jarrod Hoeata, Beauden Barrett and Kurt Baker we have a great crop of Sevens players in the region.

“The boys playing for their schools on Sunday have a massive opportunity to join them later in the year and set themselves up for a chance to play at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero in 2016.

“Winning an IRB World Sevens Series with the New Zealand team was the highlight of my rugby career and getting to play in places like Dubai and Hong Kong was a fantastic experience. The Olympics will be amazing and the BNZ Condor Sevens is a step to that goal.".

“Both the Manawatu and Horowhenua-Kapiti provinces have performed very well at the National Men’s Sevens Championship in recent years," added Manawatu Rugby Union Community Rugby Manager Chris Ricketts. "The secondary schools sevens programme now creates a real pathway for young players to specialise in this form of the game and aim for places in these senior sevens squads.”

Te Aute College is the only school from these regions to win the Condor Sevens in its 24-year history with the tournament dominated by Auckland schools in recent times. Kelston Boys’ High School are the defending champions having defeated Mt Albert Grammar School 26-17 in the final last year.

Whangarei Boys’ High School were the first school to qualify for the 2011 finals to be held at the College Rifles Rugby Football Club in December.

Further regional tournaments will take place in North Harbour (Wednesday 13 April) and eight other provinces throughout the year.