Each summer, Michigan Rugby sends one or two select players to New Zealand to train with our partner club, Poneke FC. Shea Loughnane and Luke Zana are there now, and Luke is writing about his experiences abroad each week. This post concerns June 22-28.
This week I got the chance to check out some high school rugby at the annual Quadrangular tournament, the oldest schoolboy tournament in New Zealand. This year it was hosted by Wellington College, a local high school. I accidentally sat in their student section, but that turned out to be the perfect place to watch their pre-match haka, which was electric. There were two games, Nelson versus Whanganui, and Wellington versus Christ’s College. Both games were close and the atmosphere was awesome. Overall, it was a really high level of rugby, and super fun to watch.
Later in the week we had one of the last of the regular season games, and it involved another must win game against Wainui. Fortunately, the game went well, with a dominant win that involved pretty much scoring at will. The 70-7 win meant we scored enough tries for the bonus point, moving us into seventh in the playoff race. Eight teams make the playoffs, so this huge win was crucial to our playoff hopes. After the game, we had a joint meal with Wainui, and watched the Super Rugby Final.
After the Super Rugby Final we geared up for a club tradition; Red and Black night. The annual tradition is a club wide costume party, where everyone is required to wear club colored costumes. Shea, our English roommate Seamus, and I bought these incredibly comfortable yet hot fuzzy suits and tiny red shirts to come as Winnie the Pooh. It was a fun night, with lots of signing, dancing, and just overall antics. I was surprised by the amount of reggae music played throughout the night, but I learned that it’s huge among the Samoans who have moved to New Zealand. Overall, it was a great experience, and I really enjoyed just a classic night of fun and bonding with your teammates late in the season.
