School Sport: Te Puke Intermediate opens Rugby Academy

Te Morehu Hawera scores for Te Puke Intermediate against Matamata Intermediate last Thursday. Photo / John Borren

Te Puke Intermediate will launch a rugby academy next year that may well be the first of its age group in New Zealand.

The small Te Puke institution already claims to have the most All Blacks from one intermediate school in Royce Willis, Tanerau Latimer, Jarrad Hoeata and Nathan Harris.

Teacher Darren Green and another former Bay of Plenty Steamer, Steve Miln, are the brains behind the academy concept. They decided to do something about the decline in numbers taking up rugby at intermediate age and wanted to create an environment with life-changing values for pupils.

"Our school has a really proud history. We have produced really good rugby players and we don't think there is an intermediate in New Zealand that has produced four All Blacks," Green said.

"We were worried about player numbers so rather than just sit back and let it happen we thought what can we do to increase numbers. But also we found kids coming to us at this age just didn't have any skills.

"We think it is because of that sedentary lifestyle based in their rooms and lounges. Plus we identified there are these helicopter parents who are living their lives through their kids a little bit.

"We have won Tai Mitchell a few times and always bat well above our weight for a 300-pupil school but we can't always see ourselves doing well in the coming years. Tauranga Intermediate has 1300 kids and will always be there."

The academy will run three one-hour lessons per week with a maximum of 15 pupils during terms 1, 2 and 3. It will also offer two scholarships to Fijian pupils at Nabua Primary School in Suva.

Miln will focus on building more than just skills on the rugby field. He'll focus on their mental ability, nutrition, fitness, culture and education in the game.

"It's about teaching them to be good people, good athletes, good employees," Green said. "Whatever job they go into they're going to turn up to work and give it 100 per cent. Reality is, if the kids start working really hard now and give it everything they've got, it means at age 21 they don't have any regrets."

-The school is holding an information evening on September 9 at 6pm.