Sevens: Triple treat brings summer to end

Tauranga Boys' College under-15 player Reuben Danen escapes the clutches of a De La Salle tackler at Blake Park yesterday. Photo / File

Mount Maunganui's Blake Park is hosting three separate tournaments in a significant end to the summer of sevens.

The New Zealand Secondary Schools under-15 boys and North Island Secondary Schools under-19 and under-15 girls tournaments all began yesterday with finals set down to start from 2pm today.

Tauranga Boys' and Rotorua Boys' have been drawn together in division one, pool C of the national under-15 champs, with Te Wharekura O Mauao, Te Puke, Aquinas and Otumoetai all in division two.

In the under-15 girls grade, Tauranga Girls A and B teams are flying the Western Bay flag with Te Puke and Tauranga Girls competing for the under-19 title.

The tournament director and Bay of Plenty Rugby secondary schools manager, Kyle McLean, is excited to again be running what has become a nationally important event.

"We have 38 teams with about 500 kids playing. It is a great way to get kids engaged in rugby in term one leading into their 15-a-side season," McLean said. "Bay secondary schools sevens have had massive growth over the last few years, particularly the girls and have been a massive highlight of the union's success.

"For us putting on another successful sevens tournament reinforces us as the home of sevens. With the Olympics, in the women's especially, the playing pool is quite small and the players know that.

"Some of them are starting to choose rugby over other sports now. We have some great talent playing here in the boys and girls and some definite future stars."

Tauranga Boys' College under-15 coach Hamish Boyce says the popularity of sevens in the under-15 age group is building steadily year-to-year.

"This tournament has been going for three years and is great," he said. "It is just getting bigger and bigger and the boys are getting better and better with the experience of it.

"It is a good way to get them doing stuff in the summer and a good chance to have some fun and play some rugby."

Team members had been working hard for the past month-and-a-half on their fitness to get to the level they were, he said.

Timetable: www.boprugby.co.nz