SHANE HURNDELL
History will be learnt and created during the Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team's five-day tour of the province next week.
Brendon Ratcliffe's (left) Kelt Capital Magpies will play their first game in Porangahau when they take on the Hawke's Bay Development side on August 6, day four of the
tour. The White Domain encounter will be the team's final rehearsal before opening their Air New Zealand NPC campaign against defending champions Nelson Bays the following week.
"I understand this tour is a first for the side. Basically we want to show our squad the history involved with the team and how they are keepers of that history for a small period of time," coach Ratcliffe said.
"Hopefully we can go on to create one of the strongest chapters in the side's history. From Wednesday we'll take in the most northern and southern points of our province and most in between," he said.
From Napier's McLean Park on Wednesday the team will travel to Nuhaka. While there, Ratcliffe's troops will visit the Nuhaka and Te Mahia schools.
In the evening they will attend a dinner attended by former Magpies from the area including former New Zealand Maori representative Paul Blake and old identity Ted Whaanga who played with Nepia.
On the Thursday the Magpies will visit Wairoa College in the morning before travelling to Clive's Farndon Park, the country's oldest rugby ground still being used. In the afternoon they visit Te Aute College, which has a proud rugby tradition.
A Magpies father-and-son duo, Ray and Gordon Falcon, will be among the Te Aute identities the Magpies catch up with. On the Friday they visit Dannevirke High School before heading to Akitio, the southern point of the rugby province. "We're lucky to have players connected with these points," Ratcliffe said referring to props Tom Symes (Nuhaka) and Clint Newland (Akitio).
The tour ends at McLean Park on August 7.
