Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate / Sport

Heenan signed by Auckland

Northern Advocate
8 Oct, 2010 07:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Nothing breeds success like success and Northland's latest rugby hero - New Zealand Schoolboys representative Jake Heenan - will head south to Auckland to play his rugby for the foreseeable future.
Heenan played his part in Wednesday's 30-21 victory against their Australian counterparts at Otago Boys' High School. He played 65
minutes in the fast-paced and even encounter that was only settled when New Zealand scored a converted try with nine minutes to play.
Auckland snapped him up on a youth contract after he was selected in the Blues U18 squad.
"After the Blues (competition ended) I talked to a few people and they made me a pretty good offer - they're going to look after my university fees and are going to put me up in a house," he said.
"I suppose I'm a big fish in a small pond up here, but down there I'll be a small fish in a big pond and it will help me to better understand the challenges I'll face."
He said the NRU management understood his position and wished him well. "There's a big chance I'll be back here but there's no chance I'll ever forget where I'm from," he said.
The 18-year-old is planning to study Animal Management and Welfare in a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree part-time while also devoting himself to making a go of it in professional rugby.
"The main thing for me was that I could play a very high level of club rugby down there. I'll be in an environment where I'll be able to keep my standards high, week in week out," he said.
Ultimately Heenan will be trying to make the Auckland and Blues U20 squads and hopes to also challenge for a place in the New Zealand U20s next year.
The Whangarei boy got a tough workout against the Australians on Wednesday.
"The boys in the team are all outstanding players and I've never played rugby like that before. It was pretty tough to keep up with but really enjoyable, and that's a big factor for me," he said.
Heenan played in the unfamiliar position of openside flanker in the match instead of the more familiar blindside, lock or No8, after convincing the coaching staff he could do it.
"Making the starting line-up was a big thing for me at the start of the camp. I worked hard for it and was really pleased when it all worked out."
He thought it "very likely" he would play for his Northland U18 team against North Harbour tomorrow at 1pm at Silverdale.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

Māori All Blacks beaten by Scotland

05 Jul 05:39 AM
Northern Advocate

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

27 Jun 07:00 PM
Sport

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

25 Jun 10:36 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Māori All Blacks beaten by Scotland

Māori All Blacks beaten by Scotland

05 Jul 05:39 AM

Visitors bounce back after a flying start from the hosts in Whangārei.

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

27 Jun 07:00 PM
NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

25 Jun 10:36 PM
How Paralympic aspirations helped Eligh Fountain overcome mental battles - On The Up

How Paralympic aspirations helped Eligh Fountain overcome mental battles - On The Up

25 Jun 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP