There might be a major rugby tournament over in France but for more than 200 primary school students there is only one competition worth watching this week. The NRM Roller Mills primary schools rugby tournament kicked off in Whangarei yesterday and will continue with games at venues throughout the city thisweek, a display of the next generation of rugby stars from the top half of the North Island. And it will be a big week for a fired-up Northland team who are hoping to be the first Northland team in the 82-year history of the tournament to get their hands on the trophy. Northland coach Don Riddle said his team are determined to perform this week after a five-week build-up and some intensive preparation. "It would have been nice to have a bit longer together but we have had time to get some combinations working. We had a good result down in Te Kuiti in a pre-season hit out," Riddle said. "Now it is just a matter of making sure we compete, because this is a very tough competition." Celebrating the cream of under-13 primary school rugby talent from the provinces of Northland, North Harbour, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Counties Manukau, Thames Valley, Waikato and the King Country, each region's top players revel in the honour of donning their team's representative colours for this tournament. During the 82-year history of the tournament, Roller Mills has been the training ground of some of our best known All Blacks, among them Colin Meads, Wilson Whineray, Mac Herewini, Don Clarke, Bryan Williams, Walter Little, Craig Innes, Grant Fox and Waka Nathan. Awards include the Roller Mills Shield, the Carson Cup for the team displaying the best sportsmanship on and off the field and the NRM Shield Medallion to recognise an individual's effort and achievement to further promote interest in the tournament.
