It's a great story when something good emerges from near tragedy.
On Monday when Matangi Te Wake presents the trophy named after him, he will have done Northland rugby a big favour.
Te Wake played what was going to be a one-off game against a touring New South Wales Country Under-15 side
in 2006, when he got his head in the wrong position while making a tackle.
He was severely hurt, airlifted to Starship Hospital, where he stayed for 10 months before facing a lengthy rehabilitation period.
The NSW team hasn't forgotten. They have returned every year since the injury and presented a trophy for the fixture in recognition of the courageous effort made by Te Wake and his whanau in the incredible recovery from the head injury. It has become the pinnacle of the U15 season in Northland.
Northland Rugby Union's Hector Davies says the U15 calendar has few representative games so the union holds a southern and a northern round of representative games with a Northland side selected to play for the NSW fixture. "It's turned into such a big event and it's great for Matangi to be able to be there, because for awhile there, we weren't sure he was going to make it," Davies said.
This year, the Australian side have only a brief stop over in Auckland after touring the Pacific Islands, yet were careful to fit in the game against Northland for the
trophy.
Te Wake continues his long recovery and is looking forward to watching the fixture once more.
"He's looking forward to the game ... I think his social skills are improving and he's getting on well with people again," his father, Henry, said.
"He's carrying on improving, in just the little things really, he's still got his limp on his left side but he gets around all right now, if a little slowly."
The game will be played at the Kaiwaka Sports Club at 5pm on Monday. The competitiveness of the game has always been as strong as the camaraderie on the sideline.
This year promises to be more of the same, with the NSW boys hot after the tour of the Pacific Islands,
