Gutsy south Aucklanders tackling life head-on

The South Auckland Kiwis rugby squad are a special team in more ways than one. The Otahuhu-based side is made up of 20 young men from the South Auckland area who have an intellectual disability and is the only one of its kind in the country.

Coach and co-founder John Hassall, a teacher at Mt Richmond special needs school, is not aware of any other similar teams and he should know. It's been up to him to find opposition for his charges since the team's formation five years ago.

"It was hard finding regular competition when we started," he admits.

That's not so much of a problem now that the team has linked up with the Tamaki club in Panmure. The players are even in for a taste of international action this week when they head to Fiji to take part in a special needs tournament.

The idea to put a team together was born in 2001 when the school had a visit from a Japanese special needs team.

"They came out and we didn't have anything like an equivalent, so we fielded a team to play them," says Canadian Hassall.

"Most of the guys came from Mt Richmond and a lot who are in the team now were with us when we started. Most had never played rugby before and I had never coached it, so it was a learning curve for us all."

The teacher is now a rugby convert and his new-found passion is matched by his players'.

"I like the way we joke around and it's fun playing with John," says speedy winger Tinilau Tyrell, 16. "We mock him all the time about being the shortest."

Tough-tackling first-five Tyrone Sapau, 20, is one of the few who had previous experience (he played for Suburbs' under-19s), but says he enjoys wearing his current team's colours just as much. The Kiwis play golden oldies rules (no pushing in the scrums), but otherwise it's full-contact, tackle rugby.

Hassall hopes they will be included in the president's grade (over-35s) next season. "I want us to be treated like any other rugby team," he says.

- THE AUCKLANDER