At a time when Auckland school principals have announced they are pulling the pin on future media coverage of first XV rugby, out of concern that there is an unhealthy level of scrutiny on the players, The Blue Wall is destined to become something of a collector’s item.
Documentary film-maker Anthony Costello non-judgementally presents the day-to-day struggles coach Saua Leaupepetele and his first XV players face in an environment where good luck for some is going home and finding the power is still on; where toughness is worn as a mask, and even ‘easy’ tends to be hard. But equally, first XV rugby is revealed as an important vehicle for bringing the community together, while also opening players’ eyes to life’s possibilities well beyond their Otara bubble.
“The Blue Wall” - which can now be viewed below - comprises a series of fly-on-the-wall documentaries broadly based around Tangaroa College’s 2020 season in Auckland’s premier 1A competition (where they finished 10th out of 12).
