Tournament Takeover

Two South Island tournaments will reach their pinnacle these school holidays, with U16 Boys already underway this week and U18 Girls kicking off on Sunday. Both tournaments spanned September, now the sixteen U16 Boys and six U18 Girls teams will now go head to head in their respective finals in Canterbury.  

Playing potentially three games in three days will no doubt be an element the coaches and players are mindful of. Sam Chamberlain, Head Coach of U16 Boys Metro Black says they’re very excited about the games ahead and plan to take each one as it comes, “Being smart with rest and recovery after each game, giving yourselves the best chance to perform the following day”.   

The South Island Tournaments are vital for our teenage players to reach their rugby potential, creating pathways through to High Performance teams. Sophie Anderson, Canterbury U18 girl’s Campaign Manager, says there will be several scouts during the tournament including FPC academy coaches. “Canterbury in particular, has worked incredibly hard to grow the alignment between their FPC team and the U18s space” said Anderson, “Our hope is that this pathway continues to feed into FPC and build on the success that we continue to see in our Women’s space”.  

Captain of the North Canterbury U16 Boys side, Ethan Morgan, also acknowledged the tournament as being a positive experience, saying “the tournament provides a great opportunity for the talent around North Canterbury to come together and get some rep exposure”. 

words by Hannah Yates