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Mahurangi junior rugby is back in full swing after what has been a couple of disruptive years.
Player numbers are down slightly, from 299 the previous year to 245 this year, with the juniors fielding 20 teams compared to 22 last year.
“We are four weeks into a 17 week draw and judging by the smiles on the kids’ faces, they are all loving being back into Saturday morning sport,” Mahurangi Rugby junior chair Patrick Sullivan says.
“We currently have two strong girls quickrip U9/11 and U13 teams, as well as an U15 team at the college, where a majority of the girls played for the club in the past. There are also a good number of girls throughout the tackle grades, which is a reflection on how strong the College Youth Girls Tackle programme is.”
Sullivan says Mahurangi is fortunate to have some excellent female coaches, coaching both the boys and girls grades.
A recent highlight was when one of Mahurangi’s J4 teams played a curtain-raiser for a Blues game at Eden Park.
On Wednesday, June 1, the club also hosted the NPC pre-season game between North Harbour and Northland.
“Mahurangi College Girls U15 tackle played the curtain-raiser and we took the opportunity to have a sponsors night to say thanks to all the local businesses that support us year in year out.”
North Harbour has changed a few rules this year around field sizes for the younger players. The fields are now smaller and narrower to encourage more involvement from all players. Harbour has also done away with lineouts and scrums up to the J6 grade, to help kids focus on their tackling and passing.
Sullivan says training nights are starting to be a bit of a juggling act with field allocation.
“With the club and community growing, there will have to be an investment in more all-weather fields in the near future.”
