The NRL and the Rotorua Lakes District Council made a generation of Rotorua youngsters happy today at a special gathering where NRL Australasian rugby league coaches and All-Star players taught rugby league, touch and ripper tag skills.
They arrived at Rotorua Intermediate today before the big Māori vs Indigenous game this weekend.
Development of the game and strengthening ties between the Māori and indigenous Australian cultures was the emphasis of the day.
“What we wanted was for as many Māori to come to this event today and to meet players to learn some of their skills and see perhaps what they could aspire to be one day”, the council’s Mel Rika said.
NRL superstar Greg Inglis, the dominant player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs over the years, was at the coaching sessions to show a few tips, take photos and meet the children and their parents.
“This whole week has been surreal.
“It has been an eye-opener, especially for me, to up people’s skills and that’s what’s been so good about NRL, it supports the young generation,” he said.
But, asked about this weekend’s clash he was more cautious: “At the end of the 80-minute battle we come off the field as one culture.”
Indigenous rugby league stars get amongst the Rotorua locals.
Students delighted
Teuamaire Webster-Tarei, a Rotorua Intermediate student and spokesperson for the Rotorua schools at this morning’s pōwhiri was eager to meet the NRL All Stars at the skills sessions and was glad they choose to come to his school.
Thirteen-year-old Terito Rika spoke at the powhiri for the NRL teams and felt honoured to do so: “Mum told me I was going to be speaking for the NRL and I freaked out but I just hoped I did a good job,” Rika said.
Close to 1000 students attended and, as well as the sports, tried cultural workshops from both cultures, with Māori waiata and haka and Indigenous Australian language workshops and instruments such as the didgeridoo.
NRL participation projects coordinator Jono Dallas said New Zealand Māori Rugby League had done a great job to get the game to Rotorua. This was his first time in New Zealand and he said he was overwhelmed by the skills the children already had before the NRL had even turned up today.
The gates to Rotorua International Stadium for the NRL All-Stars games will open this Saturday at 2 pm, starting off with the mixed touch All-Stars.