School team hit by theft

Rotorua Boys' High School perform the haka at the National Secondary Schools Rugby League Tournament.

The Rotorua Boys' High School rugby league team hasn't let the theft of thousands of dollars of equipment stop them making their presence felt on the field.

The group were the victims of a burglary when thieves broke into the wharenui at Manurewa Marae, where the team are staying for the National Secondary Schools Rugby League Tournament in Auckland.

Despite losing clothes and computer equipment valued at about $8000, school principal Chris Grinter told the Rotorua Daily Post the team hadn't let the incident faze them.

"They've come together well as a team and they've blended rugby and league nicely and they've been a bit of a hit up here and had four good wins.

"It happened while we were [at the tournament] ... when we got back [to the marae] they discovered someone had been through their gear.

"But they decided that we should put that behind us and focus on the job at hand and that's what they've done."

Mr Grinter said the side had qualified for the final today against St Thomas of Canterbury College after beating Whangarei Boys' High School 32-10 in the semifinal yesterday.

Making the finals was always the goal for the team, Mr Grinter said.

"We were pretty confident, we would be competitive and we are playing in the development grade as opposed to the premiership.

"But clearly next year, we'll have a crack at the premier grade and we just accept that this is just a first for us and we're learning and it's building for the future."

Mr Grinter said the future was bright for a number of the boys in the squad with league scouts keeping a close eye on the team.

"We have a few stars in the team, we've had a few scouts running up and down the sideline looking interested.

"We're a bit of an unknown quantity."

Mr Grinter said he was also encouraged by the support given to the squad from home in Rotorua.

"Just having that support and care and concern that's the main thing. But we're all sorted, the boys are fine."