The St Johns Hill School Rippa Rugby team will step to another level when they tackle 19 other regional teams at the nationals in Wellington next week.
The side gained the honour of representing Wanganui after winning a regional final against St Anne's in June. Ironically, St Anne's represented the River City in last year's nationals in Auckland during the Rugby World Cup and finished unplaced.
The nationals will be hosted in Wellington on Monday and Tuesday next week.
St John's Hill coach Glenn Howes said the team would face tough competition at national level, but they had been training hard, focusing on ways to deal with minor rule changes in a sport rapidly growing popularity throughout the country.
"We've been working on moving the ball a lot faster. The seven-a-side non-contact game is designed to be free-flowing. We are only allowed to name 10 in the team, so if we have an injury we can only work with what we've got left. It will be tough competition at the nationals, but we're going down in a confident mood," Howes said yesterday.
Teams will play in four pools, then quarter-finals, semifinals, bronze-final and final (similar to Rugby World Cup format).
Whangarei's Whau Valley Primary School won the Rippa World Cup 2011 representing New Zealand, while five sides from the Rippa World Cup have qualified for the Rippa Rugby Championship this season: Lepperton (Taranaki), Arrowtown (Otago), Riverdale (Manawatu), Richmond (Tasman) and Roscommon (Counties Manukau).
Rippa Rugby finalists will be presented with team jerseys by NZ sevens coach Gordon Tietjens in Wellington on Sunday.
Teams competing at the nationals
Auckland: Holy Cross Catholic School Papatoetoe
Bay of Plenty: Selwyn Primary School
Buller: St Canice's School
Canterbury: Paparoa Street School
Counties Manukau: Roscommon School
Poverty Bay: Mangapapa School
Hawke's Bay: Tiaho Primary School
Horowhenua-Kapiti: Levin East School
Thames Valley: Waihi East Primary School
Manawatu: Riverdale School
North Otago: Fenwick Primary School
North Harbour: Browns Bay School
Northland: Wellsford School
Otago: Arrowtown School
Southland: Limehills School
Taranaki: Lepperton School
Tasman: Richmond Primary School
Waikato: Strathmore Primary School
Wanganui: St Johns Hill School
Wellington: Ngaio School