Little tearaways

Next month our city will welcome rugby teams from around the world; this weekend we're hosting New Zealand's top pint-sized players. Sophie Bond meets the Auckland team.
The 10 players in the Mt Eden Normal Primary Rippa Rugby team are tearing around the school field, dodging and ducking and sprinting.
Their coach suggests the children play a half-field but, in their enthusiasm, they've spread themselves wide and soon are completely engrossed in the game.
The five girls and five boys have only a couple of practices left before their opening match in the Rippa Rugby World Cup at North Harbour Stadium next week.
The tournament's modelled on the Rugby World Cup. In it 583 schools from around New Zealand compete for one of 20 spots. Each team of Year 6 students will represent a different nation.
In May, Mt Eden Normal won the Albert-Eden zone Rippa Rugby competition and went on to beat Rosebank Primary in the Auckland final. The team will play as Italy and have been learning the Italian national anthem in preparation.
When associate principal Maria Matene calls the game to a stop, the children's faces are shining and their school uniforms are smeared with mud. She says Rippa Rugby has never been played in the school before this year. "Auckland Rugby got us involved and we've even done it with our 5-year-olds, they absolutely love it. The tournament is a great opportunity for our kids to interact with others from around New Zealand. They're pretty competitive kids and determined to win."
Ten-year-old Maia Baillie loves sport and also plays soccer and cricket.
"I started Rippa because I thought that it would be fun to try something I hadn't done before and it's quite easy to play."
With great confidence she says she's looking forward to her team winning the Rippa Rugby World Cup. "We've practised a lot and sometimes we can work together as a team and work things out. If we can keep doing that we'll win."
Teammate Josaiah Atkins-Lam, who plays club rugby, says he enjoys Rippa for the speed of the game. "It's good because it's not just for boys, it's for girls, too. I think we have a pretty good team and I'm looking forward to having fun and hopefully winning."
The other 19 teams arrive in Auckland this Sunday and the children will also visit the Sky Tower and Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World.
Rippa Rugby is a non-contact form of rugby for mixed teams of between five and 10 players.
Each player wears a belt around their waist with a velcro-fastened tag at each hip, Instead of tackling, players rip the tags off each other.
Get along
Rippa Rugby World Cup at North Harbour Stadium, Albany, on August 8 and 9. Play starts at 9am and admission is free.