Rugby: Ensuring a smooth transition after school

Rotorua Boys' College proved how much natural ability there is in the Central Bay of Plenty by dominating Western Bay rivals Tauranga Boys' College on Saturday. Photo / Andrew Warner

As the coach of the Rotorua Boys' High School first fifteen Bruce Buckton is uniquely placed to comment on the development of rugby talent in the Central and Eastern Bay of Plenty.

While focusing almost exclusively on preparing his young side for a tilt at the Top 4, Buckton said there should be a greater emphasis placed on developing rugby across the province in the wake of Central and Eastern clubs walking out of a rugby union meeting last week.

"We don't really do anything with the senior side of things, but in terms of that, with my own personal values and being a player from this region, I think developing all three regions is positive for the Bay of Plenty," Buckton said. "I don't know if we have the strength in the province to field 12 top teams, but I certainly think two from Rotorua, two from Eastern Bay and four from Tauranga would be a fair compromise I would imagine."

He said the feeling persisted outside of Tauranga that the ITM Cup side had been essentially reduced to being the Western Bay of Plenty Steamers.

"There is, there certainly is," he said. "Unless you are in those environments you don't really get to feel that."

He believed only a handful of his players were ready to play senior rugby and hoped the Bay union would address the lack of a colts competition.

"I still think these guys need a year out of school before they are playing senior rugby. You're talking about some physical men that are a lot bigger and a lot broader.

"They thrive in this environment but that's not to say they are going to do that against experienced 30-year-olds."

Buckton was unsure the province had enough talent to support an under-85kg or weight limit competition, but liked the idea of an under-19 set-up that would have less overlap with secondary school rugby.