Tauranga students to play in Gold Coast Rugby Carnival

Te Wharekura o Mauao assistant principal Matua Heywood Kuka with some of the 45 students who will travel to the Gold Coast Rugby Carnival this week.

Forty-five students from Tauranga's Te Wharekura o Mauao will fly to Australia this week to compete in the Gold Coast Rugby Carnival.

The First XV, two senior netball teams and a kapa haka group from the Maori education provider in Bethlehem will travel with teachers and parents on July 6 for the 10-day trip.

The four-day competition at Runaway Bay Sports Precinct has a 24-year history and includes more than 60 teams from New Zealand, Australia and around the world.

For most students at Te Wharekura o Mauao, it would be their first time travelling overseas.

Assistant principal Matua Heywood Kuka said it had taken a huge fundraising effort by the school, its students and whanau (family) to enable so many students to participate.

"Te Wharekura o Mauao sent our First XV to this tournament two years ago, but we had a goal this year to return with a far larger group."

Mr Kuka said the school started fundraising for the trip last year.

"We have had hamper raffles, a derby race night - we even managed to sell 400 hangi meals in one day.

"Knowing we have met the goal we committed to, is rewarding and very exciting for everyone."

The First XV and netball teams would play two or three games a day across four days. The kapa haka group would give a number of performances including a concert night at a local high school.

Mr Kuka said while the teams really wanted to win, the main goal was to showcase Maori culture and how this influenced their sport.

"Maori culture is intertwined with how we play," he said. "We have an entertaining style of rugby and netball and like to do things differently, from our attacking play to the songs we sing on the side line.

"It is all about sharing our tikanga (culture) with the world."