Napier Boys' one of 3 NZ schools at world rugby festival

RUGBY PLAN: Brendon Ratcliffe, former Magpies coach now Napier Boys High School rugby director planning trip to World schools rugby festival in South Africa. PHOTO/FILE

Napier Boys High School will be one of three New Zealand schools in a new world schools rugby festival in South Africa next year.

Invitations sent to 25 New Zealand schools have also been accepted by Otago Boys High School and Auckland school King's College.
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The festival is being organised by 2012-2015 Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer who has commitments from 10 top South African school to play 10 first XVs from around the world. At least one Australia side is expected, with invitations also being issued through the Pacific, the UK and Argentina.

The festival will be on April 2-8 next year, part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Paarl Boys' High School in the Stellenbosch wine region of Western Cape Province.

The acceptance of Napier comes as the school embarks on a new rugby era with the forming of a rugby board and the appointment of former Magpies coach and New Zealand Rugby Union director of player development Brendon Ratcliffe as director of rugby at the school.

Napier businessman and school old boy Simon Tremain, a former Hawke's Bay Rugby Union board member who resigned along with three other directors earlier this year, will be one member of the NBHS rugby board, which will be headed by principal Matt Bertram.

Mr Ratcliffe said the school, which this year had 17 teams and up to 380 players, had been planning an overseas rugby trip next year, possibly to South America, when the South African invite "dropped out of the sky" about a month ago.

In the job just a few weeks he contacted Mr Meyer, whom he had met several years ago in his role of CEO of rugby coaching operation The Rugby Site. Mr Ratcliff was keen to be involved in rugby in an area where up to 25,000 attend the annual match between the two top schools, Paarl and Paarl Roos High School.

"This festival of rugby is a perfect vehicle for NBHS to reward new levels of commitment, dedication and sacrifice on and off the rugby field from our young men," Mr Ratcliffe said.
Each school is expecting two games in the festival and Napier is planning to stay in South Africa another week for two more games.

Coaching clinics and seminars with high profile South African and world rugby personalities are included in the festival along with cultural exchanges and a real focus on the values and spirit of game, and the relationships it builds.

"This really is the most amazing opportunity for our young men to learn a lot about themselves, what they are capable of and the privileges they have as New Zealanders," he said.