"Credit must go back to them because of the way they nurtured our children during the practices," she said. "Yes, there is some growling. But within those growlings, you always hear the aroha in their voice."
The rural, full-immersion kura is proud of its history - a pride which is reflected in their performance.
"Our people being who they are - humble and very quiet people - when they do Haka, it just brings out all that confidence; the ihi, wehi and wana," says Whaea Hilda.
The kapa haka team spent six full days together prior to the tournament. Matua Steven says it was all about creating a sense of whānau.
"We pretty much gave everything in that last week prior to heading down to Gisborne. We wanted them to be the best. I believe we made that standard with a lot of hours gone into practicing."
Their next goal? To take out the top prize at the 2019 Nationals in Hamilton.
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