Rugby icons inspire young players at pep talk

Young Whangarei rugby players were all ears when they got to meet former All Black players Frank Bunce and Bull Allen.

Members of the new JB7 Vikings team, aged from 13 to 15, got to chat to and train with Bunce and Allen yesterday at the Marist Club in Kensington.

Vikings coach Arthur McKechnie said the teenagers watched a power-point on Thursday to school up on the two well-known players' career achievements.

"They are absolutely inspiring for the kids," he said.

Bunce was one of the central figures in an era of All Black dominance in the early 90s, with a career spanning six years, playing 55 test matches, and a total of 69 games, scoring 20 tries.

Mark "Bull" Allen also reached iconic sportsman status in the 90s, with 19 games and eight test match appearances for the All Blacks, 110 games for Taranaki and he also was captain of the first Wellington Hurricanes Super 12 team.

The 24 Viking team members watched on, clearly inspired, as their idols Bunce and Allen gave a motivating pep talk about the importance of practice and learning what is required for a particular position. "The difference between guys that make it and guys that don't, is that guys that make it put in the work," Allen said.

Mr McKechnie said the Viking team was formed from "all the boys who didn't have a club".

All team members are from the different high schools in Whangarei, he said.

"We started off with just a rugby ball - thanks to sponsors we now have shirts, jackets and balls.

"They hadn't played together but then managed to get into the semifinals for JB7."

Mr McKechnie said he was extremely proud of the team and how well they'd gelled in such a short amount of time.

He would also like to thank the sponsors.

"Without them we wouldn't be able to do it."