Tackled teen cleared of serious injury

A Waiheke Island teenager flown to hospital after hurting his neck in a rugby tackle on Saturday has been cleared of any serious injury.

The 17-year old was playing for Waiheke High School against King's College when the injury occurred.

He was complaining of neck pains and St John staff called in a rescue helicopter at 11am.

A neck brace was put on him before he was transferred to Auckland City Hospital by Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust.

But after being checked out, he was released later Saturday night.

Today, a spokeswoman for Waiheke Island Rugby Club, which incorporates the school team, said he suffered no breaks or fractures.

"He'll be in a brace for a couple of weeks, but he'll be absolutely fine," said club chairwoman Nique van Selm.

The club takes neck and head injuries very seriously, she said.

"With rugby, safety is top of the list and in this instance we needed to err on the side of caution," Ms van Selm said.

"Thankfully everything is 100 per cent and the player will make a full recovery."