AIMS Games: Inclusion of QuickRip rugby welcomed

Tarawera High School's Waimania Rangiaho makes a break during the AIMS Games QuickRip Rugby tournament. Photo / George Novak

The addition of QuickRip Rugby in this year's AIMS Games is all about inclusivity.

The six-day event, being held at multiple venues throughout Tauranga and Mount Maunganui this week, comprises 23 different sports.

While boys' and girls' Rugby Sevens tournaments were already in the line-up, QuickRip has opened the door for mixed gender, non-contact competition.

Tarawera High School coach Reinhardt Kruger, who had just watched his side beat Pāpāmoa College 6-3, said the new addition was "awesome".

"It includes a lot of the girls that are not keen to go into full contact rugby, it's a good way to get them involved in rugby. Some of the boys have really good skills and some of the girls have really good skills, they learn from each other. It really brings everyone together to enjoy the game."

He said being part of a "massive" event like the AIMS Games gave children such as the students from Tarawera High School, located in the small town of Kawerau, exposure to different levels of competition.

"We've got teams from all over New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa - it exposes them to the sporting life outside your own world. It will definitely help them stay involved in sport, the next step is representing their regions and here they can see the competition around."

Pāpāmoa College coach Pat Rae, who is also the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union community rugby manager, said QuickRip was the perfect way to increase participation in rugby.

"We broaden our appeal to those kids who don't like the contact aspect of rugby but more importantly, at this tournament, it enables schools who are too small to field a full boys' or girls' rugby team to participate.

"This Pāpāmoa College team is a classic example. We played rugby sevens during terms two and three but when it came to putting a team into the AIMS Games, half of them were playing netball. We literally only had six girls but as a result we were able to enter a team in QuickRip."

Rae said even those who had aspirations of playing the full contact game were able to develop core skills playing QuickRip.

"The other thing is New Zealand Rugby is launching QuickRip Rugby next year in the secondary school space as a viable option for rugby in New Zealand. These kids who are playing QuickRip here for the first time will have somewhere to go when they progress to high school if their provincial unions pick it up and run with it.

"We've got 32 extra teams playing QuickRip this year which we wouldn't have had if it wasn't included. Many of them are small schools who wouldn't be at AIMS Games at all without it."

Pāpāmoa College and Tarawera High School QuickRip results - Day One
Pāpāmoa:
Won 5-2 v Waimauku School
Lost 3-6 v Tarawera High School
Won 7-1 v Matauri Bay School

Tarawera:
Won 5-2 v Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangere
Won 6-3 v Pāpāmoa College
won 8-2 v Maraetai Beach School