Secondary school hockey: Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata up against big schools in hockey nationals

The Rankin Cup and Indian Shield are up for grabs in Wellington this week.

History will be created this week, with Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata becoming the first Māori immersion school to take part in the Rankin Cup or Indian Shield.

Thirty-two teams will take the field at the Wellington National Stadium to secure a top-two pool finish to progress to the country’s top secondary school hockey tournament, the Rankin Cup.

The bottom 16 will compete for the India Shield.

A release from a school spokesman said Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata was a Rotorua-based Te Aho Matua Māori immersion school with a roll of just under 200.

The kura’s hockey team has a pool of 36 high school boys to select from.

“It’s the classic tale of David versus Goliath - a little Māori school up against schools such as Kings College, St Bedes and Westlake Boys’ High,” the release said.

Head coach and former Ruamata pupil, Tenga Rangitauira, was acknowledged by Hockey NZ this year for coaching contributions.

He said reaching the tournament alone was a significant milestone for the kura.

“This is the first time in the 100-year history of this tournament a kura kaupapa Māori will take the field. We are proud to represent our school, our wider community and te iwi Māori.

“This has been a long time coming for our small school. Since our first tournament in 1999, taking te reo Māori and tikanga to the heights of this sport has been a strong desire of ours,” Rangitauira said.

His side made headlines last year after they received complaints for the use of te reo Māori during their 5-2 final win over Ashburton College.

Ruamata takes on 2022 finalist’s, St Andrews, at 8am on Monday before taking on Kings College at 5.15pm.

Live scores and results here.