The Whanganui Maori Rugby Board has won the privilege of hosting the annual Te Tini A Maui tournament next month.
For the past decade the tournament, designed to promote Maori rugby, has been held in Palmerston North and before that in Poverty Bay on the East Coast.
Whanganui Maori RugbyBoard deputy chairman Damian Peeti said work on attracting the nationwide tournament to the city had begin in earnest last year with support from the Wanganui Rugby Football Union.
"Because it had been hosted in Palmerston North for so long, about a decade, we thought it had become a bit tired and needed reviving," Peeti said yesterday.
"We started the process last year with great support from the Wanganui Rugby Union and we have managed to secure the event. It will be played at City College and we are looking at attracting 16 teams from throughout the regional zones. We come under the Central zone."
Whanganui Maori Rugby Board chairman Alan Davis said the weekend would mark a great occasion for both Maori rugby and the community who were generally passionate about hosting events like these in the city.
"I know there are a few things on that weekend, but I'm sure people will get behind this tournament. Our regional and city partners are firmly behind this now and in the future. We are hoping through this tournament and others like it to get some of our young players into camps where they can develop," Davis said.
