Over Easter weekend, NZRL hosted their annual National District 9s competition at Bruce Pulman Park. Auckland had six teams involved in the competition, with three of those teams going into the U18 Girls competition.

Auckland 16s Girls (3^rd Place)

Saturday and Sunday featured the 16s girls and boys kicking off the action. The Girls had a tough opening game against Canterbury where they fell 30-10 but managed to bounce back with a close 12-10 win against Waikato before impressing as they hit their stride in a 22-8 clash against Manawatu.

The side ended up qualifying for the semi-finals where they came up against the eventual champions of Wellington, falling 20-4. The 16s Girls demonstrated their improvement from Game 1 of the tournament in the 3^rd/4^th playoff, getting the best of Canterbury in their second match up 14-8 to take out third place.

Auckland 16s Boys (5^th Place)

The 16s Boys found themselves in a tough pool taking on Wellington and Canterbury in the first two games where they fell 8-0 and 16-4 respectively. In the final game of the pool rounds, the boys managed to get up over Waikato 22-8, but this wasn’t enough to get them into the semi-finals. This didn’t stop them from keeping up the newfound winning ways as they beat Coastline (24-4) and Waikato (14-12) to take out 5^th place.

Auckland stand out Gordon Taanuu Junior T Afoa represented Tāmaki Makaurau in the 16s Boys Tournament team for 2023.

Auckland 18s Girls Red (Champions), White (2^nd Place), Blue (3^rd Place)

The three Auckland 18s Girls sides all came to play with losses in the tournament only coming from one another as they fought for the National title. Auckland Red who went on to become the winners of the tournament had to face Auckland Blue in the semi-final where they came up with an 18-4 win before facing Auckland White and getting the 20-4 win.

Silalotoga Tamisha Tulua was named as the MVP of the tournament with teammates Elenoa Havea, Paea Uilou and Leila Schmidt-Sopoaga joining her in the Tournament team. Auckland White’s Gillian Fa’aumu also earnt a spot on the Tournament team for impressing throughout their campaign.

The three Auckland teams placed first, second, and third, showing the strength of Tāmaki Makaurau in the 18s Girls grade on the National level.

Auckland 18s Boys (Champions)

The boys squad followed to lead of their female counterparts with impressive performances in the 18s grade. The side opened with a close win over Manawatu before dropping to a strong Canterbury side 24-4. They rounded out pool play with a 20-4 win over Waikato to stamp their ticket to the semi-finals. They had a tough path ahead of them, first facing Wellington, where they escaped with a close 14-12 win, before coming up against Canterbury, the team that beat them in pool play.

The Auckland boys righted their wrongs from earlier in the tournament to secure a 24-4 win over Canterbury and earn the National title. Christian Junior Sikuvea and Christopher James Masina Tuivai-Lopa were the Auckland standouts of the weekend earning themselves spots on the 2023 Tournament team.

Congratulations to all our players and staff involved with the weekend and to NZRL for putting on a successful tournament for our rangitahi.

Article added: Tuesday 11 April 2023