HBHS Welcome Back World Champs

 

Thank you for the opportunity to share a few of my thoughts on the success of the 1^st XV in Japan.

 

Some might think that travelling back to Fukuoka for the 3^rd time to represent our school, province and country in the 12th Sanix World Schools Tournament, was going to feel a little repetitious…that this tour may struggle to compare to the previous occasions. In contrary, this trip at least matched and in many ways surpassed the previous tours.

 

The drama this year began long before we met at Auckland airport. The horrendous earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant crisis that struck Japan, placed the tournament in jeopardy. With several international teams pulling out, a tough decision eventually had to be made and we thank our headmaster, parents and players for the courage to make the decision we did to go. It was only when in Japan that we began to understand what this meant to the Japanese. We were continually thanked on a daily basis for attending, by the organisers, coaches, players and spectators. We were able to relate closely to their loss, as we had also felt the impacts recently of a similar natural disaster in Christchurch. Getting back to normality was very important for this country and for every Japanese player, coach and supporter, this tournament was to be the highlight of their rugby career and a small ‘ray of sunshine’ in what had been a traumatic year.

 

We also faced the daunting task of raising over $100, 000 in a short period of time. It is amazing how generous people can be, both supporters and families that made significant sacrifices to ensure their son would experience this opportunity. Auctions, sausage sizzles, haka at the V8s, parents working at the social , the Waikato Rugby Union, Lodge Real Estate, 30 individual sponsors and a significant individual player contribution all helped but the major contributor whose financial support, was do or die for the tour, came from the Grassroots Trust. They had supported the two previous tours and realised the significance of this trip and the benefits it would bring to individuals, the school and to rugby in the Waikato, by backing us again and for this we are very grateful.

 

To this year’s squad: With only five players returning to Japan from the previous year, we had to find alternative strengths to experience. We focussed on fitness and conditioning from last December. four months of hard work, culminated in a bootcamp in the 1^st week of the April holidays, where we trained hard on combinations but also learnt a lot about each other as we slept in tents, cooked on open fires, milked cows at 5.30 in the morning, hosed down yards and shared personal stories around a camp fire together on the Moorby's dairy farm.

 

Our performance in Japan, owes thanks to many people. Our management team of forward coach Mr Kirkham, manager extraordinaire Mrs Clark, trainer Tama Dean, Doctor Tiwini Hemi, assistant manager Hamish Clark and before we left co-coach Mr Gordon. But also in Japan we were supported by some amazingly caring people including Jojo Hemi (the ‘what ever you need’ guy), his son Hohua and family, Peter our Bulgarian translater, the parents group that travelled with us; Nigel, Tom, Craig, Parihau and Huck and our friends from Global Arena.

 

The final whistle blowing at 35-17 in the final against Ivybridge from England will be a special moment in all our lives, as was the hours of celebration that followed. But this had preceded an amazing 2 weeks where we had experienced the growth of a rugby team both on and off the field. Rugby wise, we had developed our combinations, became aware of our strengths and weaknesses, learnt to be competitive for positions but also supportive to the team, and formulated a game plan that most teams struggled with.

 

Our off-field experiences had included air, bus and train travel, new food with strange names such as yaki niku, shabushabu, sheshemi, dancing, singing, performing, games on the bus, laughing and crying together, self evaluation, the horror of the Ngagasaki Atomic bomb museum, baseball at the Fukuoka dome, the subway system, swapping gear nightly with Japanese players desperate to get their hands on anything with Hamilton Boys High School on it, the nightly e-mails from family, friends and staff read by Mrs Clark. It was these experiences as much as what happened on the field that moulded this team.

 

They understood what values and qualities we strived for. In many ways, they are the same qualities we are challenged to attain by our Headmaster and strive for as a school; selflessless and service, humility, courage and the strength to do the right thing, striving to improve, to be the best you can be, excellence.

 

On tour, the senior boys called it ‘the way of the jersey’. Understanding those who had come before them and honouring them with honesty and commitment. 

 

We understand that the toughest challenges are still to come this season in traditional fixtures, Super 8 games and other competitions. There’s no guarantee of success, in fact in many ways this win makes these challenges even more difficult as we become a target for other teams.

 

But one thing we did all understand, as we touched down at Auckland airport was, we had left a group of rugby players and came home a team!