The 68th Niger Trophy Rugby Match 

Date: Monday, 6th June

Venue: Gully Ground

Kickoff: 10.30am

This fixture is usually played every Queen’s Birthday weekend between New Plymouth Boys’ High School and Palmerston North Boys’ High school Year 9 boarders for over 60 years, the Niger Trophy rugby game is a fixture steeped in tradition. Both teams have won, both teams have lost and although the spectacle on the day is what everyone sees, everyone who has played knows there is so much more than just the game.

For the Year 9 boys, even before they step foot in the hostel they know about Niger. From that first step into the hostel it is a five-month journey of early morning trainings and more importantly building culture. The boys all enter the hostel on that first day as individuals from all around New Zealand and abroad, but five months later they are brothers with a bond they’ll have for the rest of their lives.

The boys don’t just do it for themselves; they do it for each other, for the team and they make sure everyone finishes and everyone sticks together; “No man left behind.” This is the cornerstone of the hostel brotherhood. The bond they make through the journey and the values they learn along the way, they carry through the hostel and on through life. This makes the hostel strong and helps them become successful young men.

This is in no way better shown than by the young men who are on the journey with them. They are the Year 13 boys who are the teams’ coaches, mentors and role models and who have carried the lessons learnt in Year 9 through to Year 13 and now give back what was given to them. They do this at great sacrifice but willingly and with pride.

Good luck to both teams, win or lose remember it is more than just a game!

Please go along and support our boys!