Schools to meet in VB Test curtain-raiser

Schools to meet in VB Test curtain-raiser

Auckland, New Zealand February 28, 2012 – Otahuhu College and St Paul’s College will meet in the curtain-raiser to the Kiwis vs Kangaroos VB Test at Eden Park on April 20.

The match will be a replay of last year’s New Zealand Secondary Schools Rugby League Tournament final, where Otahuhu pulled-off a golden point win after the match was tied at 22-all at the end of regular time. For Otahuhu, the championship win was their first in the tournament. St Paul’s had been shooting for an eighth straight title.

Jim Doyle, the New Zealand Rugby League CEO, is pleased to be presenting such an opportunity to our stars of tomorrow. “These two schools provided a thrilling conclusion to our national schools tournament last year and anyone who was at Papakura will be looking forward to seeing them meet again. We often speak to our young players about the pathways to a career in rugby league, so it’s nice to be offering these schools a slice of our biggest stage this year.”

St Paul’s have the proudest record of any school in New Zealand rugby league. They’ve won 14 of the 18 NZ Secondary Schools tournaments and have given us Kiwis including Mark Graham, Stacey Jones, Nigel Vagana and Jerome Ropati. The current Warriors team has benefited from St Paul’s old students too, with players including Elijah Taylor, Pita Godinet and the Lousi brothers (Sam and Sione). Some of the star ex-Otahuhu students include Ali Lauiti’iti and the Ropati brothers (Joe, Iva, Tea and Peter).

The Otahuhu vs St Paul’s match will kick-off at 6.05pm, before the Kiwis take on the Kangaroos, on Friday, April 20. Tickets for the Eden Park VB Test showdown are available now through Ticketek (0800 TICKETEK, www.ticketek.co.nz and all agencies) and through selected Mad Butcher stores.

ENDS

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