It’s been a busy start to the year for our Academy boys who have been working hard with camps, trainings, and games all coming and going in the last 6 weeks.

The camp started with the annual duathlon commencing with a run from Church Road to Sugar Loaf for an uphill sprint then a bike around pandora pond to Ahuriri. The final leg of the race is a run up Bluff Hill with Jonty Stewart taking out the win with a record time of 52 mins 29 seconds and Hoera Stephenson close behind.

The camp then continued at Waimarama beach with guests from NZRU, Magpies Head coach Josh Syms and Psychologist Wanda Douglas and Professional Development Manager Chris Mcivor.

Academy Manager Jason Shoemark said “The aim of the camp is to give the players a clear understanding of where they are heading. They are encouraged to set themselves goals in each of the 6 pillars - tactical, technical, physical, nutrition, mental and leadership”

“After camp we end up with a more comfortable group, the boys have a clear idea of where they are heading, and what support is offered to them in the Academy.”

That team got to put their build-up to the test as they took on Manawatu in their first hit out of the year. Manawatu came out firing early dotting down first, but the boys were able to steady the ship and head into half time down 14-7. The second half saw the Hawkes Bay boys start to gel as a unit running in two more tries, however it wasn’t enough to prevent Manawatu taking home the win, 28-21.

Unfortunately, the second game of the campaign against Wellington was cancelled due to COVID-19 which means the academy boys now turn their attention to club rugby.

Among the 20 Academy players 14 are local and have attended high school here, as for the other six boys that have moved to the bay from out of the region they will be playing for local clubs in premier comp. Meni Manase and Brandon Televave from Auckland will be playing for MAC, Matt Monaghan has joined the Old Boys Marist squad, Ezra Malo Taradale, Jurrell Maiava playing for Havelock North and Nik Patumaka for Tech.

Magpies Head Coach Josh Syms has been working closely with Shoemark recruiting new academy players, “It has been a pleasure to work with the academy over the past few weeks. It’s great to see so many new faces from all around New Zealand and from throughout the Magpies region”

The academy offers specialized training and support and opens a pathway for players to be chosen for the Hurricanes U20s team and eventually the Magpies squad.

“It has been great to watch these young men develop and open up over the past few weeks and grow into a team. It is also very exciting to see the extensive rugby talent in our academy, I can certainly see a number of future Magpie’s amongst these players, and with some continued hard work and dedication I am sure the future is bright for both them and the union” Josh Syms added.

Article added: Wednesday 23 February 2022