Through rugby comes friendship
29 May 2018
To strengthen cross-cultural bonds and give our young rugby players some international experience, a College U16 development squad will head to Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, in September.
On Monday 28 May, on behalf of the boys, Year 11 student and rugby player Fiti Sa was delighted to accept a gift in support of the trip from Japanese student Kazuki Takahashi.
Kazuki, who is studying education at Iwate University and has been living and studying in Christchurch for the last eight months, lives in the area the boys will visit and was keen to get behind the trip. “I was interested in fundraising because I believe a trip like this is really important for creating connections and building relationships. We’ve had similar experiences in terms of earthquakes and have a shared interest in rugby ... who knows, maybe Fiti will even play rugby with my brother.”
Fiti is looking forward to all aspects of the trip, and says it looks set to be both a fantastic rugby and immersive cultural experience.
The College squad will be hosted by Japanese families and play in Kamaishi, Morioka and Kitakami. A highlight of the trip will be a coaching session and game at the new Kamaishi Unosumai Recovery Memorial Stadium, which has been confirmed as one of 12 venues to host 2019 Rugby World Cup matches.
The trip has been organised by MiC Rugby Stephen Dods, in association with Tony Oikawa and Mari Gray of educational travel company Kiwi-J-Ana.
