Unison Introduces Secondary School Rugby Challenge

Unison Introduces Secondary School Rugby Challenge

Friday, 18 May 2012 - In an extension of Unison’s ongoing support for grassroots rugby, Hawke’s Bay secondary schools will this year be able to compete in the Unison 1st XV Challenge, launched yesterday at McLean Park.

Fourteen secondary school A and B grade rugby teams will compete to win the Unison 1st XV Challenge Cup (A grade) and the 1st XV Challenge Shield (B Grade). Final matches for both competitions will be played as curtain raisers to Magpies games at McLean Park in Napier.

Unison Group Chief Executive Officer Ken Sutherland said Unison was proud to extend their support of grass roots rugby in the region.

“Hawke’s Bay has produced a number of All Blacks in the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union’s long history – most recently Rugby World Cup winners Israel Dagg and Zac Guildford. We hope the Challenge Cup and Challenge Shield will help the region continue its long tradition of producing world class players.”

At the launch, each player was provided with a t-shirt, and their school provided with a hit shield for training. The winning teams will not only walk away with the silverware, but each player will also receive a Unison Medal, and their school will receive a$1,000 R80 sports gear voucher. The school of each runner up team will also receive an R80 voucher to the value of $500.

“Unison and the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union have developed a great partnership over the last three years through junior rugby. This is an exciting addition to our partnership, and we look forward to secondary school rugby benefiting from Unison’s extension of its rugby sponsorship programme,” said Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union CEO, Mike Bishop.

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