Whanganui High School Sports International

Thank you to the River City Press Whanganui for this story. We LOVED hosting the Otemon Gakuin Venus Rugby 7s team! A big THANK YOU again to Sosoli Talawadua and the team at Whanganui Rugby for making this event such a success. Thank you also to our co-hosts, Whanganui Girls' College. We look forward to hosting Otemon Gakuin again in 2028.

Japanese school visits for Rugby 7s experience.

Whanganui Girls’ College and Whanganui High School hosted 18 Japanese students from Otemon Gakuin High School in Osaka last recently, with the focus on Rugby 7s. The school is the top Rugby Seven’s team in Japan, and New Zealand’s Black Ferns Sevens dominance in the sport internationally makes New Zealand an attraction for budding Sevens players, and the Whanganui schools were more than happy to host. It was organised by directors of international students, Jane Williams from Whanganui Girls’ College and Natasha McKee from Whanganui High School.“It’s not just about Rugby Sevens, though, as Jane Willams explains. “It’s also about the cultural exchange because they’re going into the classroom with buddies, and staying with our homestays, which is great. It’s a privilege to be asked to be part of it.”Tsukasa Tsujimoto, Otemon Gakuin High School coach for the past 12 years, who represented Japan in their Seven’s team for 13 years, explains, “The students were looking for a place to develop their skills, and they chose New Zealand. “Everybody, including their buddies are very friendly; they’re really enjoying it. They don’t know much about Super Rugby, but they know all about the women’s Sevens team.” Otemon Gakuin High School, Whanganui Girls’ College and Whanganui High School teams had two days of coaching and training led by Sosoli Talawadua, Game Development Women and Girls for Whanganui Rugby, Fusi Feaunati, former Hurricanes Puoa coach, Bryce Grant as Head Coach of the Cyclones, and Longrun Spouting Whanganui Women’s rugby coach, Junior Nepia.With the assistance of the director of international students from High School, Natasha McKee acting as translator, the Japanese students explained that they dedicate three hours a day, six days a week, to training, once they have finished school at 4pm, and on Saturdays. The training method here was quite different from their training in Japan, and the communication and training with the coaches were easy to understand. And in broken English, one girl added, “We had break time, snacks, we were surprised. It was friendly and fun.”The tournament was on 27 February. Teams from Whanganui High School, Whanganui Girls College, Tupoho, Manakura school from Palmerston North and Otemon Gakuin High School competed.The final was between Manakura and Otemon Gakuin High School, with Manakura winning 35-21.Natasha McKee received glowing feedback from Toshi Konisi, an agent who works to organise these types of exchanges, saying, “The students were highly satisfied with their experience – the host families, their buddies, the opportunity to train with students from local schools, and of course, the matches themselves. It was a truly valuable and memorable programme for them.”Natasha and Jane look forward to welcoming students from Otemon Gakuin High School again and suggest a longer visit during the rugby season.Photos:Cherizay Smith-Reihana giving a gift to Kande NakaheraPhot Credit: Louise FollettThe Japanese team playing against Manukura, from Palmerston North.Photo credit: Larson Whittaker

12/3/26