Under 18 girls' North v South match and high performance camp announced

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has announced a six-day Under 18 camp culminating in a North v South match this July as part of expanded girls’ high performance pathway programme.

Fifty U18 women’s players will be chosen to take part in a high-performance campaign in Hamilton from 7-12 July. Camp attendees will be split into two 25-strong squads for the historic North v South match at St Peter’s School in Cambridge on Friday, 11 July.

The North squad will be selected from girls playing their rugby at a school or club within or north of the Provincial Union boundaries of East Coast, Bay of Plenty, King Country and Taranaki. The South squad will be selected from girls playing at a school or club within or south of the Provincial Union (PU) boundaries of Whanganui, Hawke’s Bay and Poverty Bay.

Players must be under 18-years-old and over 16-years-old as of 1 January 2025 and have either; played in the Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) presented by Bunnings Warehouse, represented their province at Under-18 or Under-16 level, or been a member of a PU academy. The final selections will come from nominations provided by Provincial Union and schools with the final squads to be notified in June.

NZR Women’s High Performance Pathways Manager Kendra Cocksedge said the campaigns was an exciting moment for women and girls’ rugby.

“This will be the first time we've had a national U18 high performance camp, so it's a major development in the teenage girls’ pathway. It’s incredibly exciting to have the volume and quality of talent, and resource to enable the assembly of our top U18 talent.

“We’ve seen exponential growth in playing numbers in our schools and its crucial we provide these players with a springboard on our high-performance pathway. We want to equip these girls with the skills, knowledge, and experience to take the next step on their rugby journey.”

The U18 campaign will also provide valuable development opportunities for women and girls’ coaches and management.

NZR Head of Women’s High Performance Hannah Porter said the camp would focus on developing a strong foundation of physical and mental skills and rugby knowledge

"We want to develop the players’ physical foundations and build their awareness of themselves and others. That includes expanding their individual skill sets as well as exposing them to different coaching styles. The camp culminates in a match that will provide an opportunity to evaluate the players in a meaningful game environment.”