Wainui Rippa Rugby wins gold

By the students of Learning Support at Wainuiomata High Sschool

The Wainuiomata Panthers won the Athletes with Disability (AWD) Rippa Rugby tournament on 4 April.

The tournament took place at Onepoto Park, Porirua where both mainstream and AWD teams played side by side.

The Panthers had 18 players both boys and girls. The students range from 13 to 20 years old. Every student participated. Some had to display manaakitanga and join forces with Wellington East Girls’ College as they were low on numbers.

This is a first for the Panthers. They have played in many Rippa tournaments but never come home with gold. There were many special moments in the game.

One was Giovanni Brown who was extremely shy and scared of rugby. This year he played two games and felt more confident in playing.

“I had more confidence and wanted to join in,” Giovanni says.

This year, Moana Kuma came in and worked with the Panthers.

“Moana took care of my phone to make sure I could play the best rugby,” Nikolai MacKenzie says.

Stephen Graham, a five-time participant of the Rippa rugby tournament says: “We had lots of players, and everyone played together as a team. Moana was on the field with us and helped us pass and play. But most importantly, we had to communicate with each other”.

Everyone had a great day. Everyone played some Rippa. Everyone came away with a gold medal. We attribute some of our success to the members of the community who funded our brand-new hoodies. We looked amazing and everyone commented on our smart appearance. We can’t wait until our next sporting league.

In term two, Wainuiomata High School Learning Support will be the first AWD team to join the mainstream Netball league.

“We can’t wait to try our skills out on other competitors in the Hutt Valley,” the students say.

‘We’d love anyone from Wainuiomata to come along and support the Panthers doing what we love best – having fun.