January 27, 2013
Warriors celebrate cultural side
Pre-season training is taking a cultural direction this year.
The Waikato Chiefs sent its squad off to retrace the journey of the Tainui waka, and the Warriors and junior Warriors got ready for another National Rugby League season by spending a day at Auckland University’s Waipapa Marae.
Vulcans coach Willie Swann says the teams were shown the basic protocols of the marae as well as some taiaha moves.
"We learned how to do a Warriors haka and the cultural and spiritual power that was behind that was really good for everyone to experience. Even the Aussies had a go which was good and comical at times to," he says.
Mr Swann says the Maori and Pacific Island dimension to the Warriors is a strength which the teams want to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have chosen four high-achieving Maori secondary school students to represent the club in next week’s All Stars Indigenous Youth Summit in Brisbane.
They are Matiu Love-Henry from Taupo, who recently signed as a Warriots development player, Dane Clark from Tokoroa, Savannah Matua from Manukau City and Nikita McGruer from Tauranga.
The 64 young Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori students at the summit will attend mentoring and life skills workshops with members of the Indigenous All Stars and NRL All Stars teams, and will also play a role in the pre-match entertainment at Suncorp Stadium before the All Stars game.
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