New Zealand rugby culture experienced by international students
Posted on July 02, 2024
A group of visiting Vietnamese students from Nguyen Sieu School recently spent a day at Sky City Auckland, experiencing New Zealand rugby culture.
After a ferry ride into downtown Auckland from Half Moon Bay, the students made their way to Sky City where they attended the All Blacks Experience; a New Zealand rugby attraction.
The group were shown a fascinating graphical representation of how many games the All Blacks and Black Ferns have won, drawn or lost; represented by different coloured pins in the wall. Alongside this, they observed every player who has been selected to represent New Zealand in rugby.
The students were shown the sacred All Blacks mauri stone; a precious taonga made of pounamu. This pounamu accompanies the All Blacks wherever they play, at home or overseas. The stone embodies the team’s mana and offers the players protection in their travels and on the field.
Before the conclusion of the rugby attraction, the students experienced an interactive rugby game; both physical and tactical. They also enjoyed sitting in a replica changing room, while listening to past and present players sharing their stories of the phone calls they received from the All Blacks coach to inform them they had made selection for the team.
The group then made their way to Andy’s Burgers & Bar where a robot successfully delivered 15 burgers and fries to the table for lunch. To conclude this exciting day out, the students headed up the Sky Tower to view Auckland city from 328 metres above the ground.
A group of tired but happy students then returned to school on the 4.30 pm ferry.
