Congratulations to two stars of this year’s 1st XV campaign, who were selected in the NZ Schools Rugby team recently, Brodie McAlister and Tom Christie.

Unfortunately, Brodie was injured in the opening game of the campaign against the NZ Barbarian Schools team, fracturing his leg when tackled, and could not take further part in the tour. His rehabilitation is being overseen by the Crusaders' medical team, so he is in good hands.

Tom, meanwhile, was originally selected as the NZ Barbarians vice-captain but his performance versus NZ Schools saw him selected in the touring team, where he played all three games on tour.

Following, is his summary of that tour…….

“During my journey with the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, I was faced with challenges of emotions such as disappointment through not originally making the team, to excitement from being called up through performance. Overall, the tour to Australia to play in the Tri-nations between New Zealand, Australia, and Samoa, was an amazing experience and opportunity to witness and be a part of the game at a professional level. The outcome of the tour was also very positive – beginning with our first test match against Samoa where we overcame a physical Samoan team to win 62-3. Our next game against Australian Barbarians was a very testing game, being played in the blistering heat of Brisbane where we struggled to adapt to the conditions and battled to a 24-23 victory. Our final game was a match against Australia Schools, which was the big test for us. On the day we come out firing and won the battle of territory and possession early, which resulted in a 32-8 win. “

Good luck in your future Rugby careers which we will watch with great interest.