Fifty-eight talented young players have been selected to attend the 2017 Hurricanes Under-18s camp at Rathkeale College in Masterton.
The five-day training camp from July 9 to 13 will see the players coached by the current Hurricanes Investec Super Rugby coaching staff and professional players, but they will learn as much off the field as they do on it.
Hurricanes recruitment and development manager Darren Larsen said the camp took a holistic approach to educating the chosen players.
"It was incredibly tough to select the group from 293 nominations and we are very fortunate with the amount of talented players in the Hurricanes region.
"Our hope is that the young men who attend the camp will start to understand what is needed to become a professional rugby player and to enhance themselves as individuals."
The camp will include guidance around nutrition, mental skills, physical preparation, media and leadership as well as performance planning, technical, tactical and positional coaching.
The week will culminate in a training match between the Coles XV and the Perenara XV whose coaching staff will include former All Black captain Rodney So'oialo and former New Zealand sevens star Tafai Ioasa.
At the conclusion of the camp 23 players will be chosen to play a one-off match against the Crusaders Under 18s as the curtain raiser to the Hurricanes v Crusaders Investec Super Rugby match at Westpac Stadium on July 15.
The 2017 training squad includes players from throughout the Hurricanes region with players from Hawke's Bay (21), Wellington (14), Manawatu (11), Poverty Bay (6), Wanganui (3), Wairarapa Bush (3) as well as Horowhenua-Kapiti (1) and East Coast (1).
Fourteen schools and five clubs are represented in the training squad with Hastings Boys High School providing the most with 11 players.
Coaching staff from the Hurricanes three Mitre 10 Cup teams the Wellington Lions, Manawatu Turbos and Hawke's Bay Magpies will be present at the camp, along with resource coaches from each of the club's other partner unions and a number of first XV coaches.
"The theme for the camp is 'up skill for all'," Larsen said. "We want all of the people involved from within our region including our coaches, selectors, analysts, strength and conditioning coaches, and medical staff to gain something from the camp."
The 2017 Hurricanes Under 18s camp squad is:
Moala Katoa | Scots College | Wellington |
Tai Neli | Scots College | Wellington |
Jaylen Tuapola | Scots College | Wellington |
Kyle Preston | Tawa College | Wellington |
Kienan De La Rambelje | St Pats Silverstream | Wellington |
Albert Polu | St Pats Silverstream | Wellington |
Todd Svenson | St Pats Silverstream | Wellington |
Josh Southall | St Pats Silverstream | Wellington |
Xavier English | St Pats Town | Wellington |
Keelan Whitman | St Pats Town | Wellington |
Tanara Haenga | Wainuiomata High School | Wellington |
Naitoa Ah Koui | Wellington College | Wellington |
Taine Plumtree | Wellington College | Wellington |
Kaliopasi Uluilakepa | Petone RFC | Wellington |
Ryan Hargood | Marist Rugby Club | Wairarapa Bush |
Raniera Petersen | Greytown Club | Wairarapa Bush |
Dominic Herlihy | Rathkeale College | Wairarapa Bush |
Austin Brown | Gisborne BHS | Poverty Bay |
Quade Tapsell | Gisborne BHS | Poverty Bay |
Sione Ki-Niua | Gisborne BHS | Poverty Bay |
Billy Priestley | Gisborne BHS | Poverty Bay |
Joseph Mason | Gisborne BHS | Poverty Bay |
Moses Christie | Gisborne BHS | Poverty Bay |
Adam Boult | Te Kawau | Manawatu |
Jack Fleury | FAHS Feilding High School | Manawatu |
Ethan McQuinlan | FAHS | Manawatu |
Tyler Moeau | FAHS | Manawatu |
Griffin Culver | FAHS | Manawatu |
Kody Edwards | FAHS | Manawatu |
Josiah Maraku | FAHS | Manawatu |
Michael Ioane | PNBHS | Manawatu |
Tyler Laubscher | PNBHS | Manawatu |
James Stratton | PNBHS | Manawatu |
Mackenzie Tansley | PNBHS | Manawatu |
Folau Fakatava | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Devan Flanders | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Gideon Kautai | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Kianu Kereru-Symes | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Miracle Lolofie | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Donovan Mataira | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Lincoln McClutchie | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Josiah Metcalfe | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Dennon Robinson | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Danny Toala | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Liam Udy-Johns | Hastings BHS | Hawkes Bay |
Cam Huata | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Tyrone Thompson | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Jacob Lochore | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Josh Gimblett | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Josh Bokser | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Humphrey Sheild | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Nathan Giles | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Leo Thompson | Napier Boy's High School | Hawkes Bay |
Chase Sheridan | Tolaga Bay Area School | East Coast |
Sean Pape | Shannon RFC | Horowhenua Kapiti |
Bradley Sanson | Wanganui Collegiate School | Wanganui |
Codi Hemi | Wanganui Collegiate School | Wanganui |
Finau Nimatasau | Wanganui Collegiate School | Wanganui |