Rugby in New Zealand

Rugby is New Zealand’s number one sport and a source of immense national pride. Sport Lived offers you the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Martin Johnson and play rugby in this small but beautiful country. It is a testimony to the great organisation, facilities and coaching of rugby in New Zealand, that a country with a population of only 3 million can consistently produce world class teams. There can surely be no better place in the world for you to develop your game than in New Zealand.

Sport Lived has affiliations with excellent rugby clubs in all of New Zealand’s major cities. All of the clubs have been carefully selected for their first rate facilities, coaching and social scenes. We can arrange suitable clubs for players of all abilities, so whether you are interested in pursuing professional career or just want to have the experience of a lifetime playing rugby down under, we can organise the perfect programme for you.

Most rugby clubs in New Zealand have 5-7 senior men’s teams, an U19 team and 2/3 colts teams (U21). Most people that go on our programmes play Colts rugby. The Colts competitions are taken seriously by the clubs and are an excellent standard of rugby. If you play for your clubs Colts First team you’ll play with and against New Zealand’s top school boy players some of whom will be part of Super 14 academies.

You can either play rugby in New Zealand for an entire season from March – late August/early September.  Alternatively, we can arrange for you to play rugby in Auckland for 8 weeks during July and August. Pre-season training usually starts in February, with league fixtures commencing in March and finishing in August.  Most clubs train 2-3 times a week and play matches on Saturday afternoons.  In New Zealand most clubs have lots of pitches so all colts and senior grade matches usually kick off at 3pm.  This makes the social scene of the clubs really good as players from all teams congregate in the clubhouse after the games for post match drinks. In addition, some clubs also organise pre-season tours and training camps usually to either the country or one of the other main cities in New Zealand.  As well as being great fun these trips are also a fantastic opportunity to bond with your team mates and visit new parts of the country.

Most of the rugby clubs we arrange for people to join have large junior sections and we encourage all Sport Lived participants to get involved in coaching juniors during their time playing rugby in New Zealand.  Coaching is lots of fun and a great way to develop key skills such as leadership, communication and organisational skills.

Several of the rugby clubs we have affiliations with in New Zealand have strong female sections and we organise for a number of female players to go to New Zealand each year.  Most clubs have 2-3 women’s teams, with their first team playing the highest the highest standard of club rugby in New Zealand.  If you’re selected for your club’s first team you will play with and against provincial and international players providing you with the opportunity to test yourself against the cream of the crop down under. 

Gap Year New Zealand

In each city in New Zealand Sport Lived employ staff who are available 24/7 throughout your programme.  As well as introducing you to your club and generally helping you to get settled in New Zealand, our staff also organise social events throughout the rugby season.  Our social events include introductory drinks during the first week of your programme, beach BBQs, fancy dress parties and days out at sporting events. 

Whilst in New Zealand, you will live in 4 star city centre apartments with Sport Lived participants playing rugby and other sports including netball, hockey and football.  Most people stay in 2 bedroom apartments and everyone lives in the same complex providing you with a ready made group of friends as soon as you arrive.  Living in the city means you’ll be near nightlife and numerous places where you can work.  It also means you’ll be near public transport so it will be easy to get to your club to attend training and matches. 

As well as being great for rugby, New Zealand has wonderful scenery, fresh air and an emphasis on outdoor activities.  Despite its compact size, New Zealand is incredibly varied offering volcanoes, rainforest, thermal areas of geysers and boiling mud and forests with some of the largest and oldest trees on the planet.  The adventurous can enjoy white water rafting, sky diving, bungee jumping and skiing.  We encourage all Sport Lived participants to travel during their Gap Year in New Zealand to experience all that is great about the country.

Back to Rugby

Play Rugby Union in New Zealand
The price of all play sport programmes include:	Locations	Prices	Dates
- 4 star city centre accommodation (including rent, furnishings and most bills) - Club membership subscription - Overseas programme co-ordinator available 24/7 - Assistance in organising flights, visas & travel insurance - Pre-departure briefing - Handbook with useful information - Airport Pickup	Auckland	£4,695*	15/3/09 - 23/8/09
	Christchurch	£4,495*	15/3/09 - 23/8/09
	Auckland	£2,495*	06/7/09 - 30/8/09

 

*Bond of £300 payable in addition to the programme fee