The Hurricanes are proud to announce 38 players who have been selected for this year's U18 Camp, to be held at NZCIS in Upper Hutt from 30 September to 4 October.
The five-day camp will showcase the best young talent from across the Hurricanes region, with the top U18 players from Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū, Wairarapa Bush, Whanganui, Poverty Bay, and Horowhenua Kapiti named in this year's squad.
A long-standing feature of the Hurricanes' development system, the U18 Camp will provide selected players with a professional rugby environment over the course of the five days.
The core rugby components that the camp is based on includes the Hurricanes Pathway, coach and player connections, rugby skill assessment, nutrition education, mental skills, physical conditioning demands, game analysis, and match performance.
This will be led Hurricanes staff, including coaches and management, alongside select staff from New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association.
The camp is headlined by a fixture against the Crusaders U18 at Christchurch Football Club, which is scheduled for a 1pm kick-off on Friday, 3 October.
Today's announcement of those included in the Hurricanes U18 Camp comes after 149 players were selected for the Hurricanes U18 Regional Development Camps staged across Napier, Palmerston North, and Wellington in July.
It also follows last week's announcement of National U18 Pathways Programme, which featured 20 players from the Hurricanes region - the most of the five Super Rugby Pacific clubs across New Zealand.
Of those named in the National U18 Pathways Programme, the 13 players from the Hurricanes region included in both the New Zealand U18 Barbarians and New Zealand U18 Māori squads will join in the Hurricanes U18 Camp following the National U18 High Performance Camp in Hamilton from 16-25 September.
The seven players from the Hurricanes region in the New Zealand Schools squad - Alani Fakava, Isireli Qaranivalu, Jamie Viljoen, Nehemiah Su'a, Noah Rogers, Rupeni Raviyawa, and Triumph Voice - are unavailable for the Hurricanes U18 Camp while on national duty against Australia U18 in Canberra.
All up, 12 schools and four clubs are represented within the camp, which is comprised of 15 players from Wellington, 10 from Manawatū, eight from Hawke's Bay, two from Wairarapa Bush, and one each from Whanganui, Poverty Bay, and Horowhenua Kapiti.
St Patrick's College Silverstream and Palmerston North Boys' High School - after winning their respective Wellington 1st XV Premiership and Super 8 titles last month - have the strongest representation of all schools and clubs at the Hurricanes U18 Camp, with six players selected from each school.
Central North Island and Hurricanes Top Four champions Feilding High School, which finished second at the National Top Four earlier this month, have four players selected, while Hastings Boys' High School have contributed five players to the camp.
Other schools and clubs with players attending the camp include Wellington College, Marist St Pats RFC, Napier Pirates Rugby and Sports Club, Napier Boys' High School, Whanganui Collegiate School, Scots College, St Patrick's College Wellington, Hutt Old Boys Marist RFC, Rathkeale College, Wairarapa College, Gisborne Boys' High School, and Levin Wanderers.
Hurricanes Recruitment and Development Manager, Darren Larsen, is eager to assess the talent on offer when the camp gets underway in two weeks' time.
“This is an exciting time for both the Hurricanes as an organisation, and the young players within our region who have been selected to attend this camp,” Larsen, who will act as the camp facilitator and coach, said.
"Given the success rate of players who have graduated through the Hurricanes U18 programme in years gone by, the upcoming five days will provide us with a glimpse at potential future Hurricanes in years to come.
"Those selected for the camp also reflect the strength of our pathways system - 34 of the 38 players selected also attended our Regional Development Camps earlier this year, and a further two have already played for the Hurricanes U20 side.
“After impressing throughout the schoolboy and club rugby season, everyone named for this year's camp should be proud of their efforts and deserve their selections.”
Catch your Hurricanes in action next season with memberships on sale now!
2025 HURRICANES U18 CAMP
Wellington
Corban King (Marist St Pats RFC)
Preston Moananu (Marist St Pats RF)
Dante Ford-Tueve (Marist St Pats RFC)
Kitiona Kenese Talaepa (St Patricks Silverstream)
Elijah Solomona (St Patricks Silverstream)
Riley Browne (St Patricks Silverstream)
Fletcher Stirling Cooper (St Patricks Silverstream)
Heath Tuifao (St Patricks Silverstream)
William Davis-Lenz (St Patricks Silverstream)
Brandon Lo (Scots College)
Archie Sims (Wellington College)
Navrin Campbell (Wellington College)
Charisma Faitala (Wellington College)
Ioane Aukusitino (St Patricks College Wellington)
Kian O'Connell (Hutt Old Boys Marist RFC)
Manawatū
Karnyae Ropiha-Waiwai (Feilding High School)
Nixon Foreman (Feilding High School)
James Tuituba (Feilding High School)
Peni Havea (Feilding High School)
Carlo Isaac (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Hunter Kennedy (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Tylerjay Wallace (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Viliami Rongokea Tupou (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Alex Palazzo (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Henry Speedy (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Hawke's Bay
Jericho Wharehinga (Napier Pirates and Sports Club)
Drew Berg-McLean (Napier Pirates and Sports Club)
Nehemiah Lauvao (Hastings Boys' High School)
Raef Robinson (Hastings Boys' High School)
Joseph Lilo-Iosefo (Hastings Boys' High School)
Eli Southwick (Hastings Boys' High School)
Lachlan Varcoe (Hastings Boys' High School)
Will Lovatt (Napier Boys' High School)
Wairarapa Bush
Edward Weatherstone (Rathkeale College)
Konnor Vainu (Wairarapa College)
Whanganui
Johnathan Solomona (Whanganui Collegiate School)
Poverty Bay
Samuel Fox (Gisborne Boys' High School)
Horowhenua Kapiti
Lazzoryss Tovo (Levin Wanderers)
Unavailable due to New Zealand Schools selection
Isireli Qaranivalu (Hastings Boys' High School)
Triumph Voice (Hastings Boys' High School)
Alani Fakava (Feilding High School)
Rupeni Raviyawa (Feilding High School)
Jamie Viljoen (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Nehemiah Su'a (Palmerston North Boys' High School)
Noah Rogers (Lindisfarne College)
