Visiting teams from New Zealand, Te Tai Tokerau U16 men’s and U18 women’s teams, are looking forward to another successful outing this weekend at the Raro 7s tournament.

The two-day tournament which starts tomorrow at the National Stadium in Nikao will see the Northland NZ side featuring in the U16 men’s and women’s divisions.

After tasting success in the 15s matches on Tuesday against the Cook Islands Select teams, the visitors are eager for more.

Rawinia “Ra” Everitt, the head coach for both the Northland Natives U16 men’s and U18 women’s teams, previously played in the Rarotonga 7s tournament when it was known as Sevens in Heaven.

Everitt used the 15s matches to prepare for this weekend’s tournament.

Rana Paraha, who coached Te Tai Tokerau Natives U18 women’s side on Tuesday, said the club brought 20 male and 22 female players to Rarotonga.

Paraha said that because of the vast distance between the Northland districts, they had hub training for each district in Auckland.

“They’re really excited,” she said. “They have been looking forward to this, so they’ve done a lot of preparation, mental preparation, and physical preparation for themselves. They know how hot it is over here, and we need to be able to condition our bodies to be able to handle the heat.”

Paraha said they had a team compete in the Raro 7s tournament in the past, and they were excited to return to the tournament.

Te Tai Tokerau Natives participated in a domestic 7s tournament in New Zealand before coming to Rarotonga.

Paraha said the Raro 7s is an opportunity for these young players to play an international game of a sport that they love.

“They already have the talent of playing Sevens, and it was about practicing too, to come and play. It is the first time for most of them to be in Raro to play sport. Some have been here before but for holiday.”

Paraha also acknowledged all the supporters and sponsors who helped the team get to Rarotonga.