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HSBC SVNS World Championship 2026
Valladolid
Thursday
12:00
Bunnings NPCHawkes BayDanny ToalaDevan FlandersFolau FakatavaLincoln McClutchie

From schoolboy to pro rugby in one year - the Hawkes Bay Magpies six local stars

Folau Fakatava (centre) is one of six Hastings Boys 2017 players selected in the Hawkes Bay Magpies 2018 squad.
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The Hawkes Bay Magpies announced their 2018 Mitre 10 Cup squad yesterday which included an astounding six members of last year’s national schoolboy champions, Hastings Boys High School.

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Hastings Boys set a blistering pace over two years in 1st XV rugby, playing in two national title games, losing the first but winning the second in an undefeated season in 2017. The team earned six selections in the New Zealand schoolboy squad last year, and could have been eight had two key players not been injured.

Yesterday, the Magpies announced Hastings Boys first five-eighth Lincoln McClutchie, halfback Folau Fakatava, fullback Danny Toala, prop Kianu Kereru-Symes, prop Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe, and Number 8 Devan Flanders had made the squad for the upcoming season.

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The rapid rise to the professional ranks is a testament to the quality of the rugby programme at Hastings Boys, which rose from obscurity to produce one of the greatest sides seen at schoolboy level.

Two other members of last year’s Hastings Boys and the New Zealand schoolboy side, Kini Naholo and Jeriah Mua could also feature in the squads for Taranaki and Bay of Plenty, bringing the total number to eight players making a professional side one year after finishing school.

Number 8 Devan Flanders represented the New Zealand under-20’s side this year, traveling to France for the Junior World Championships, and more Magpies likely to feature next year.

Chiefs first five-eighth Tiaan Falcon and halfback Bred Weber also return to the Bay alongside Hurricanes outside back Jonah Lowe.

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Up front, Highlanders hooker Ash Dixon will power the front row, with the experienced Ben May.

Highlanders debutant Marino Mikaele Tu’u will join Hurricanes flanker Gareth Evans in the loose forwards, along with another Hastings Boys product Jacob Devery, who was apart of the 2016 1st XV.

The Magpies also announced the addition of JJ Taulagi, a former St Kents product that played Super Rugby with the Queensland Reds before playing for the Sunwolves in Japan.

All Black lock Brodie Retallick has been named in the team but will have commitments with the national team throughout the season.

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Comments on RugbyPass

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AM 36 minutes ago
Finger of blame quickly pointed after Leinster's Champions Cup beatdown

All very interesting , the blame game comes to the fore as rugby inexorably trends to the less attractive side already prevalent in soccer. Whilst I am no great fan of Leo Cullen as a coach I imagine there will be many Irish fans from munster, ulster and contact who are quietly pleased the the Leinster takes all the talent first experience has failed. Having said that the coaches don’t miss the tackles, drop the ball, give away the penalties etc and must take some ownership for their latest fall at the final hurdle. Tge better side on the day clearly deserved to win and had the game not been over by half time UBB may have gone on to score many more points.

In any spirts environment it does the sport in general no good at all for all the best players to be in one club, sooner or later someone bigger and better comes along, in this case UBB



...

34 Go to comments
E
Ed the Duck 46 minutes ago
'It’s not like we’re a million miles away': Leo Cullen on the growing gap

Dream on Eric old bean! 😂

5 Go to comments
R
Rugby 101 - Ed Pye 1 hour ago
'Tried and true': Ex-All Black winger Rico Gear assesses the options out wide for Dave Rennie

WTH is Gear talking about here? Rennie has a very short runway to the World Cup so selecting players that are leaving like Reece is an absolute idiotic call…it’s seconded only by selecting players that haven’t been in form since 2022. There is a long list of wingers that are better than these 2…Clarke, Moorby, Naholo, Carter, Narawa, Faainganuku, Jordan, RTK, Fihaki

38 Go to comments
J
Jfp123 1 hour ago
Johnnie Beattie: 'With smart recruitment, Bordeaux-Begles could dominate Europe for 10 years'

Why do you assume they will achieve a deeper squad? Isn’t that what every team is aiming for, but not all succeed.

12 Go to comments
S
SB 2 hours ago
Aussie Super Rugby takes: Reds' key men, Dylan Pietsch Australians form winger

The Wallabies will have a back 3 problem but a good one. Not sure who will be picked as there are plenty of options.

3 Go to comments
c
cnw 2 hours ago
Sir Graham Henry is the All Blacks' new kingmaker - and lords of the scrum high on his agenda

Hey PMcD starting to feel the NH bias in these comments 😂. The only teams to beat the Boks last year came from the Southern Hemisphere and whose players mainly play in the SR?

431 Go to comments
P
PH 2 hours ago
Pablo Bouza: 'Spain's goal is to qualify for the knockouts at Rugby World Cup 2027'

Spain will be wanting to make up for lost time, after eligibility issues prevented them from appearing in last two Rugby World Cup's. They will surely be targeting a victory over Canada in Australia in 2027 and a potential last 16 spot, which would present a significant milestone in the development of Spanish rugby.

2 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 2 hours ago
A number of 'top South African players' linked with Stormers

me too.

How’s the knee?



...

2 Go to comments
E
Eric Elwood 2 hours ago
Cullen’s bunker mindset may be double-edged sword as Leinster try to become ‘supermen for a day’

Follow the thread genius. Talk to the poster who claimed that Leinster were stealing players from other provinces.

25 Go to comments
c
cnw 2 hours ago
Sir Graham Henry is the All Blacks' new kingmaker - and lords of the scrum high on his agenda

Precision or blunt PMcD? From memory the ABs had the best strike rate from set play. The performance in Auckland last year against the Boks is the exemplar. Totally agree they seem to have lost their counter attack as NBs various articles show. But the “vaunted” 2023 ABs also had their bad days, as did the 2020-2022 ABs. The loss in the final of the WC - while affected by the red card - also showed that their attack struggled against the Boks defence and as it did against the French too. Fundamental change was needed. We needed structures that could build go to consistent pressure - Razor was clearly trying to do that. And mostly succeeded (though with spectacular failures - like all teams over the last 12 months). There were clearly some missing pieces - and as you rightly point out - the failure to go 6-2 at key times revealed that he definitely needed input from outside the tent and as NB was suggesting last year - someone from the NH like O’Gara would have been ideal.

431 Go to comments
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Eric Elwood 2 hours ago
'It’s not like we’re a million miles away': Leo Cullen on the growing gap

There is nothing to suggest they would have. Toulouse lost twice to Glasgow and Saracens in the pool. Northampton were hammerred in the pool without Bordeaux getting out of 2nd gear. Bath did OK, but they were picked apart too, and Leinster hammerred Bath last year. No evidence for what you say and Leinster could have done with stronger opposition before the final as they have had to face in other years. Its a particularly strong run of great French club teams, the strongets ever, and Leinster unlucky to be there or there about against such strenght. They will be back.

5 Go to comments
c
cnw 3 hours ago
Sir Graham Henry is the All Blacks' new kingmaker - and lords of the scrum high on his agenda

NB I have stayed away from this dialogue about Razor because hey I am a bit tired of being the lone discordant voice in this chorus. I agree that his systems struggled under pressure. I also agree with your analysis last year that he needed to bring in some outside the tent expertise to help him reignite the open field attack (eg an O’Gara). But the theme here that he was directionless and lacked nous is wrong and revisionist in my view. He was clearly trying to bring to the ABs a structured power game and it was building momentum. The wins against good opposition, including the Boks, Ireland, Scotland, Australia (who at that stage had just beaten the Boks and the Lions) and Argentina showed this. The loses were bad - but hey who has not had shockingly bad losses in the last 12 months - the Boks, France, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, Australia, and England all included. Yet the history now seems to be that Razor lacked the basic skills to be a good coach based largely on second hand reports of player reactions. Against this we have the inside view of NZ’s most astute coach ever, Smith, who was happy with the direction he was taking. Did Razor have his faults and was he struggling to get his message through - seems so. Did he need help - for sure. But he was the second most successful coach last year in the world with a team still transitioning from a dynasty that had well and truly had its day. Rennie has inherited that base - and I really look forward to what he will bring - but just don’t agree that Razor was the lost coach most are now making him out to be.

431 Go to comments
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Ed the Duck 3 hours ago
'It’s not like we’re a million miles away': Leo Cullen on the growing gap

Exactly, UBB didn’t need to move beyond second gear after half time.

5 Go to comments
J
JPM 3 hours ago
'It’s not like we’re a million miles away': Leo Cullen on the growing gap

But in the same way they benefited a particularly easy half of the draw. They certainly would have lost vs Bath, Northampton or Toulouse…

5 Go to comments
S
SB 3 hours ago
'It’s not like we’re a million miles away': Leo Cullen on the growing gap

With the squad he has at his disposal, they should never be out of a game by halftime.

5 Go to comments
P
Perthstayer 4 hours ago
Pablo Bouza: 'Spain's goal is to qualify for the knockouts at Rugby World Cup 2027'

Bouza sounds like a good human. Clever management and being respectful pays dividends.

Well done Spain on making another WC. Missing out in 2023 because of an admin error must have been soul destroying.



...

2 Go to comments
N
NB 4 hours ago
Sir Graham Henry is the All Blacks' new kingmaker - and lords of the scrum high on his agenda

Yes they will have choices to make, and the front row selections will be the litmus test for sure.

431 Go to comments
N
NB 4 hours ago
Is the Prem becoming 'like basketball - without the tackling?'

There’s already a 500-player plus lawsuit in the ofing.

151 Go to comments
N
NB 4 hours ago
Sir Graham Henry is the All Blacks' new kingmaker - and lords of the scrum high on his agenda

I think he’s the only front rower I can recall playing all three spots in teh front row G!

431 Go to comments
N
NB 4 hours ago
Sir Graham Henry is the All Blacks' new kingmaker - and lords of the scrum high on his agenda

I do recall Matt Proudfoot trying to play THP for SCotland G! He was vast [probably you’d have had to knit two other three other Scotland prop toegther to make one of him] but he as not very good. Perhaps that is why he is a good caoch?

431 Go to comments
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