May 10, 2017
Hawaii Harlequins Invited to Easter Islands for 2017 Rapa Nui Sevens Cup
Logos: Hawaii Halrequins & Matamu’a Rugby Club
Doug Coil
The Matamu’a Rugby Club is hosting the second annual Rapa Nui International Sevens November 23-25, 2017. Last year, tens teams participated in the inaugural tournament last November.
The teams included local club and organizer, Matamu’a Rugby Club Rapa Un; The representatives of Tahiti, Punauia RC, Arue RC and two teams of the Club Papeete RC, while mainland Chile will be represented by Lobos (Puerto Montt), Mano Rugby (Santiago) and Tercertiempo RC (Viña del Mar).
According to ENAP (Energia Que Meuve A Chile), “This championship comes as a dream after the island team, Matamu’a Rugby Rapa Nui, begins to participate in 7 a Side tournaments. The “Ancestral Warriors,” translation of Matamu’a, have an ambitious rugby project, whose aim is that their team replicates the experience that other Polynesian countries have had.” With this in mind, in addition to the championship, cultural and artistic performances, typical of the island will be carried out.
For the 2017 tournament, an invitation was extended to the Hawaii Harlequins and was shared with the Hawaii Rugby Union by Titus Slater.
“The tournament includes teams from Tahiti, Rapa Nui and Chile. This year they would like to welcome teams from further afield, especially from other Polynesian islands. Further information can be found on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/matamuarapanui/.”
“There will also be a 7s tournament in Papeete (Tahiti) the following weekend, meaning that one could potentially play in both. The invitation was sent via James Grant-Peterkin, President Matamu’a Rugby Club. This tournament will be an annual fixture, so it may be something to plan for in 2018 if this year is not possible. Additionally, the tournament may be something to send a combined Hawaii squad to instead of a individual club squads.”
