Marist NH's Opeti Pasikala and his NZ Marist Development team have started their tour of the lower North Island.  As the first New Zealand Marist Rugby team first played in Masterton in 1963, it is only fitting that the 2023 tour started there. They got their tour off to a great start with a 33-12 win over a strong Wairarapa Barbarians side on Saturday.  

Sunday saw the squad attend mass at St Patrick's Church, then spent the afternoon clay bird shooting, with dinner hosted at the Masterton Marist Rugby Club. 

A large part of the history of Marist and New Zealand Marist is around the education of all young individuals within the community. When first arriving in New Zealand they were responsible for starting the first schools within the country. To uphold the history and tradition of providing education to all youth and young adults part of the NZ Marist Rugby tour includes heading into local schools to engage with students and talk to them about what Marist means and also the values they uphold whilst also having a bit of fun. 

The team are now in Palmerston North for the next few days. On Tuesday, the squad headed into another school to continue to engage and inspire the local children. Opeti and two others spoke to the students about the schools values of Strive, Acceptance, Integrity, Nurture, Talents and Service.  The team's second match was against Manawatu U19 team last night. 

Article added: Monday 31 July 2023