Howick College's girls storm into the national top four

Something is building in East Auckland, and the Howick College girls' First XV are right at the centre of it.

As the Blues region's representatives, Howick earned their place in the 2025 Hine Pounamu National Top Four, which NZ Rugby describes as the premier girls' First XV competition in New Zealand, sitting alongside the boys' Barbarians Cup at the top of school rugby.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Howick, as Blues champions, met eventual champions Manukura in the national semifinal and pushed them hard before going down 37-22.

That set up a playoff for third place against Christchurch Girls' High School, who edged the Howick side 29-15, per the New Zealand Herald, leaving Howick fourth in the country.

Fourth in New Zealand. For a programme still early in its national story, that is a real marker of how quickly the girls' game at Howick is rising.

Manukura went on to complete a fourth straight national crown, beating Hamilton Girls' High School 20-17 in the final, the New Zealand Herald noted, a reminder of the calibre of side Howick shared a field with.

Because the Hine Pounamu competition gathers the best girls' First XV teams from around the country, as NZ Rugby sets out, simply being one of the last four says plenty about the depth Howick has assembled.

The wider picture is just as encouraging. Girls' rugby is one of the fastest-growing parts of the game in New Zealand, and East Auckland now has a First XV mixing it with the traditional powerhouses.

So here is a question for the RUGBE community: as more schools back their girls' programmes, could a Blues-region side lift the Hine Pounamu Trophy in the next few seasons?

And should the national top four grow to give more emerging teams like Howick a stage?

You can follow the team through Howick College's official school channels and its rugby programme page at howickcollege.school.nz.

Whatever comes next, a top-four finish is a result the whole Howick community can be proud of, and a strong platform for the seasons ahead.