<\/p>\n
Three days full of energy, team spirit, and authentic New Zealand rugby culture: From May 23 to 25, 2026, the renowned HAKA Rugby Global Camp was hosted at our grounds in Bonn-Plittersdorf. 48 highly motivated young ruggers and three experienced New Zealand coaches made the Whitsun weekend an unforgettable highlight in the club’s history. <\/p>\n
From the very first minute, the HAKA Rugby Global Camp was about much more than just peak athletic performance. A central and deeply impressive part of the camp was the immersion in the rich M\u0101ori culture. Participants learned traditional chants and experienced firsthand the values behind the rituals. An important mental tool was the concept of “Blue Head” \u2013 the ability to keep a cool,
\nclear head even in heated game situations. The absolute highlight for many was the joint practice and the final, powerful performance of the legendary Haka in front of their proud parents. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On the field, the three New Zealand coaches led intensive and incredibly fun training sessions. The kids honed a variety of technical and tactical subtleties. Special focus was placed on correct and safe tackling technique: with mnemonics like “Same shoulder, same leg” (or “Same foot, same shoulder”) and the use of “Boxing Hands,” players learned to defend safely and effectively. A clever trick from the pros particularly thrilled the participants: the targeted gaze at the opponent’s hips to anticipate their running direction early. Whether it was behavior in open play (ruck), targeted kicking, or action-packed wrestling units with tackle pads \u2013 the athletic level was as high as the fun factor. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The playful approach was never neglected. Dynamic games like “Burush” provided plenty of laughter and kept the group on their toes. The grand finale was a big closing tournament and the eagerly awaited “Kids vs. Parents” match. Here, the kids impressively showed their parents what they had learned over the three days. The fact that the parents occasionally passed the ball forward against the rules in the heat of the moment did not detract from the fantastic atmosphere \u2013
\nthe rematch will follow next year! <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
C.<\/strong> F. (International Voice)<\/strong> J. (International Voice)<\/strong> E.<\/strong> M.<\/strong> X. & Xavier (International Voice)<\/strong> L.<\/strong> <\/p>\n The HAKA Rugby Global Camp 2026 was a complete success and once again showed how international, open, and inspiring the sport of rugby is. The perfect weather conditions reflected the consistently positive, energetic atmosphere on the pitch. A huge thank you goes to the three amazing coaches from New Zealand, all the volunteers working behind the scenes, and of course to the fantastic kids who gave it their all. <\/p>\n The feedback shows that the excitement continues\u2014some participants are already counting down the days until next year. We are already looking forward to the HAKA Camp 2027! <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Text and photos: Thomas Breidenbach<\/p>\n Note: This text was created with the help of AI.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A TOUCH OF NEW ZEALAND IN BONN The HAKA Rugby Global Camp 2026 at RC Bonn-Rhein-Sieg e.V. Event: HAKA Rugby Global Camp 2026 Date: May 23 to 25, 2026 (Whitsun Weekend) Location: Rugby-Club Bonn-Rhein-Sieg e.V., Martin-Luther-King-Str. 22, 53175 Bonn Participants: 48 international children and teenagers Coaches: 3 professional coaches directly from New Zealand Weather:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7547,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7545\/revisions\/7547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcbrs.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBEST MOMENT:
\n“My best moments were the units on Maori culture and singing together.”
\nSKILL LEARNED:
\n“I was able to practice the open ruck.”
\nCOMING BACK NEXT YEAR?
\n“Definitely!”<\/p>\n
\nBEST MOMENT:
\n“I loved the first time we did blue head.”
\nNEW SKILL LEARNED:
\n“Same shoulder, same leg.”
\nCOMING BACK?
\n“YES!”<\/p>\n
\nBEST MOMENT:
\n“I loved our performance to the parents.”
\nNEW SKILL LEARNED:
\n“Same shoulder, same leg. The HAKA handshake.”
\nCOMING BACK?
\n“YES!”<\/p>\n
\nFEEDBACK:
\n“I actually liked everything: learning Haka and the rugby exercises. My favorite was the Kids vs. Parents game at the end. Even though the parents sometimes passed forward. Since the camp, I can kick much better. I would definitely recommend it and will be back next year.”<\/p>\n
\nBEST MOMENT:
\n“My best moment was when I scored a try.”
\nBEST TRICK:
\n“The best trick was that you have to look at the hip to know where the opponent is running.”
\nCONCLUSION:
\n“I’m definitely coming back and can recommend the camp to every child. I had a lot of fun with the coaches and the many children.”<\/p>\n
\nBEST MOMENT:
\n“The tackling game using the pads, and also doing the Haka was so cool.”
\nNEW SKILL:
\n“Correct tackling technique including ‘boxing hands’.”
\nCOMING BACK?
\n“Yes!! Definitely!! Xavier is already counting down the days until the next one.”<\/p>\n
\nBEST MOMENT:
\n“I particularly liked the Burush game and the final tournament, but I actually liked everything.
\nThe Haka and the wrestling with the pads were also good.”
\nSKILL LEARNED:
\n“I learned that there’s a rule to tackle better: Same foot, same shoulder.”
\nCONCLUSION:
\n“Yes, I definitely want to participate in the Haka Camp again because it was just so much
\nfun.”<\/p>\nCONCLUSION & OUTLOOK<\/h3>\n