It didn’t matter where they were from as the Full Circle under-14 boys’ touch team showcased their skills at a recent tournament in Rotorua.

They outclassed several big city teams and didn’t let the occasion get to them as they took out the Rowdys Junior Touch Tournament.

Andrew Rowdy was a high-level official in touch circles, refereeing at world cups.

It was the second year of the tournament that hosts junior touch players from under-10s to under-14s.

The Full Circle Touch Club sent five teams to the event, while Pahou had three and Bluez had one.

The girls’ Bluez team also won their under-14 section, like the Full Circle Boys’, making for an epic weekend of touch rugby.

Other teams attending the tournament came from Auckland, Thames Valley, Northland, North Harbour, Counties, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast and Poverty Bay.

Based on the numbers of teams from the bigger regions, it was a case of David verses Goliath for the smaller provinces.

The Full Circle under-14 boys played some fantastic touch, dropping just one game en route to the title.  

Last year at the inaugural Rowdys junior touch tournament, Full Circle came third, so they wanted to place better this time round.

On the opening day, they won their first three games before losing to Te Tai Tokerau in the last act of the game.

On day two, they were greeted with torrential and wind. They picked up two straight wins to make the semifinals, where they beat Waikato, 3-1.

In the final, it was 1-all at the end of normal time against Te Tai Tokerau, forcing extra time, which saw the boys win 3-1.

Full Circle were coached by Dion Henry, Pete Wignall and Rikki Horlock, with preparation for this tournament starting last October for the team, which plays in the senior men’s touch grade in Whakatāne.

Five boys attended a Touch New Zealand Emerging People Programme for under 16 boys in Te Awamutu last year. Those boys were also part of a Waiariki under-16 boys’ team, which won the Pacific Cup.

Back in December, the Full Circle under-14 boys headed to Australia and competed in the Queensland United Nations Cultural Cup in Caboolture, where they were beaten in a tightly contested final.

This weekend, seven of the boys are representing Bay of Plenty at youth nationals in Auckland:  Blake Binney, Elisha Wignall, Mihaere Gillies, Mika Henry, Nixon Gillies, Ryder Horlock and Tapu Teepa.