Preseason training is under way for 34 high school rugby hopefuls trialing for inclusion in the Mid Canterbury Combined 1st XV.
Players are eligible to play from Ashburton College, Mount Hutt College or Ashburton Christian School.
Those who have turned out are a talented bunch and coaches Josh Sim and Jarrod Ross have the unenviable task of selecting the final team to play in the Miles Toyota 1st XV Championship.
Ross said the squad would be whittled down in the coming weeks to allow players not selected to get into club sides.
He said the Mid Canterbury Combined (MCC) has their first preseason game against Horomaka Combined in Ashburton on March 29, (ground to be confirmed).
Ross, an alumnus of the 1992 Ashburton College 1st XV, said during trainings the focus was on building fitness and ability through skills sessions.
They are intense training sessions to get the most out of the guys, he said.
Training consists of a game, followed by skills which are then put into play with another game.
Past sessions have included tackling skills, taking the ball into contact, and splitting the forwards and backs into targeted training.
The training squad has been in training twice a week since last month and in April, during the first week of the school holidays, the team will compete in a three-day tournament in Oamaru.
It was expected the final team would be announced after the tournament.
MCC’s first season game is against Roncalli-Aoraki 1st XV on May 10. It will be played on the field at Ashburton College, starting at 1pm.
Other home games will be played on May 31, June 7 and June 21.
