From 2026, all U14+ coaches must attend a live, in-person Rugby Smart course to be accredited. If a coach is not accredited, they cannot be added to a team in Rugby Xplorer, making the team ineligible to participate. This remains a mandatory health & safety requirement under ACC and NZ Rugby regulations Rugby Smart Masterclasses 2026.
Our goal this year is to move beyond compliance and make this an event that genuinely adds value - combining core Rugby Smart accreditation (Warm Up, Tackle incl. hip drop awareness, Scrum) with high-performance insight aligned to NZR’s 2026 safety focus areas. In addition to the guest speakers below we will also have our Coach Development Staff and High-Performance Coaches from ARU in attendance facilitating the courses.
Dates and confirmed speakers
East Auckland - Pakuranga United RFC
Sunday 15 March – 10:00am–12:00pm Guest Speakers:
- Wayne Pivac (Former Wales International Coach, and former Auckland NPC Coach)
- Pita Alatini (Former All Black, as well as 1st XV 1A winning coach with Kings College, and Gallaher Shield Winning Coach with Pakuranga)
South Auckland - Manukau Rovers RFC
Wednesday 18 March – 6:00pm–8:00pm Guest Speakers:
- Brad Mika (Former Blues and Crusaders Champion, All Black, and Community Coach)
- Eroni Clarke (Former Auckland, Blues, and All Black player, current NZ Rugby Staff Leading Pacific Strategy)
- Tu'ungafasi Brothers (Front Row Extraordinaires, Super Rugby Champions)
West Auckland - Waitemata RFC
Wednesday 25 March – 6:00pm–8:00pm Guest Speaker:
- Eroni Clarke (Former Auckland, Blues, and All Black player, current NZ Rugby Staff Leading Pacific Strategy)
- DJ Forbes (NZ 7's Legendary Captain)
Central Auckland - Mount Albert Grammar School
Tuesday 22 April – 4:30pm–6:30pm Very Special Guest Speaker. Multiple world cup winner! Announcement dropping by Monday 30th of March.
Spot Prizes & Club Recognition
To help drive strong coach engagement:
- Spot prizes on the night Prize for the Club/School with the highest number of coaches attending
- Prize for the Club/School with the highest percentage of coach attendance (team entries vs coaches accredited)
- We encourage clubs and schools to treat this as a collective effort.
Important – Registration Steps
To ensure a smooth process on the night, coaches still need to:
- Have a Rugby Xplorer (RX) profile (If you had one last year, use the same login. If not, create one.)
- Register that profile as a Coach to your Club or School for 2026
- In RX, down the left panel- click "the Learning Portal", it will take you through to "Linebreak" (NZ Rugby’s new Learning Management System - Auckland is one of five pilot unions nationally.)
Linebreak is where:
- You will find additional online learning modules and resources
- You register for your chosen Rugby Smart Masterclass via the calendar
Please aim to complete the above before attending.
If you need support:
- Refer to the troubleshooting link https://www.nzrugby.co.nz/what-we-do/linebreak
- Contact your Club Delegate or School TIC
- Contact joe.tuitavake@aucklandrugby.co.nz directly if needed.
Key Note: If you have not sorted this beforehand, please still attend. We can support you on the night. However, the more coaches who complete this in advance, the faster we can move through admin and into the actual masterclass content.