Taranaki players show students the ropes | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

Stratford High School's promising young rugby players got to mix it up with some of the best on Tuesday when they were invited to train with the Taranaki team on the schools number one field.

After splitting into forwards and backs, the students pitted themselves against the Taranaki heavyweights, some even being brave enough to go in for a tackle or two.

The NPC squad visited the school and went through drills with the enthusiastic students as part of a programme introduced to encourage good relations between the players, and their young followers.