By Lyla Courtney

The bright pink lips go on, the white zinc is smeared, and the Jokers are ready for the 2025 Zespri AIMS Games.

The boys on Mahurangi College’s mixed Rip Rugby team showed true AIMS spirit out on the field this week with their head-turning joker smiles and high vibes, showing everyone how happy they were to be here.

“It takes them ages to get ready in the morning,” team mates Skylar, Nancy, and Mia say together, adding that they’re often rushing the boys to finish their make-up routines before games.

“It's supposed to aura farm,” says Cooper, which is another way of saying they’re gaining mana or upping their ‘aura’ by doing something cool that no one else is.

They joke that as they walk out on the field, their opponents' smiles fade in confusion and fear. 

“We keep getting weird looks, like even our presence is scary,” one team member says.

The boys came up with the idea on their three-hour drive from Warkworth to Tauranga when one of the boys, Manaaki, had a thought.

“We should do some zinc on our faces,” he suggested.

Shortly after, the idea of the Mahurangi Jokers was formed. 

Don't let the smiles and playful demeanour deceive you.

The team has done extremely well facing hard teams from all across New Zealand, winning nine and drawing one of their 12 games and finishing ninth equal.

One thing’s for sure, the Mahurangi College Jokers are ‘so serious’ about rugby.

Article added: Friday 05 September 2025