La Providence High School has the only ki-o-rahi team in France and they are in Flaxmere, Hawkes Bay to get more game experience.
Bruno Veron and his wife, Helen, set up the ki-o-rahi Dieppe Organisation and are passionate about promoting the game in schools and rugby clubs in France.
“We try, we try and we go to the school to talk about Māori culture to talk about ki-o-rahi and to play ki-o-rahi but it is very difficult because it is not in our tradition,” says Mr Bruno.
Their passion to grow the game came after a New Zealand group went to the KITE festival in Dieppe, Normandy in 2006 and then held the first French ki-o-rahi match in 2010.
The French visitors say it is hard to promote the game because it is not recognised in France. But their organisation is a good start.