The Aquinas College first XV rugby team members are the recipients of both a history lesson and a motivational talk after former All Black Inga ‘the winger' Tuigamala visited on Thursday.

He was at the school as a Rugby World Cup ambassador who is touring the country talking with students about how to succeed in rugby.

Inga throws a ball around at Aquinas College with the school's first XV captain Matt Braid.

Aquinas College first XV coach Marty Lee says when his team was told Inga was coming, many of them said ‘who?'.

'It's is a different generation, the odd one knew who he was and had heard of ‘Inga the winger' but had not seen clips of him playing, says Marty.

'But the fact that he was an All Black – that was enough to get them interested in hearing him speak.

'I would like to think that they will see the need to work hard to get to the top in their chosen sport or profession and the great opportunities in sport for men and women in their sports.”

The Aquinas College first XV captain, Matt Braid, knew about Inga and thought his speech was valuable.

'I knew about his reputation for being one of the greatest players of the game,” says Matt.

'His respect and approach for the game can help us in the games and in our lives.”

Also attending the presentation were some students from Tauranga Boys' College.