National tournament jitters have done little to slow Te Akau Ki Papamoa School's quest for rippa rugby glory in Wellington this week.

Yesterday and today provincial pride is being put on the line as 200 of the country's best rippa rugby players compete.

Te Akau Ki Papamoa School rippa rugby players in Wellington.

The fourth annual Rippa Rugby Championship brings together 20 teams made up of Year 6 boys and girls representing ITM Cup and Pink Batts Heartland Championship provinces.

The Papamoa primary school won the right to represent the Bay of Plenty after taking out the regional tournament earlier this year – and has so far made an unbeaten start.

On the opening day the side narrowly beat Tasman 20-15, before breezing past Northland 45-15, Manawatu 35-20 and Wairarapa Bush 55-15.

The unbeaten run secures them as top qualifier in the pool and the only unbeaten side along with Counties Manukau.

Te Akau Kia assistant principal and co-coach Tane Bennett says the side will now take on Waikato in the quarterfinals at 9.40am.

Tane is rapt with how the players have responded to the pressure of a national tournament, after a tense start to the tournament.

'We got past Tasman in the last 10 seconds with a try. They [the players] had the jitters to start the day.”

He says if the side falls short of winning the title they can be more than proud of what they have achieved.

'We have exceeded our own expectations as we came to the tournament not knowing anything about the other teams.

'We are happy; we have made the top eight in New Zealand.”

The highlight for the players so far is spending an hour with the All Blacks playing games including Duck Duck Goose and Stuck in the Mud.

The All Blacks are in the capital this week preparing for their test match with South Africa on Saturday.

Rippa Rugby is a safe, non-contact form of rugby aimed at primary school-aged children where instead of tackling, players rip velcro-fastened tags off each other's waists. The games are seven minutes each way.