Meet Your Local Rugby Club

EAST COAST Rugby Football Club 2022

YOUR LOCAL RUGBY CLUB

Aaron Matenga and Mark Percy return again to coach the East Coast Premier side which managed to reach last year’s semi-ÿ nals before they were beaten by eventual competition winners Greytown.

Club president Ross Wakeling feels this was a good result, considering the club had a fair few injuries towards the end of the season.

At the start of this season, East Coast is experiencing a “purple patch” in players numbers, he says, with plenty of players for both the Premiers and the Reserves who this year are being coached by Ken Scott and T K Karaitiana.

Based at Whareama, 30 minutes east of Masterton, the East Coast club covers a large geographic area and has some of the most passionate supporters in the competition. East Coast doesn’t have the star players but it is always competitive and Ross expects

this season to be no di° erent.

“We haven’t had many changes this year. But we have one or two new ones and it will be interesting to see where they slot in.”

East Coast is known for its open, ˛ owing game and “chucking the ball around,” says Ross.

The club is having its JAB

muster next Saturday 30th April which is also the ÿ rst home game of its Premier side, with all junior rugby players and their families that want to play for East Coast invited. The club also has women’s hockey and netball teams, plus junior hockey.

“If you are interested in playing for a progressive and inclusive club, please contact us!”

CAPTURING EAST COAST

RUGBY MOMENTS

Lisa Wyeth has shared the East Coast Club Captain role with Nicole James for the past six or seven years.

It’s an important position, but it is Lisa’s uno˜ cial role as photographer for the club that is her major passion.

Lisa grew up in a “massive rugby family”, with dad Joe Wyeth a WairarapaBush representative.

Joe used to play for Masterton Club but the family later gravitated to East Coast, re° ecting Joe’s love of the great outdoors, the family’s close relationship with Castlepoint, and son Joseph playing for the club.

Joe went on to coach both the Premiers and Reserves, helping the Premiers to win the grand ÿ nal for the ÿ rst time in 60 years.

Lisa always watched the games from the sideline and when she became interested in photography, noticed that some other clubs had photographers posting images to their Facebook pages.

EAST COAST Rugby Football Club

“I thought it would be good to start putting up photos for East Coast as it is a country club that no-one ever sees anything about.

“I started putting photos up in 2014 and everyone loved them.”

Lisa dabbled with the thought of becoming a professional photographer but instead became a chef, saving her photography for rugby.

“I love photos that capture the moment. Rugby photos are so di˝ erent. I also like to take photos of what is happening on the sideline.

“We have an awesome bunch of supporters. We are all a family.”

Lisa takes photos of the entire game, taking hundreds of photos at each match.

“I think that is where am a bit di˝ erent. Rather than random shots, I like telling the story of the whole game.

“I put up about 80 photos of each game. Sorting through and uploading them takes a few hours.

“I also put them on our website for people who don’t use Facebook and email photos out to people who would like a copy of a particular photo.”

Lisa always photographs both the Reserves and Premier games, going to the Reserves match ÿ rst and then driving to the Premier game.

“I don’t play favourites. don’t like to miss out on a game.”

A framed collage of Lisa’s photos are given to East Coast award winners at the end of each season.

CONTACTS

Ross Wakeling [President]

P 06 372 6861

E rockview@xtra.co.nz

NETBALL ADDS WOMEN’S TOUCH TO CARTERTON RUGBY

Having Carterton Netball join the Carterton Rugby Football Club has been a “breath of fresh air”, says club President Steve Hurley.

Carterton Netball still operates as a separate club, Steve says, but uses all the rugby club’s facilities and has a representative on the rugby club’s committee.

The club grounds will feature two new netball courts for the women to practice on in the near future.

Steve believes all of the Wairarapa’s rugby clubs - and all sporting clubs - need to look at getting involved with clubs in other codes.

CARTERTON Rugby Football Club

For the 2022 season Carterton is delighted to have Neil Rodger, Garth Thomson, Mike Wakeÿ eld and Rhys Scott on board as Premier coaches.

The reserves will be coached by club stalwarts Brett Aitken, Brad Keating and Kerry McGhie.

The JAB numbers are up on last year as we see new families moving to Carterton.

Carterton Netball is now part

of the club and they will be ÿ elding seven senior teams.

Pre-season training kicked o° in February and it is encouraging to see good numbers.

There is a familiar look about the squads, but there are also a number of new players in both the Premier and Reserve line-ups.

The Premiers had arranged two pre-season games but

unfortunately both have had to be cancelled due to players having Covid.

The players are currently reaping the beneÿ ts of the club’s investment in an independent water supply and the playing surfaces are in excellent condition.

Carterton welcomes any new members as players, administrators or supporters.

All of the Wairarapa’s rugby clubs are struggling to ÿ nd players at the moment, Steve says. “There are a number of reasons for this. One is covid and a di° erent society.

“There are a lot of pressures on employees - play a game of rugby versus work. Work is always going to win.

“Also, we haven’t had full seasons for the last two years. And there is a lot of competition for people’s time.

“I think rugby is realising this, and certainly there are e° orts to promote rugby and get more people into the game, especially families and women.

“Women’s rugby is a big thing, with Wairarapa having its own team with players from throughout the region.”

Steve’s involvement with the

game goes all the way back to his school days at St Joseph’s College in Masterton (now Chanel).

His family’s involvement with the Carterton Rugby Club –going back to his grandfather –meant Steve was always going to play for the club.

Since 1982 he has been a player, coach, chairman, and president for the past eight years.

CARTERTON rugby football club

CONTACTS

One of the signiÿ cant features of the club, Steve says, is its commitment to the principles of “Commitment, Trust, Brotherhood” or CTB as it is known amongst the players, coaches and management.

“The players drive it and we really try and build on it each year. We are far from perfect and make mistakes, but it is a reminder of what we expect from people.”

2022

MEET YOUR LOCAL RUGBY CLUB

A HALF CENTURY OF SUPPORTING EKE

Denis Dougherty can remember when rugby was all-pervasive right through Wairarapa culture in the 1970s and early 1980s, with some “real ding dong battles against teams like Greytown and Carterton. In those days it was a tight and tense campaign.”

Denis has been involved with Eketahuna Rugby Club for nearly 50 years, starting as a player in 1973 and going on to be coach, manager, vicepresident, president, and now committee member and keen sideline supporter.

Denis was a border at St Joseph’s College in Masterton (now Chanel) when rugby was the school’s second religion, with teams coached by the ÿ ercely competitive Marist brothers.

Now a retired farmer, Denis naturally played for the club that was closest to the family farm from 1973 to 1985, playing every back position apart from “left right out” before settling in as fullback.

He then became assistant coach of the Colts and later

the Premier side, but Denis feels his “most inspired decision” was encouraging Graham Cheetham to take over coaching the Premiers.

“We won the championship three years in a row from 2003

to 2005 and made the ÿ nals in 2006.”

The club went through some positive periods while

Denis was president from 2003 to 2020, at one stage ÿ elding Colts, Under 19s, Premier, Reserve and Women’s teams.

This season Eketahuna will be ÿ elding just the one

Premier side, coached by Craig Pepperell, Graham Cheetham and Chris Osbourne, and managed by Steve Penn.

Denis believes a number of factors have taken their toll on player numbers.

“Work gets in way, Covid of course, and vax mandates meant some players couldn’t play. These sorts of things have made it awkward for all the clubs.”

None of the clubs have Colts or Under 19 teams this season, and Denis thinks “it would be extremely di° cult for any club to start a Colt or U19 team after not having one for a long time. There is no-one to build a team around.

“It would need three or four high proÿ le, well-qualiÿ ed and very competent people to be involved in setting one up.”

Denis is watching with interest the creation of a non-club a° liated Wairarapa women’s rugby team, and thinks a similar approach might work for a Colt or Under 19 team. While the number of players has shrunk, he thinks those still involved in the local competitions “are doing it for the right reasons.”

These days though, Denis mostly just enjoys his rugby from the sidelines. “It’s nice to relax, watch, talk and listen.”

Country rugby clubs like Eketahuna are still part of their communities, and play an important social role, especially for farmers and farm workers, Denis believes.

“It’s a reason to get o˛ the farm and see people who you haven’t seen for a few weeks.”

CONTACTS

Eketahuna will be ÿ elding just the one Premier side this season, coached by Craig Pepperell, Graham Cheetham and Chris Osbourne, and managed by Steve Penn. Last year the team played well at the start of the season but then got caught out with injuries through the back half of the season, ÿ nishing sixth. The team has lost a couple of players since then, but looks to have more players at the start of this season than it

did last year, says club president Blair Percy.

“Forward and back numbers are both looking good. We will

have good cover when we get to the back end of the season.

“We also have the strongest coach and manager set up in a long time.”

One of the strengths of the team is the commitment of the players, Blair says.

“They travel long distances because they like to play for this club - only one player actually lives in Eketahuna.

“The sponsors are very loyal, and the after-match food is second-to-none.”

Photos/Steve Penn

GREYTOWN Rugby Football Club

2022

MEET YOUR LOCAL RUGBY CLUB

Last year the Greytown Premier team went through the club season undefeated, for the ÿ rst time in Greytown’s known history.

And claimed a heap of silverware along the way including the inaugural Lane Penn Cup, and Moose Kapene Cup.

Like most clubs, Covid has thrown some curve balls at Greytown since then.

However, Greytown Rugby Club continues to adapt, learn and grow, says club life member Tavita Isaac.

“Both our senior and junior teams are well-positioned heading into the 2022 season.”

While the Premier team has lost a number of notable players from the 2021 season, they have managed to maintain a decent core and even pick up a couple of new and returning faces,

Tavita says.

“Gracyn Evans is fresh back to the team and looks exciting at full back. A trio of dynamic and experienced loose forwards in Matty Gain, Setty Sammons and Chaz Matthews are also back this

SEVEN DECADES OF GREYTOWN RUGBY

Rob “Spike” Saxton’s association with Greytown Rugby Club goes all the way back to the late 1940s.

“They were called the midgets back then. I was six or seven. went right through to the seniors till around 1965 or 1966 as a loose forward.

of it’s strengths.”

Spike has been on the committee of the club, its vice president, and his two sons played for it.

season and set to make a big impact.

“Mark Childs will again be at the coaching helm, this year ° anked by forwards coach Jon Tanner.

“Laury Matthews and

Brady Bingham will again be running the cutter for the Reserves team and will be looking to be a real contender in that grade.

Like every club, Greytown has its battles, Tavita says, “but we are very fortunate to have an amazing committee navigate our club.

“As a club we promote whanau ora - belonging and team work. We have a rich history and our clubroom walls are decorated with the names and pictures of individuals and teams that have paved the way to the successes of our club.”

“But I kept on having injuries which is when I stopped. was spending more time on the sidelines than on the paddock so I thought there was a message there that my playing days were over.

“Back in those days there was no tv and pretty well everyone played some sort of sport,” Spike remembers.

Greytown has always been a strong club. It’s never gone into receivership. It’s always been a family club like most small town clubs are, with good people behind it. It has good people running the club now. That’s one

Greytown has had a very good last decade, always making the semi-ÿ nal, ÿ nals, and being winners of the Premier division, last year going through the season unbeaten.

Spike believes the loyalty of the club’s players has had a lot to do with its success.

“Most players stick with the club if they started with it, unless they move outside the Wairarapa, and we have quite a few

players from other parts of the Wairarapa.

“The club also has a good supporter base with good turn outs for matches.”

For Spike, the club is an important part of his life.

“I’m there for rugby in the winter, and cricket in the summer.”

Photos/Kylie Evans, Laughing Owl Amateur Photography

Photo/Kylie Evans, Laughing Owl Amateur Photography

GREYTOWN rugby football club

GLADSTONE Rugby Football Club

2022

MEET YOUR LOCAL RUGBY CLUB

NEW COACH KEEN TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE

Gladstone’s Premier side struggled a bit last year, but still managed to make the semi-ÿ nals, “which is pretty good considering the rebuilding we had to do at the beginning of the season, says club president Andrew McKay.

This year the club will again be ÿ elding Premier and Reserve teams.

“We’ve got the same situation again, building player numbers up a little bit, but we’ve got a core of committed players and we will get going as the season goes along.”

A big change for the Premiers are two new coaches - Stan Wright as head coach and Charlie Bargh as assistant coach.

The Reserves coaches are Shaun Pollard and Rob Allenson.

Steve Thompson has retired from many years as coach of the Premier side but is now the club’s patron.

He also continues his commitment to the beautiÿ cation of the Gladstone Sports Complex, and organised the clean-up of ° ood damage to the

grounds a few months ago.

“As always, we are extremely grateful for the support that we receive from our loyal sponsors – without them we simply would not be around as a club and their support both ÿ nancially and in other ways all helps to ensure we can continue to be a vital part of the rural Gladstone community.

“Likewise our supporters are a loyal bunch and we look forward to having a strong presence on the side-lines at all Gladstone games again in 2022.

“We can’t wait for the 2022 season to commence and look forward to catching up with all members of the Wairarapa Bush rugby community again in the coming months,” says Andrew.

The retirement of Steve Thompson from coaching the Gladstone Premier side left big boots to ÿ ll, but new head coach Stan Wright looks like he will ÿ t into them quite comfortably.

Stan played 318 ÿ rst class games over 15 years as a prop, including for Auckland, Northland, Auckland Blues, Leinster in Ireland, French side Stade Français, and the Cook Islands, where he grew up. It was in France where Stan ÿ rst started coaching and he was forwards coach for the amateur Irish Rugby team Suttonians. In 2016, Stan coached the Under 20s Cook Islands team. He moved to the Wairarapa with his family in that year, attracted by more a˛ ordable homes and good schools, and presently runs his own building company with 15 sta˛ .

CONTACTS

Stan has previously played for Pioneer and Marist but it was co-coach of this year’s Premier side and Masterton building inspector Charlie Bargh, who tempted him into playing for Gladstone last year.

Stan is hoping not to have to play this year but is prepared to get back on the ÿ eld if numbers are short.

He has one main coaching goal:

“The purpose of coaching is for players to ÿ nish the season better players than

they were when it started that’s my philosophy. Hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”

Stan has been impressed by the Gladstone club since he joined it last year.

“Gladstone has a rich history and a good culture. It’s a real family club. Everyone mucks in when the call goes out for a working B.”

Marist is the traditional home for Stan’s rugby playing family, and his son Stan Junior is captain of the Marist Premier side.

Stan himself, is happy to help any team by sharing his knowledge, whether it is Wairarapa-Bush or another club.

“Rugby has set me up for life, so am happy to help anyone. There’s no point in leaving everything I have learned in my head - I’d rather share it around.”

MASTERTON RED STAR Rugby Football Club

2022

MEET YOUR LOCAL RUGBY CLUB

After winning last year’s Senior Reserve competition, expectations are high for this year.

As with all clubs in the Wairarapa, practices have been disrupted by Covid.

There are signs of the second year blues with a few players chasing premier rugby. However, things are gradually returning to normal and 2022 is looking promising.

Coaches Chris Senior and Pete Bresaz are happy with the way the team is coming together, with a squad of approximately 27 players.

Again, we will look to play positive rugby, with the focus on scoring points and giving the ball plenty of air.

The team has a strong core of players from last year with a great mixture of strong ball playing forwards and dynamic backs.

Our club is in a strong ÿ nancial position, thanks to a strong and active committee and many volunteers who contribute when required.

We have recently put 75 ton of topsoil on the southern end of our No. 1 ÿ eld to level the surface.

We are installing new goal posts on our No. 1 ÿ eld and are planning to paint our clubrooms in the near future.

The voluntary work done is incredible - mowing of the grounds, line marking and keeping our clubrooms and grandstand clean and tidy to name a few.

Thanks to our sponsors who have supported our club over the past years you are very much appreciated and contribute to a lot of our projects .

Masterton Red Star have for the last few years endeavoured to get a change to the competition format to make our rugby more competitive, with submissions to the Council of Clubs.

However, there has been a reluctance by clubs for this to happen.

What we have seen is a deterioration in the standard of local rugby and our Heartland

team performing poorly. Fortunately, moves are in place for a change to next year’s competitions.

The club is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in the Wairarapa, with the combinations of premier titles between Masterton and Red Star being the most out of any club in the region.

So with that comes a strong support network. The club also has a strong JAB which builds an amazing whanau community feel. We are more than a club - it is a family on and o° the ÿ eld.

MASTERTON RED STAR

CONTACTS

Barry Todd [President]

P 06 372 6861

E bazrobtodd@hotmail.com

Tania Lindop [Secretary/ Treasurer]

P 021 022 52994

E tania@mbbrown.co.nz

Shane Coley [Club Captain]

P 027 294 6510

E shanepauline2010@ hotmail.com

Chris Senior [Reserves Coach]

P 021 106 7934

E seniorc@chanelcollege. school.nz

FEATHERSTON Rugby Football Club

PIONEER Rugby Football Club

FEATHERSTON

rugby

CONTACTS

Featherston will again be ÿ elding numerous junior teams, including: Rippa, under 9s, under 11s and under 13s. For the Featherston Rugby Club, now in its 144th year, 2022 is a continuation of last year’s great work on developing our junior teams. Our club has a great focus on juniors, who are the future of the club and future of rugby in our region.

Our focus is on providing our players to build on their skills, but also their conÿ dence and social skills.

Beginners are most welcome, as is parental participation.

Lack of numbers mean there will no senior team in 2022. Having recently replaced our old rugby posts and installed a new score board, there is no better time for our community and players past and new, to help build the senior team for the 2023 season. In exciting news, the club has been asked to host inter-regional sports tournaments and games from rugby to cricket to rugby league, netball and football. These groups will utilise the Rugby Club’s facilities through the Property Brokers Featherston Sports Hub. One of our latest initiative has been super popular with whanau – the sports reading corner. A library of 100-plus sports books where kids and big kids can learn and practice their reading skills on a topic they love – sport.

Our committee continues to work hard on upgrading our facilities and training equipment. We are currently looking for new (or upcycled) tackle bags, rugby balls.

In the bigger picture, over the next 18 months we aim to upgrade our ˛ ood lights and install a wheelchair ramp for disability access.

Talk to us if you are willing to donate or keen to help us raise the funds required for these projects.

Want to know more? Check us out on Facebook – Featherston Rugby Club or Sporty.

Marc Van de Loo [President]

P 021 544 545

E featherstonrugby@ gmail.com

Ritchie Wards [Secretary]

P 027 408 7704

E secretary. featherstonrugby@gmail. com

Russell De Ritter [Reserves Coach]

P 021 043 0060

E russell.deritter@gmail. com

Joey St Clair [Reserves Coach]

P 022 630 4728

E sjoe2263@gmail.com

Pa’i Smith [Reserves Manager]

P 022 187 9891

E pai.smith@hegroup.nz

PIONEER rugby football club

CONTACTS

Richard Carroll [President]

P 027 506 7014

E richard@carrollsjoinery. co.nz

Blue Hansen [Vice President]

P 021 189 3701

E mrsblue@xtra.co.nz

Cynthia Du˜ y [Secretary]

P 022 375 8117

E paehou@hotmail.com

Dan Te Tau [Treasurer]

P 027 313 3372

E dan-pioneer@outlook.com

Mana Apiata [Club Captain]

P 021 286 1355

E isaacapiata@gmail.com

Victor Thompson [Premier Coach]

P 027 800 8565

E vic@goldendrop.co.nz

Last year the Pioneer Premier Side grew as a team and our leaders stepped up. We got ourselves into most games, with the opportunity to win some times falling a little short, but ÿ nished with kick to win our ÿ nal game on full time. It was an amazing game by both sides on the day.

The team this season is looking pretty strong, with most players back on deckready, ÿ t and looking forward to another year.

The main strength of this team is that they have been together now for three years and have grown into a pretty tight group, so we are expecting them to do really well.

We have a few new faces that will also add to the mix, with good coaching to keep them grounded.

Pioneer is a community-based club. Our members are very passionate about the club, and can make playing at home a hard job for visiting teams, with our Jean Street faithful.

We also run a variety of other sports, with a real focus on our kids playing as much sport as they can.

We believe that the cost of playing shouldn’t stop anyone from playing with their friends or whanau, mixed in with great coaches to support and grow them for the future.

We have a very strong and passionate committee that works really hard to create opportunities from our little ones to our senior teams and komatua, because we are a community that looks out for each other.

Check our Facebook page “Pioneer Sports Club Masterton” for all information regarding the club’s events.

football club

rugby football club

2021 Masterton Red Star Senior Reserves. Photo/Pete Nikolaison

Old Timer’s Day versus Puketoi

Marist are looking forward to the 2022 season.

This year the Premier team will again be coached by Gerald Lologa and Joe Nuku with Mark Brown as manager and Joe Potongaroa as trainer.

Most of last year’s Premier team are back but they have also gained several promising new players.

The Senior Reserves will be coached by Namu Lopa and Dave Maugatai with Andrew Graham as manager.

Marist JAB are the largest in the JAB in the competition and will be run by Blair Gardner, a stalwart of the club who retired from playing in 2020.

Marist wish all the other clubs a very successful season and looks forward to hosting them at their headquarters in 2022.

rugby football club

CONTACTS

Michelle Beaver [President]

P 027 581 2179

E michellebeaver@xtra.co.nz

Martinborough Rugby Club is looking forward to the 2022 season. Once again we have two Senior teams. Both have been training and numbers are looking good.

MARIST rugby football club

Terry O’Brien [Chairman]

P 027 451 0678

E info@wairarapascrap.co.nz

Kylie Milligan [Secretary]

P 027 480 4003

E keenmilligan@xtra.co.nz

Tony Beech [Treasurer]

P 027 270 9998

E tony@lala.co.nz

[Premier Coaches]

Gerald Laloga

P 021 106 4060

Joe Nuku P 022 040 1760 [Reserves Coaches]

Namu Lopa P 022 385 6227

Dave Maugatai P 027 242 0509

Gerald Ford [Reserves Manager]

P 021 080 66437

E Gerald4ord@gmail.com

Blair Gardner [JAB]

P 027 346 0468

E gardner.blair@gmail.com

With the season starting later than expected, everyone is ready to actually get out there and play some rugby!

Our recent JAB Muster showed good numbers with lots of excited young players looking forward to kicking o˜ . It’s never too late to register if you are keen to play. The link for registrations is www.sporty.

co.nz

All our supporters are welcome to pop into our clubrooms for home games. We will have hot food available to keep you warm on the sideline.

The bar will be open to members and their guests. If you are interested in a supporters membership, just ask one of our friendly bar sta˜ .

As always, thanks to all our sponsors, volunteers and committee members who devote their precious time to keep the teams on the ÿ eld and the Club alive.

You can keep up to date via our website, Facebook & Instagram pages, as well as by subscribing to our newsletters.

MARTINBOROUGH

CONTACTS

Rachel Colton [President]

P 027 693 29601

E benview@xtra.co.nz

Louise Henderson [Secretary]

P 027 230 4925

E admin@martinborough rugbyclub.co.nz

Ana-May Gudsell [JAB Delegate]

P 027 4526504

E ana@bellst.co.nz

James Bruce [Premier Coach]

P 027 277 2962

E jamesbruce@xtra.co.nz

Pip Sutherland [Premier Manager]

P 06 306 9192

E pipsuesutherland@xtra. co.nz

Ayden Lambert [Premier Reserves Coach]

P 027 6425656

E lambertayden@gmail. com

Michael Lambert [Premier Reserves Manager]

E lamberts˛ ooringltd@ gmail.com

MARIST Rugby Football Club

TUHIRANGI Rugby Football Club

CONTACTS

Wayne Jephson [Chairman]

Ken Aburn [Club President]

P 027 444 8172

2022

MEET YOUR LOCAL RUGBY CLUB

The North Island’s most southern rugby club, Tuhirangi was started in 1904.

Our home ground is situated in the wee village called Pirinoa. Marcus Edge kindly lets us use the ÿ eld each year that stock have grazed, so there can be the odd poo the boys try to avoid.

Our clubrooms are up at the Pirinoa Hall. Our players mostly consist of farmers who are local, or blokes that travel up to an hour to be part of our humble wee club.

We are lucky to get a huge amount of support from our community, and of course our amazing sponsors which have helped kept us running throughout these Covid times. So a special mention to these guys - A Donaldson Livestock, A F Scott Contracting, Bayleys, Brushstrokes, Gleniti Romneys, Harvestit, JB Earthmoving, Johnson Bros, Martinborough Transport, Pakohe Lime, Petersen Livestock, Sargent

Motorcycles, Tunnell Tyres, Wrightsons, Gordon the Mailman, Greytown Butchery Palliser Ridge, Pirinoa Country Store, Rahu Ruru, Waimeha Camp Ground.

Tuhirangi club consist of our Senior Reserves team, and our Tuhirangi JAB teams which are made up of children from Kahutara School, Pirinoa School and Martinborough School.

Last year our Senior Reserves made the ÿ nals against Masterton Red Star.

The two teams gave the crowd a fantastic ÿ nale to watch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Tuhirangi’s day. We hope to give it a good crack this season.

Raising funds for the club is done through crutching, silage stacks, and Ngawi Big 3 which unfortunately was cancelled due to the big C.

A signiÿ cant part of our history is helping the 1987 All Blacks prepare for the Rugby World Cup by billeting them amongst the local community. We did the same for the Wellington Lions a couple of years ago. We are well-known for our delicious clubroom meals, done by Carmen and her merry team in the kitchen. We have a great committee who do a lot behind the scenes to keep everything going smoothly.

E kjaburn@slingshot.co.nz

Hanna Finlayson [Treasurer]

P 027 420 5696

E hanna.wyeth@gmail. com

Scarlett Boyle [Secretary]

P 027 635 1274

E trfc@hotmail.co.nz

Kurt Portas [Club Captain]

P 027 427 6604

E kurtp@hotmail.com

Scott Dormer [Reserves Manager]

P 027 312 2174

E scott.dormer@hotmail. co.nz

Tim Roberts [Reserves Coach]

P 027 816 6288

E timroberts722@gmail. com

TUHIRANGI rugby football club