A HALF CENTURY OF SUPPORTING EKE

CAPTURING EAST COAST

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.