A very special occasion

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“This is a very special occasion for me being here at the Wainuiomata Rugby Club,” Tui said at the opening.

New Zealand has had international success with both the Black Ferns and the All Blacks.

“And it all starts here at club Rugby.

“The Wainuiomata Rugby Club is a really special place in that it is a really welcoming community.”

Noting that the upgrade had been designed and implemented to help cater for women’s rugby, Ruby noted that the growth in the women’s game had been “exponential” during recent years.

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She predicted that the growth would continue “in a way that we can’t understand. The feeling I have around that is an excitement.

“The next five or 10 years is going to be so exciting for me, and it all starts here at club rugby.”

Ruby also said a big “thank you” to the tamariki (and there were many) for being at the grand opening.

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“You are the future of our game,” she said.

“The influence of women coming into the Wainuiomata Rugby Club has been a godsend,” Ian Jones told the “Wainuiomata News”

”They bring a lot of joy to the club,” he said.

The Wainuiomata Rugby Club “making the changing room more comfortable for women has been wonderful.”

Ian has great memories of the Wainuiomata Rugby Club from his time as an All Black.

“We trained here with the All Blacks, and it’s nice to come back.

“I love club rugby. It’s the foundation of our sport. We need to invest a lot of our time and energy and money into this level of the game,” Ian said.

Wainuiomata was one of 10 rugby clubs to receive Bunnings Rugby Assist grants and all 10 had upgraded their changing rooms for the benefit of women players. The Wainuiomata club received a $30,000 Bunnings Rugby Assist Grant, with the money going towards the changing area upgrade.

Before the upgrade there was no separation for men and women in either the showers or the toilets.

The changing room had originally been designed just for men, with open showers and just the one toilet area.

Following the upgrade, there is now a partition between the men’s and the women’s shower areas and shower curtains have been installed. There are also separate toilets for men and women. Local businesses also helped complete the clubrooms renovations – Andrew Harrison, L A Building Ltd and Luke Shields of Proflow Plumbing and Gas.

Last year the club had one women’s team, and it is currently looking to put together a women’s team to play again this year. However it needs more women in order to field a team in 2023. For more information, or to join, contact Moana Kuma on 022 593 7703, or at moana.kuma@ gmail.com.