Weekly Newsletter

Published: Tue, 06/10/25

Updated: Tue, 06/10/25

Hi ,

Greetings all,

I arrived back in Welly after three weeks of 25 - 30 degrees in Vanuatu, to five degrees on a windswept Hataitai Park! I suppose footy is a winter game.

Mixed rugby results with the Canes not quite being able to get the job done in Canberra and the Blues getting across the Chiefs at the death. Contrasting games but both having supporters glued to the box until the final whistle.

Tawa had a clean sweep for the day.

The Ducks beat OBU 12 - 10 to win the first round and Tawa’s first silverware for the year, the JC Bowl. No team photo due to weather conditions - but congratulations!

Reserve Grade kept their current momentum with an excellent 32 - 18 win over Johnsonville Cripples in the first game of the second round.

The Premier 2s won their fourth game on the trot, with a convincing 78 - 0 win against Wellington who ended the game with eleven men, and cemented their place in the top eight.

The Premiers dominated their game against a tenacious Wellington. They played with a strong wind in the first half in what could only be described as a bog at Hataitai, turning around ahead 19 - 5 at half time. In the second half, although spending significant periods of time within striking distance of the try line, they were unable to convert. Wellington took their limited opportunities with a well-taken try at the death, with a finishing score of 19 - 12. Although disappointing to not get a bonus point, the win also cements the team's position in the top eight with three games to go before the play-offs.

Next week, we take on Johnsonville at Helston Road for the Carmen Cup and bragging rights for top side in the western bays with Paramata-Plimmerton to go. This is one of our traditional fixtures with both teams within a point of each other on the table and only a win from being second on the table - that’s how tight the table is.

Banquet for the week is our Colts team and management. The Colts regularly have a BYE and instead of putting their feet up they make themselves available for the other teams in the club. A great experience for the players and is what a club is all about. Thank you.

Brickbat goes to the Wellington Union who, with less than two months of the season to go, sought feedback from the clubs to bring the club finals day forward a week to allow the contracted Lions to play in them. The club position is that the season is short enough anyway and tampering with the play-off at this late stage just discredits the value of the competition.

See you all this weekend.

Steve Rogers

President

JUNIOR SPOTLIGHT - NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR RUGBY FESTIVAL

Tawa's Leman Smeith Yr 5 tackle team entered the New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival Wellington at Trentham Memorial Park on Sunday. Although the weather forecast was wet and cold, we were blessed with a beautiful sunny winter day.

Entering the festival was an awesome opportunity for our team to play against other teams outside of our zone. Also pleasing was coming up against some really tough teams and players who definitely tested our tamariki and helped us to see areas of further focus and opportunity, particularly defensively. All games at various stages were a battle and tight contest.

Scores are:

Game 1 v Petone King Toyota, Tawa 6-2 (2-2 HT)

Game 2 v Wainui Wairaki, Tawa 3-1 (1-1 HT)

Game 3 v Marty/Tuhirangi, Tawa 5-3 (HT Tawa 2-0)

Game 4 v Stokes Valley Rhinos, Tawa 5-3 (HT Tawa 5-1)

Big thanks to coach T for entering our team, pre-game comms, reffing, coaching, team talks, and encouragement. To both Lisa and Coach T for food for the team, gazebo, and tarp, and to Nickole and Tim for gazebo and tarp/ground covers. Big thanks also to all of our whānau for your support, encouragement, and presence.

Finally, well done to Zoey Paraha and Kopo Chongnee-Uelese who were awarded tournament players for Tawa. We were proud of you and all our tamariki today.

UPCOMING GAMES | SATURDAY 14 JUNE

Grade	Home Team	Away Team	Location	Time
Premier	Johnsonville	Tawa	Helston Park 1	2.45pm
Premier 2	Johnsonville	Tawa	Helston Park 1	1.00pm
Colts	Tawa	OBU	Lyndhurst Park 1	1.00pm
85s	Wellington	Tawa	MacAlister Park 1	1.00pm
Reserve Grade	Tawa	Marist St Pats	Lyndhurst Park 1	2.45pm

Thank you,

Tawa Rugby Football Club

23A Lyndhurst Road, Tawa 5028, NEW ZEALAND

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