Hi ,

Another pre-season has finished and the 2026 season is now upon us.

Tawa finished their pre-season against Linwood RFC from Christchurch on Saturday at the home of rugby Lyndhurst Park. Linwood were like Tawa - last year's beaten championship finalists - and showed that they will be hard to beat with a convincing all-round display against the home team.

Tawa played the wider squad in this one game to ensure everyone got some game time prior to the start of the competition next week and showed a wide arrange of skills between back and forwards which should make for an exciting brand of footy to watch this season.

In other news.

The playing surface was in good condition and has improved noticeably from earlier in the year following a meeting between the club and WCC Parks team. Further work is planned on the embankment side to improve the drainage. The wider surrounds (and clubrooms) also looked outstanding following the club member working bee on Sunday week. A big thank you to all the volunteers that turned up.

There has been an extensive review completed on the future of the Premier Mens competition from 2027. Different formats were suggested involving 10, 12, and 14 teams, with 14 teams ultimately being the format the majority of clubs preferred.

At the time writing, clubs were voting on the format the competition should take This should be decided within the next week. 

Tawa’s first match for the Swindale Shield is against Petone at the Petone Rec next Saturday with the Premier Reserves playing the earlier match. This should be a good test of where we are at as Petone are a club that are always at the forefront of any competition that they play in.

Our Colts kick off their comp away against Upper Hutt at Maidstone Park, with a 1.00pm kick-off.

Let’s get out in force next Saturday and support our teams away from home.

Steve Rogers

President