Kia ora ,

I was at my daughter's place on Saturday morning and three of my grandchildren turned up with beaming smiles after their first game of rippa rugby. They actually had a BYE, but were co-opted into another team who were short. You couldn’t wipe the smile off Anna’s face, who scored six tries in her first match and got Player of the Day. Probably more tries than her Pop scored in his whole career!

Very proud Pop.

It was great to see so many old faces come down to the home of rugby Lyndhurst Park last Saturday to watch the top of the table clash against OBU and it wasn’t even Old Timers Day.

The stay started off well with the Premier 2s dominiating OBU to win convincingly 74 - 17. This on top of the Ducks beating HOBM away 69 - 7 and the Colts beating OBU 24 - 19 set us up nicely for the main game.

Our only loss were the Reserves, who went down to Pōneke 21 - 5, but I’m sure they would have done us proud at the after match.

Onto the Premier match. It was great to see Hugo Plummer and Matolu Petaia released by the Hurricanes - and a bonus that another Hurricane Vernon Bason chose to get some much-needed game minutes for Tawa, as his club side in Palmerston North had a BYE.

The game lived up to its billing. Tawa played with a slight breeze in the first half and led 14 - 7 at the break. Tawa were dominant in the forward exchanges, but OBU threatened every time they had the ball in hand.

It was 21 - all with 20 mins to go after OBU flanker ran 80 meters to score under the sticks. Tawa supporters were nervous as it looked as though OBU may run Tawa off its feet. However it was the Tawa pack that stepped up, led by Matolu Petaia, Hemi Fermanis, Tito Ioane, and George Risale. Weston Sao and Vernon Bason (after his 10 min sin bin) stepped up big time, alongside the pin point goal kicking of Solomona Uelese, who nailed four conversions and two penalties which ultimately made the difference.

With time up, OBU were hammering our line for what seemed an age when OBU knocked on, and the game was over with Tawa leading 31 - 26. There was much relief amongst the players and supporters.

The result has left the Swindale Shield competition wide open with only three points separating the top four teams and Paremata-Plimmerton, although seven points back, having a game in hand.

It was great to see the clubrooms packed afterwards, especially when Randall Bishop came forward to be acknowledged as our latest member of the 200 Premier game club alongside Tawa legend Juinor Togia.

The Tawa haka, which has players from all our teams involved, was a truly memorable occasion, and it's moments like these that make club footy special.

Next week we are away to HOBM who sit with us in second place. HOBM are the current Jubilee Cup champions. Yes, the team that beat us in last year's final, and it's also their Old Timers Day, if we didn’t need any more motivation!

Other games:

Premier 2s v HOBM at Hutt Rec 1 at 1.00pm

Colts v HOBM at Hutt Rec 2 at 1.00pm

Ducks v Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngāti Toa 1 at 2.45pm

Reserves v Stokes Valley at Lyndhurst Park at 2.45pm

If you can’t make it to the footy this weekend, don’t forget that it is our Old Timers Day against close neighbour Johnsonville on Saturday 16 May. 

Start contacting old associates to bring them down and put the date in your calendar now.

And in advance of this Sunday - happy Mother's Day to all the mums in our Tawa RFC whānau! Our club is stronger for all the mums and grandmothers who show up week on week to support. Enjoy your special day. 

Steve Rogers

President

JUNIOR SPOTLIGHT

It’s fantastic to see all our teams getting out and into their games for the first weekend of junior rugby! A huge shout out goes to our dedicated junior committee for the countless hours spent behind the scenes to make this happen. Your hard work and commitment do not go unnoticed. 

We also extend our heartfelt thanks to all our coaches, both returning and those embarking on their coaching journey this year. Your passion and guidance are vital in shaping our young players, and your impact on them is not underestimated. 

I had the pleasure of witnessing several games played at Tawa and Redwood on Saturday morning, and all I saw was a sea of kids in red, yellow, and blue with smiles on their faces. It was delightful to see so many of our juniors rallying at Lyndhurst Park to support our senior teams, and a special highlight was seeing our ball kids proudly decked out in their Special Sideline t-shirts. 

This weekend was particularly special, as we welcomed three Hurricanes players into the Premier squad this week, including Tawa's very own Hugo Plummer and Matolu Petaia, alongside newcomer Vernon Bason. True to our club spirit and the Hurricanes, they took the time to connect with our juniors in the green room after their game, sharing insights about what it means to be a Hurricane and a member of the mighty Tawa club. 

Overall, it was a great first weekend! We would like to express our gratitude to all our sponsors for their ongoing support, which enables our junior club to provide amazing opportunities for our young players to play and belong. 

More to follow on our sponsors in future newsletters. 

Our very own Nursery “Nippers” grade return next week! After an outstanding first year, we are thrilled to offer this grade again this season with even more 2-7 year-olds registering to start their journey of learning the game and becoming part of our club. With the introduction of this grade, we now have an extra two new teams in our 0/1 Rippa grade this year, made up of kids who graduated and moved up. This is fantastic for our club and a crucial step in building our junior pathway. 

Here’s to a successful and exciting season ahead for our junior rugby teams!

Tawa Junior Convenors