NZ Club Rugby 2024 ( General)
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Tomorrow at 11:20am on Sky Sport 2 there is coverage of Ponsonby vs Petone in celebration of Ponies 150 years anniversary. These two clubs have played a traditional preseason game for many years. I remember watching them back in the seventies and eighties. I think the first time i saw Murray Mexted play live was in one of those games, he was brilliant and basically beat us single handedly.
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@Daffy-Jaffy Friday 3pm live Sky Sports 2
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Waikato club rugby starts this weekend. Usual teams in Premier grade. Division one is the grade my club Te Rapa is in, one more team with Kereone coming up. Division 2 is gone. Talk that Old Boys Guzzlers might play the Div 1 Bye team. Colts and U85 grades about the same. A bit of growth in the women's grade with a smaller prem grade and the rest in the championship grade. Looks like 3 or 4 new teams including Waitete from Pine tree country. A bit of growth in the Presidents grade and more travel needed for us city based folk with 4 new teams from all corners of the province.
Some country and small town clubs are dying or are in recess at senior level. Te Akau, Northern and Matangi-Hillcrest havent had teams for a few years. Whatawhata and Jaradites more recently have gone quiet. Ngaruawahia, Te Awamutu Marist and Huntly have Presidents teams and sometime have junior teams. Raglan has only had junior teams lately. Te Kowhai is one club that might grow. They have a junior club and started up a Presidents team a few years ago.
I am doing a bit of registrations admin for my club Te Rapa and will be running around with the Prezzies again. We have a new coach over from Fraser Tech B's and he has brought over a bunch of players with some having decent premier grade experience, so hopefully we can push to be in the top half of Division one for a change.
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Counties club rugby also starts this weekend. 7 clubs in the Premier grade, that hasn't changed for a while. They all have development teams that play in their own grade. The country and small town clubs have recovered since Covid and they all play in the Championship grade with no reserves team needed. Drury, Weymouth are the City clubs with Manurewa the only club with a C team. Onewhero and Waiuku in my opinion the most likely to push to go back in to prems if they can get their player numbers up in the future.
Beachlands Maraetai is the only club without a senior team but have consistently had an U85's team and junior teams. U85's and colts teams are about the same. Manurewa Women the only premier team in the Auckland comp, the rest in the Development grade with Karaka a new team.
For the first time in a long time there will be an U19's grade with teams from all parts of the province and Puketapapa Roskill Sports from Auckland. I will follow Tuakau/Onewhero/Te Kohanga combined. They have been well supported by Liam Daniela and the union running a 6 week youth rugby development program based out of Tuakau and at the stadium. The core of the team would be out of the two time champion Onewhero AS/ Tuakau College teams of the past two years.
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What is Cam Church like?
Players to watch this McNamara Cup season - Counties Sports Hub
Cohen Brady-Leathem (Patumahoe)The youngster burst onto the scene last year to not only play for his club side but to make the Steelers NPC team as well. Used primarily at fullback by Patumahoe, he starred for the Steelers in the number nine jumper and will be one to watch this year. Adam Brash...
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@mikedogz said in NZ Club Rugby 2024 ( General):
Waikato club rugby starts this weekend.
I was thinking of watching a half each from a couple of games, just to see who is playing. I see that Jackson Willison has moved back to coaching his old club (Hautapu) from TA Sports. Hamilton Burr must be a player/asst coach.
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@mikedogz said in NZ Club Rugby 2024 ( General):
What is Cam Church like?
He was a very good no.7 at schoolboy level, and the best of a NZ Schools loose forward trio that included Segner and Ekuasi. I don't think he has cracked the Auckland squad so probably a good move.
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I went along to watch the Hamilton Old Boys-Hautapu game, which was the marquee game in Rd 1. Gideon Wrampling played the full game for HOB at 2nd 5. There were a few young players from the Chiefs U20s spread across both teams. Hautapu ended up winning 32-24 with a late penalty to deny HOB a BP.
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Counties Energy Senior Club Rugby Results - Saturday 6 April 2024
McNamara Cup (Premier Men’s):
Karaka 44-27 Manurewa
Pukekohe 86-0 Ardmore Marist
Patumahoe 32-20 Papakura
Bombay BYEMixed results for my home district club Onewhero, two losses for the stand alone teams but the combined 19's team smashed Puke 64 to 3.
A few Super rugby guys running around in counties club rugby. Jack Lam, Kaivelata, Motunga.
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A little on the different side but I attended the Maraenui v NTOB Division 2 clash at Maraenui Park today. The game ended at 23 - 23 after 2 penalties in the last three minutes (one to each side) with the Maraenui one coming right on full time. Naturally I was disappointed about that!
As it was an early game all of my guys must have departed to watch the NTOB Premiers get hammered by Taradale at Taradale. Not me though as I adjourned to the Maraenui clubrooms to do what is expected of visiting teams and supporters. Sadly I was disappointed to discover that I was to be the only NTOB representative in the good number of people in the clubrooms. I am sure pleased that I did as they made me feel most welcome and certainly looked after me even finding somewhere for me to securely store my pushbike - no worries about drink driving! - away safely (only HB people will understand the reasons for that!!!!!). Just had to buy 2 beers of the about six or seven that I consumed (and that does not count the NTOB player of the Day one by default!). I therefore rank Maraenui Rugby & Sports Club right alongside Northern United in Porirua as the most hospitable of rugby clubs that I have visited in NZ (and there must be over 100 on the list).
It turns out that I found out my Uncle was Patron of Maraenui at one stage (something that I was completely unaware of) not long before I had to depart but that certainly did not factor into my ranking. Thank you Maraenui for the magnificent hospitality, I will certainly be back. -
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Rugby game turns violent: Knives brandished on rugby field, team van shot at
A photo shows the van with close to 50 holes in its back window.
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@Machpants said in NZ Club Rugby 2024 ( General):
Fuck me, that club should be closed permanently
I think that is extremely short sighted and reactionary. Tamatea as a club actually has a recent history of keeping young Maori from the gangs.
