Chairpersons Update

This week Tukapa puts up the Dan Obrien Shield and the Barnham Shield. These two shields mean a lot to the club and to me personally, they are up there with the McMasters as the ones we don’t want to lose. As most of our more experienced members would say, we hate "losing to those Star Basta...s," and that is why this Saturday we need all the support we can get to cheer on our teams playing at 1pm and also our Premiers at 2.45pm.

We also have Whanau day, with a bouncy castle to keep the kids entertained while you watch the rugby. Following the rugby we have Nathan on his guitar from 4pm to 7pm. Our café will be open with Nelsons pies, Proof and Stock coffee and other great products. Paul in the upstairs kitchen will be feeding the teams and is happy to sell meals to the public as well.

Last week was the 1st of the season to have all our teams get the Win and we are hoping for the same this week.

This week we have had a change on our board with Paul Meuli stepping down because of a full schedule of other commitments, so we welcome Reece Hannam to the board. Reece has been a great club man since way back and now that he has hung up his boots he is ready to give back to the club and keep us moving forward.

We thank Paul Meuli for his time given over the many years of being a board member and the good news is he is happy to continue as the ground announcer and also club historian. So we will still get to hear Te Puke New World for a few more seasons yet.

Anyone following our social media will see that we now have an under 85kg team competing in the national competition, our 1st game is in Hamilton on Sunday 6 June 2021. This team is made up of all past and present Tukapa players that are under 85kg in weight and will be training on a Tuesday night after their normal rugby training. Thank you to NZ Forestry for coming on board as our naming rights sponsor. Our under 85’s are now known as the NZ Forestry Tukapa Bantams. We will be running a supporters bus to Hamilton and as long as we can find accommodation will be making a night of it.

The Premiers are still working hard on selling beanies and have a few left to go so please hit them up and support their fundraiser.

Some maybe aware the Taranaki Rugby Union have a survey out at the moment focusing on the future of club rugby and how people would like our game shaped for the next 10 years.

Please take 5 minutes to fill out the survey to register your say. We as Chairpersons are relying on this survey to help make a call on shorter seasons and night rugby for example.

We have had a really good up take on our social memberships this year and would like to keep building numbers. If you are not a paid up member of the club please click the membership button below and join up. Without financial support from our social members, we can’t do what we do as a club.

The start of the Burger Fuel Ferdie Rugby is this week and we'll see all our Juniors taking the fields from 9.30am, our café will be open from 8.45am for your coffee fix. Last week we had a pre season against NPOB at Sanders Park with close on 300 kids running around. I would like to give a big thank you to Darryn Jones for the work he has been doing for Junior rugby this year. This man dedicates a huge amount of hours to our club, So thank you Darryn you are doing a great job keep it up.

Tukapa has signed up to the CommUnity initiative. Register as a CommUnity Member and every time you shop at a participating CommUnity Merchant, paying for your purchases directly from your bank account or by using any of your eftpos, debit or credit cards, a percentage of each transaction will be passed onto our Club. Current Merchant’s in New Plymouth are Kingsway, Good Home, Crowded House, Stumble Inn, King & Queen. Keen to know more, click on this link: How Does it Work and/or sign up to become a CommUnity Member. The more club members who sign up and support the current merchants the more money our club gets.

Ok Smoko is over and it is time to put the tool belt back on and do some work, I look forward to seeing you all Saturday and Thank you for being true Blue and White supporters.

Blue and White for Life your chairperson Scott Siffleet

Chairpersons Update

Well, it looks as though the sun is going to turn it on for our big day this Saturday, we are up against Clifton and it’s Old Timers Day. The Social Committee has worked hard securing a music package to ensure everyone can rock on well into the night.

Last week our Premiers managed to scrape through with a one-point win but looked strong in the second half and could have quite easily won by more. However, to get a one-point win over any NPOB team is a job well done. 

Our Div 1 and Colts teams are building with confidence and increasing player numbers each week. The team spirit in both camps is good with the fellas enjoying their rugby, and it is only a matter of time before the results will follow.

The Div 2 fellas had a good trip away to Patea and managed to get 16 players on the field. The result did not go their way but they had one hell of a good time on the bus. They have a bye this week due to Spotswood pulling out but don’t worry they are going to be involved in Old Timers Day and I am sure you will hear them cheering.

This week our Premiers saw the return to training, and hopefully a return to the 22, for several of our injured players with Nathaniel Peters, Issac Kneepkens, Santana Marshall and Reuben Mcleod all back training at 100% this week. Also, we have been told that Jacob Kneepkens has been released for 40 mins of play so we look forward to welcoming Jacob back into the Blue and White hoops.

I cannot wait to see who the Coaches put in what positions this week, it should make for an exciting brand of footy.

The Social Committee has put a lot of work into this Saturday’s entertainment and we want to pack the Chook House out so be sure to invite all your friends along for a good old-fashioned Club party. Anyone and everyone are welcome..

Most of you would have seen we now have a shipping container with rooms at halfway. When finished two thirds will house a corporate box. The corporate box will be available to hire during home games and comes with a hospitality package. The other third is our live stream production centre, looked after by the Riddlez team, and we are lucky enough to have Kevin Gledhill as commentator to add to a particularly good live streaming product and in my mind, it is up there with Sky Sports.

Be sure if you cannot make the game this weekend "Click Here" and like our Facebook page and the game will come up on your feed when the live stream goes live so you can still see the Egmont Seeds Premiers in action.

We have had a few questions about Club Clothing so please Click Here or go into Kingsway Menswear to order. We only have umbrellas and a few hats for sale at the club.

The Premiers are also still selling Beanies to raise money for their season. I am told they are only a couple of weeks away but be sure to hit Dan Johanson, the Premier Manager, up if you would like one.

Registrations for Junior Rugby are all but closed off but if you have a child or grandchild that wants to play be sure to get them registered in the next few days with Darryn Jones 027 801 1729.

Social memberships are now due. You can pay your subscription over the top bar.

I look forward to catching up with you all on Saturday and hearing all those Good Old Days stories.

Your Chairperson Scott Siffleet, Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Update

As I sit in the club house over looking our great home ground of Sanders Park I see the chief ground keeper (Jim Cameron) walking around the ground checking on all the lines on every field.

I start thinking of what a great team of volunteers we have, and then think, you know we rely on that same team of volunteers week in and week out to run our club, if only we had more hands to help out, we could really be a club to be admired.

It's simple really, if you see someone packing up the fields after the game go down and give them a hand, if you see the windows are dirty offer to clean them.

If there is a table of empty glasses clear them away. If there is a wall that you think needs painting offer to paint it.

Try to be proactive and don't just sit back and then say "I would have helped if you had of asked me."

The list of jobs that keeps our club looking good is an on going battle and if we can all help out and not just leave it to a few people it will make it easy for everyone of us to enjoy our surroundings while we have a beer together.

Last week we had Sponsors day and celebrated another great group of people that all contribute to give Tukapa a service or financial gain so we can look after our teams and the club. Through sponsorship we provide, buses, jerseys, team gear, meals, new toilets, new lights and the list goes on. Most of our sponsors have been with us for many years so please be sure to have a read at the bottom of this email and make sure wherever you can you support our sponsors by shopping with them and not their opposition.

This week our Egmont Seeds Premiers, Arabac Colts and NZ Sparky Div 1 are all playing away at the White House (Vogeltown Park) against NPOB. Our Premiers will be defending the Ibbotson Memorial Cup and we really don’t want to break our complete set of silverware so I am sure our fellas will give it all they have got to keep our silverware set complete.

Our Gardiner Plumbing Div 2 team travels to Patea for the longest trip of the season, it is always one tough game down there, and is an even tougher bus trip home. If you are in the Div 2 setup please make sure you make a big effort to get on the bus and represent Tukapa well in Patea.

Our next home games are April the 24th and is also Old Timers day. The program will start with happy hour at 12pm followed by a guest speaker at 12.40pm and nibbles will be served at 1.15pm. Be sure to get a late pass and stay on for the live music into the night.

Some of you may have seen our new corporate box on half way and we also have an option for a tent on the deadball line, both of these venues are for hire and come with a package of food and drinks. Be sure to ask me about hiring any of them for your staff or friends at a home game this year.

Junior rugby planning is well underway so be sure to get all keen kids registered ASAP, its not too late yet. We are also looking for coaches in a few grades, the big concern is finding 2 coaches in the under 13 restricted grade. If you can help out or you have any junior rugby questions contact Darryn Jones 027 801 1729

Our café will be open at all Junior rugby and home games, we have a great range of Nelson's pies, Proof and Stock coffee as well as Alex’s home baking for sale, so be sure to buy your lunch when you arrive or get the 1st coffee into you, all profits are going to the club so your support is appreciated.

For all club gear both playing and supporters check out thelockerroom.co.nz or go to Kingsway Menswear to order. We have hats, beanies, and umbrellas for sale in the café and top bar at Tukapa.

With it being Thursday it is time to peel the spuds for the $5 roast in Ash’s tonight and prep for our Small Blacks Coaching Course, I look forward to seeing all the Blue and White support on the sidelines for our away games this week and hopefully having a beer afterwards and saying what great games of rugby they were.

A look at the season ahead

Blue and White for Life your chairperson Scott Siffleet 021 317 331

Chairpersons Update

We are only 4 weeks out from kick off and we are encouraged by the great numbers attending training. All 4 afternoon teams are looking strong.

The week before our first game of the season we have our annual fixture against Poneke at home so this will enable all members and supporters to become familiar with the clubrooms once again and check out the work carried out pre-season to upgrade our team facilities.

Your Egmont Seeds Tukapa Premier Squad 2021 is as follows:

Forwards	Backs
Ricky Riccitelli	Ethan Seed
Liam Bernet	Hayden Chamberlain
Jackson Clarke	Tom Cutler
Brendon Dent	Lukas Halls
Alec Dravitzki	Eli Kneepkens
Luke Dravitzki	Issac Kneepkens
Shaye Hill	Lagen Kumaroa
Josh Hopkins	Santana Marshall
Mairenga Laapo	Henry Miles
Reuben McLeod	Jayson Potroz
Scott Mellow	Mason Porteous
Mike Nyssen	Pomare Samupo
Nathianel Peters	Luke Taplin
Corbin Porteous	Liam Ward
Leighton Price	Jacob Kneepkens
Chris Jollands
Mitchell Croswell

The coaching staff and management have named 32 players ….. this includes Ricky Riccitelli, Chris Jollands , Mitchell Crosswell , Lukas Halls , Jacob Kneepkens who are all out due to Super Rugby or injury. Locki Jones, Alex Perry and Jack Spicer will also train with the Premiers.

Club Projects

As most members and supporters are aware we have a number of projects underway at Tukapa and we are calling for support on Saturday 19th March from 8am to 4pm in the form of a working bee to try and complete some of these jobs. We plan to trench our cables for the lights, lay the rubber flooring in hallway downstairs, paint new changing room area, paint walls in Ash’s bar and do a general clean up, so if you are available to stop by and give us a few hours that would be great.

Team Fundraisers

Below is a couple of team fundraisers that the boys are running to help fund their team operations throughout the coming season. These items should only be ordered through the following contact details.

Premier Squad Beanie Fundraiser

250 available first come first served basis. Paid pre-order sales only. Stock will arrive towards the middle/end of round 1 of the season. Payment by bank transfer to 12-3135-0123458-01, use first & last name as reference and also an order sheet emailed to Daniel.Johanson@mico.co.nz

Download Premier Squad Fundraiser Order-sheet

Div 1 Budgie Smuggler Fundraiser

These magnificent budgie smugglers are only $55 a pair and can be ordered by emailing jackdeluca6@gmail.com

All of our Tukapa supporters merchandise should be available online through Kingsway within the week, we will share a link once it is available.

Season Kicks Off

Our Social Committee has been in talks with Netball and is hoping to release the calendar next week giving the dates of Old Timers Day and other social events during the season. Sponsors Day has been confirmed for our first home game against Stratford/Eltham on 10 April.

Financial Membership

Please remember if you have not paid your membership for 2021 you need to sign the visitor's book to be able to have a drink in the clubhouse.

Register Social Membership Here

Register Senior Membership Here

Register Junior Membership Here

As we keep moving towards week one and working hard to ready for the coming season, if anyone has any concerns please feel free to contact me.

Your chairman Scott Siffleet, Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Update

As the 2021 season gears up we are looking at fielding 4 afternoon grades, however, we are still actively looking for players for the Colts, Division 1, and front-rowers for all grades. Colts players must be under 21 years of age as of 1 January in the given year or can be players who are under 24 years of age at 1st January but who are also under 85kgs.
If you or you know someone wanting to be involved with a great team spirit and fantastic club culture, come along to training on a Tuesday or Thursday at 6 pm. If you would like more information contact Scott Siffleet or message the Tukapa Facebook Page

This year we are very lucky with 6 out of 7 home games where we have all four teams playing at home. Also, keep an eye out as we add in the off-field social events for this year. These are in planning stages with Netball and Rugby Social groups.

Our only Pre Season this year is March 27th against Poneke at home. Poneke is bringing two teams up to play on and off the field.

Club 7’s on Saturday 20th Feb at Rahotu and we have entered a Premier, Colts and a Social team. Keep an eye out on the Tukapa Facebook page for game times and get down the coast to support all teams.

Junior Rugby this year will be headed by Darryn Jones as Junior Convener and Tukapa is committed to trying a new initiative running Rippa Rugby in Saint Joseph’s, Frankley, and Woodleigh Schools at lunchtimes for the month of March with paid staff. The idea behind this is to get more kids involved in Rugby and also build our Junior numbers at Tukapa so in 10 years we still have strong player numbers at the club.

If you have any questions about Junior Rugby contact Darryn on the Junior Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Tukapa-Junior-Rugby-1518558785106272 or Mobile: 027 801 1729

Club Projects

Projects around the Clubhouse to get ready for 2021 have begun and we thank John Spurway from Stonebaths for donating new showerheads in the changing room showers and two new basins in the clubhouse men’s toilets. A quote from Brian Edlin “these are the most flash toilets in all of Taranaki rugby clubs”.

In the changing rooms, we have ripped out the one toilet and urinal that used to service 240 guys on a Saturday and replaced it with new toilets and urinals from Mico and Caroma. This utilises the referee’s room combined into the toilets with a new referee room moving to the old caretaker's shed (Jimmy’s Shed) and Jimmy moving in next door.

We also have rubber flooring donated by Lifestyle Building for the Slippery Tunnel out to the field and hope to install it before the season kicks off.

Our on-going major project, the upgrade to the field lighting begins with an upgrade to field 2 and will get underway in the coming weeks before winter hits. Stage one will be new lighting to field two as well as the power to halfway on field one and wiring for lights to field one. Once we have dates we will be calling for volunteers to help out.

Club Job Vacancies

Tukapa has a number of paid positions to fill. If you are interested or know someone that may be, please get in touch with Scott at chairman@tukapa.co.nz

1. The club is looking for a permanent part-time cleaner. Winter hours are around four hours per week, summer hours are between 1-2 hours per week. Other casual hours may be required after large social events.
2. We are also seeking interest from casual bar staff available on Saturdays during the upcoming rugby season. Please get in touch if interested, or pass on to others who may be keen.
3. We also need two people to make coffee and man the café on a Saturday for 14 weeks of the season.

I intend to contact all our loyal Sponsors in the next 10 days to lock in the 2021 Season. Thank you in advance for making this job easy and giving continued support to Tukapa.

We are currently hard at work building on what we achieved both on and off the field last year to make Tukapa the club to be associated with.

Our Executive Committee always encourages feedback and support from members and supporters, so if you wish to offer feedback or feel you can help out in some way please contact Scott Siffleet or any of the Executive Committee members.

Your chairman Scott Siffleet, Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Update

It is with great sadness we report the passing of Ashley John Gardiner on Monday 18 January 2021. The club extends condolences and thoughts to Ash's wife Linda and his extended family.

The family will take Ash to Ash’s Bar for the last time on Thursday evening 21 January from 5.30pm . All players and supporters are welcome to attend.

There will be a funeral service for Ash in the Chook House on Saturday 23 January 11am.

Upcoming Rugby Season

Although we are at the height of the summer, preparation for the coming winter rugby season is well underway.

Club Officers for 2021

Peter Coles	Patron
Dave Fuller	President
Lindsay Thomson	Vice President
Scott Siffleet	Chairperson
Daniel Greene	Club Captain
Jan Holdt	Administrator
Tom O'Connor	Treasurer
Paul Meuli	Exec Member
Dan Johanson	Exec Member
Darryn Jones	Exec Member
Greg Plimmer	Exec Member
Darryn Jones	Junior Rugby Convenor

The big project this year is our new lights for all three grounds and an announcement for the start of this is not far away so please put your hand up when we call for a hand. We are looking at bringing back the Good old Working Bees followed with a BBQ and Beer.

All players and supporters are invited to the clubrooms Friday 22 January between 4pm – 7pm to enjoy a BBQ, Happy Hour on Tap beer, and to meet and chat with this season’s coaches.

Premiers
Co-coach Ben Siffleet, Nathan Lawrence
Manager Daniel Johanson

Div 1
Co- Coach Bailey Walsh, Dylan Juffermans
Manager Rayno du Buisson

Senior 3rds
Co-Coach Daniel Green, Reece Hannam
Manager Cam Erye

Colts
Co- Coach Greg Plimmer, Aaron Broughton
Manager Bryan Boulton

Unofficial training for all senior teams started on Thursday 14 January with teams working together on skills and fitness. The official pre-season training will begin early Feb. All intending players are welcome.

Your chairman Scott Siffleet, Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Summary - The Year of 2020 and a look into 2021

Well, what a year it has been. I think we are all ready to move onto 2021 but as I have said before that it was a pretty good year for the Chooks in the terms of rugby and as a club in general.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Sponsors for everything you do for our club, I will be on the phone in the coming weeks to chat about sponsorship of the mighty Tukapa.
Also, I would like to thank all our volunteers from our barman to our coaches and everyone in between without you we wouldn’t have a club and wouldn’t have a full trophy cabinet for 2020. We all worked together and put the hard work in to win. But I think the biggest thing that we won was a bunch of great people turning up every Saturday to enjoy each other's company and enjoy what Tukapa stands for. A great bunch of mates hanging out.
Onwards toward 2021, we have a few new ideas we have planned and to keep Tukapa leading the way. Our big project is our new lights for all three grounds, so please put your hand up when we call for a hand. We are looking at bringing back the Good old Working Bees followed with a BBQ and Beer.

As for our 2021 coaches we have managed to get a great group of guys on board and I also thank the guys who put their names forward and missed out on a role. The coaches are as follows

Senior 3rds
Co-Coach Daniel Green, Reece Hannam
Manager Cam Erye

Div 1
Co- Coach Bailey Walsh, Dylan Juffermans
Manager Rayno du Buisson

Colts
Co- Coach Greg Plimmer, Aaron Broughton
Manager Bryan Boulton

Premiers
Co-coach Ben Siffleet, Nathan Lawrence
Manager Daniel Johanson
Hydrationist Rangi Komene

A couple of new names on the list Rayno du Buisso, Aaron Broughton and Nathan Lawrence.
Rayno as manager of the B team, he is a gas fitter for Shane at Gardiner Plumbing so has adopted Tukapa as his club.
Aaron is moving back from Perth and has a lot of rugby knowledge, he played his initial rugby here and played a number of games for Taranaki and has been coaching in Perth.
Nathan is moving his family to New Plymouth where his wife grew up, I am sure he is going to fit in well. As you can see by the photo he already quite likes blue and white stripes.

I have been involved Coaching with Ponsonby and Auckland rep teams in the Under 85kg grade in Auckland.
Head Coaching
2018
Auckland 85kg Rep Team Northern Region – 5 wins 0 losses.
2019
Ponsonby 85kgs Auckland Championship Winners 12 win 0 Losses (Ponsonby Club Coach of the Year & Auckland Rugby Most Promising Coach
Auckland 85kgs Rep team 4 Wins 1 Loss

At the end of 2019, we had twins (along with our toddler) meaning 2020 was a bit of a gap year for me, I have worked in a Technical advisor role this year for club and then Rep season was cancelled.

While I have only been in head coaching roles for a couple of years, I have been a player/coach at Ponsonby since 2013 and completed my Level 2 IRB Coaching course. I am wanting to work towards doing Level 3 in 2021 if possible. Part of the reason to move down is my Wife is from New Plymouth and gives more support for her so I can have time to put back into coaching. My strengths are organisation (both on and off the field) and my responsibilities have generally been team Structure/game plan in both teams was a 1/3/3/1 structure, Attack and Backs coach. I have a love for up tempo rugby, due to my back ground in weight grade rugby. I cant wait to get to know all the club members and get into the 2021 season.

Hopefully, I have managed to answer a few questions on what Tukapa looks like for 2021 and I know we are all looking forward to the upcoming season. Enjoy your time off with your family and friends. We all deserve it and I look forward to seeing you all next year.

Thank you. your chairman Scott Siffleet, Blue and white for life