Chairperson's Update

Well, here we go what a weekend of rugby we have this week at the Chook House, This week I am a man of few words and have asked the managers to pre-view their teams for us for the weekend, I will say one thing if you haven’t been to the clubhouse this season, get along this week and cheer our boys on and catch up with some friends, we want the place full of blue and white this weekend.

Nz Sparky Divison 1 Preview by Jack Deluca

Game kicks off 1pm on field 2 at Sanders park

That's six wins on the trot with only one try allowed in the last two games for the Tukapa Bs. This has given the fellas a home semi-final for the first time in a long time. Asking around, no one can actually put a finger on the last time the Senior Bs managed a home semi-final so what an effort from the lads. This effort has been a culmination of a few years of building around a key group of players that have stuck it out through some tough times and close calls, with the team now seeming at its best potential with a great culmination of old heads and exciting young players ready to cause chaos.

A big shout-out must go to Bailey Walsh, Dylan Juffermans & Kris Moller for all the work they have done this year, donating their time and getting the fellas to where they are now. I am not envious of them today as they have to make the tough calls on picking a team with so many great guys available to play this week with everyone having put their hand up throughout the season.

Southern was a great team in the round robin making for a great game with both teams willing to throw the ball around scoring almost 80 points combined while still making huge crushing efforts on defence. This should make for a very exciting game of footy to come!

In the last few years, the Bs have made a couple of semis, all being hosted by Southern and Southern winning all. This has made for quite the rivalry between the teams with a lot of familiar faces each time we play.

What has been great is to walk around the clubrooms on Saturdays with shoulder pats and congratulations from the old timers for the Bs players. It has been a struggle in the last few years but we are playing some great rugby at the moment and getting that support means a lot to the guys, so if we can get that support for two more weeks with a couple of big home crowds that would be awesome!!

Also a big good luck to our Prems boys against old boys!! Bring it, home fellas!!.

Go the Chooks & Up the Bzzz!!!!

Egmont Seeds Premiers Preview by Daniel Johanson

10 weeks of rugby down with 9 wins in the bag for the Egmont Seeds Tukapa Premiers, one of the squad's key goals at the start of the season was to get to semi-finals/finals footy, whilst we have knocked off one of these goals now the hard mahi starts & for the squad it’s all about looking forward and not backward and making sure we get our place at the final dance.

This week’s training has started with a hiss and a roar with all the boys getting around each other with great comms & hard work at training, all with a common goal of working hard for their teammates & their club and making sure that come this Saturday they make themselves proud & go to war.

It will be a big battle against our cross-town rivals NPOB, and whilst we never got to play them in the round-robin game due to Covid striking them down we are well aware & prepared for the firepower they will bring to Sanders Park along with holding great respect for a club that will challenge us to the utmost depths of hell, so now it’s up to the lads to pull on the blue & white, put there head in a deep dark place and leave every bit of blood, sweat & tears on the park.

Injury wise we are in a reasonably good space and Beast & Nathan are in the process of putting together the squad for this weekend stay tuned to the Tukapa Social media channels for the team announcement.

Now is the time we need our supporters the most, we want to see you, hear you, and most of all put on a performance of class & skill that Tukapa is known for, so calling all whanau, friends, old timers of the club make sure to find your way to Sanders Park for what will be a thrilling showdown of two titans of Taranaki Community Rugby.

Forever Blue & White – DJ

Wow-what a weekend to come to the Chook House – can’t wait to see you.

Your chairperson Scotty Siffleet, Blue and White for life.

Chairperson's Update

Well, we are all but at the business end of the season with our Egmont Seeds Premiers and Nz Sparky Div 1’s locking in a home semi for the following week. Our Lion Brown Snr 3rds have left their run to the finals very late but have saved the best to last. Being the 6th qualifier they play the 3rd qualifier of Kaponga in Kaponga at 1pm.  If the boys can get a win here they will move through to a semi-final against Stratford/Eltham the following week in Stratford. Our Boys had a good game against Kaponga in the regular season, they were up at halftime then went down 19-29 but the Boys have been working hard at their fitness sessions held in Ash’s and are up for the challenge of moving on to the next step. If you are keen to jump on their bus leaving Tukapa at 11am and returning by 6.30pm let Daniel Green know.

Our Gardner Plumbing Colts led by Zinny and Jared have built a really good culture and built well on the work Plims put in last year.  The results haven’t all gone their way but they have had some good battles and built depth that we will see carry on for next year.  Most of their team are still able to play Colts next year – can’t wait to see what they can achieve in the 2023 season.  Well done guys the club is proud of you all.

100^th game milestone

This week sees the milestone made to a man I call the ultimate club man.  He is always the 1st guy to put his hand up, he donates chicken whenever needed.  His family is right behind him and the club, with Mum being my secretary for a couple of years, and Dad always jumping in where a hand is needed including this week in the Kitchen making the world-famous Mussell fritters.

Henry Miles or Hapuka will run out this week for his 100^th game. Henry, you are a good bastard, and keep being you mate. You are what Tukapa stands for and the reason we all love the place.

Henry Miles started with our Senior A team in 2015 and since then has been a mainstay of the back line playing in either midfield or on the wing.

In Henry’s first season, the Senior A’s made the championship semi-finals only to be beaten by Inglewood in golden point extra time. However, in 2016 and 2017 Henry was part of an A team that won back-to-back Premier titles beating NPOB in the 2016 final and Coastal in the 2017 final.

Recognition for Henry’s form in these early years came in 2018 when he was chosen for the Taranaki B rep team. It was also in 2018 when Henry received his 50-game Senior A blazer.

In 2019 the Senior A’s were beaten in the semis by Spotswood United but Henry’s outstanding performances that year were recognized when he received the Len Earby Trophy as Tukapa’s best afternoon grade player for that year.

Henry won his third Taranaki Senior A championship title in 2020 when our Premiers beat Inglewood in a season that was shortened by the Covid outbreak. Henry’s good form again that season was reflected in him winning the Senior A back of the year award.

In 2021 Henry took over the captaincy of the Senior A’s and he steered his injury-struck side into another semi-final but came up short when we were beaten at home by Coastal. Once again Henry received the Senior A back of the year award for 2021. He was also chosen for the Taranaki Trojans team that season.

Henry has carried on with the captaincy this season leading the team into this year’s semi-finals and now racking up 100 Premier matches for Tukapa in his 8^th consecutive season.

Jamison Gibson-Park

How good is it to see our old mate Jamison Gibson-Park back in New Zealand running the cutter for Ireland. A great Tukapa man who learned his trade at the Chook house.  Well done Jamo your club is behind you all the way, and can’t wait to catch up with you.

Photos from 2011 of Jamison Gibson-Park in his first season at Tukapa. This was the year we beat NPOB in the final played at Hicks Park, Hawera when we beat them 22-12. Also in the team that year was Jamo’s Gizzy mate Pomare.

New Trophy

Also this week we see another 1^st with the Coles Family Trophy being played for the 1^st Time.

Stratford Eltham versus Tukapa Rugby Premiers will be competing for a Trophy in 2022.
The Coles family who has a historical association with both Tukapa and Stratford Eltham Rugby Clubs has donated a trophy for competition between the Premier Teams of both Clubs.
The Coles Family Trophy is donated to acknowledge the current and historical rivalry between the two clubs and also the strong interchange of players and administrators who have swapped allegiances and served both clubs over the years.
The Coles family consisting of three boys and three girls, sixty years ago lived at Douglas, east of Stratford. The eldest boy, Ritchie played for Stratford from 1956 to 1968. Charles played for Stratford for just a short time due to injury from 1960 to 1963.  Peter played for Stratford (Fourth Grade, as it was called then) in 1962, and joined Ritchie in the  Senior Championship Winning side of 1964.   In 1965 he moved to New Plymouth and played for the Tukapa Seniors from 1965 to 1970,  becoming a rival to his Stratford teammates of the previous years. When playing days came to an end, Ritchie coached and administered for the Stratford Club, while Peter administered for Tukapa. Peter is a Past President, Life Member, and current Patron of  Tukapa.

And if all of this above isn’t enough to get your blue and white blood flowing, this week we have the NZ Forestry band night at the Club and it is sure to be a massive night.  Two years ago when these boys played at the club they ripped the roof off and we had the biggest night since the jubilee. I know these guys love coming to the chook house to play and to make it even bigger we have also flown a saxophone player up from the South Island to make it a five-piece band. DJ Ash will start the night at 7.30pm followed by THOZE FELLAS from 8pm.  Be sure to get there and bring your friends.  No Door charge and I am sure you will have a great time.

Wow-what a weekend to come to the Chook House – can’t wait to see you.

Your chairperson Scotty Siffleet, Blue and White for life.  

Chairpersons Update

Chairperson's Update

As I walked past the Premiers changing room on Saturday the looks on the faces and the silence was clear that they were beaten by the better team on the day but even clearer was they were hurting. The saying goes “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn”. As long as the boys learn from this game and put it behind them it won’t hurt.

Our NZ Sparky Div 1 fellas just keep getting stronger after having to change a few players around because of illness they still put Clifton away easily. Our Garnder Plumbing Colts are a great bunch of fellas who are enjoying their rugby. These guys are all back next year and we have already been talking to high schools to help with their numbers. They can still make the top 4 if they pick up a couple of wins and other results go their way. Keep going strong lads the club is proud of you.

Our Lion brown Snr 3rds had a big win in the weekend picking up 5 points. This keeps them in the hunt for a top 6 finish. They need 5 points this Saturday and a few other games to go their way. Good luck this weekend and enjoy the bus trip to Okaiawa. The rest of our teams are all at Inglewood with our B’s and Colts kicking off at 1pm on fields 2 and 3 out the back followed by the Premier game on Number 1. Be great to see you all out there cheering our boys on.

The top bar will be open from 1.30pm for the Live stream of the Premiers. The top bar will be open and please use the deck entrance as we have a private Function downstairs, but they are happy we stay open upstairs. The family downstairs understands Tukapa.

Book the Babysitter for Next Saturday

Next weekend is a massive night at the club with the NZ Forestry Band coming in to entertain us from 7.30pm with DJ Ash to warm up the crowd then Thoze Guyz from 8pm to 11pm. These guys are awesome and we have gone the extra mile to even bring in a Saxophone player with the fellas. So be sure to book the babysitter and grab your mates, where else can you see a band of this quality with no door charge and cheap drinks.

Team Photos next Thursday

A heads up to all teams Seniors and Juniors and also Under 85’s team photos are next Thursday kicking off at 4pm with Juniors at Tukapa. We will get a timetable out before Saturday.

Gameday Photos

I have had a few people asking where to find the photos I take on a Saturday, If you want to have a look go to www.siffleet.co.nz

See you all on the sidelines this week in your Blue and Whites
Your chairperson Scotty, Blue and White for Life

Chairperson's Update

After a week off the newsletter last week due to too many balls in the air, we are back this week. What a week it’s been with our Lion Brown Snr 3rds picking up their 1st win of the year and making sure to send it well into the night. Our NZ Sparky Div 1 managed to beat the unbeaten Southern team in the last minute to go 2nd outright on the table just behind NPOB. Our Gardner Plumbing Colts battled hard but couldn’t get the job done. This week they have some players returning from injury.

With Mitchell running out for his 100th game and Mason for his 50th game the Egmont Seeds Premiers were up to the challenge even tho when I got outside they were 7 points down after 2 mins. This was the only time Southern looked to be on top. From then on it was a one-way street with 8 converted tries to our Premiers.

This week we see our Premiers, Colts, and Div 1 taking on Clifton at home. This week these games mean the world to our teams and can really set them up for home semis if we were to get the “W” this week. Premiers are looking to name a near full-strength team and I think they are up to the challenge to take on a Clifton team that is on top of their game under the leadership of Colin Cooper.

Crab Racing to 80's Party

Last Saturday saw the return of Crab racing to the club after not running since 2018. What a night it was, the boys and girls all really bought into the night and we saw two good races with the JDL/Luke D syndicate taking the first race and the Campbell Lusk led Colts syndicate taking the second race. We also managed to raise $1600 for the club in the process.

This week we see the annual Netball / Rugby Do which is a retro 80’s Party with a happy hour from 7pm to 8pm and prizes for best dressed. This Party is always a good one and we share our bar profit with Netball so be sure to come and support both clubs on Saturday night. DJ Jordy is one not to be missed.

Rangi Komene Memorial

Another date to put in your calendar as a “save the date” is the Rangi Komene Memorial which will be held at Tukapa on the 27th of August. Due to Covid we never gave Rangi the send-off he deserves and with his one-year anniversary coming up now is the time to pay our respects to a great Man. We will get more info out in the coming weeks but we have most of the day planned.

It could be a wet day Saturday but please show your support to our teams, put on your wet weathers then warm up afterward with a Panhead and some chat. See you all Saturday.

Your Chairman Scotty Siffleet, Blue and White for Life

The passing of Wayne Penn Life Member

It is with great sadness we report the passing of Wayne Penn. Wayne passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family at around 10.00am on Sunday 5 June 2022. The club extends condolences to Wayne's wife Carolyn, his children Tony and Alayna, and his extended family.

Wayne Penn was awarded Life Membership in 2010 in recognition of 20 years plus of massive contributions to Tukapa as a player, coach, and administrator.

Wayne began at Tukapa as coach of his son Tony’s midget team back in 1983, a role he continued with for numerous subsequent seasons. He then went on to become coach of Tukapa’s first-ever women’s team in 1989 and continued as coach of this side for another three seasons until the TRFU women’s competition folded in 1992.

As a player, Wayne began with the Senior Fourths in 1990 and carried on solely as a player in that team until stepping up to a new challenge as player/coach of that team (by then re-branded as the Senior 3rd B’s) in 1998. It was when he started as player/coach in 1998 that Wayne first combined in partnership with his long-term team manager Eoin MacDonald.

What followed was an era in which Wayne’s Senior Thirds team became Tukapa’s most successful ever afternoon grade side playing in 14 championship finals between 1998 and 2013 for a total of eight title wins over that timeframe.

After their last title win in 2013, Wayne carried on as coach of the Senior Thirds for another two seasons, meaning that after he stepped down at the end of the 2015 season, he had equalled a Club record of being an afternoon grade team coach for 18 consecutive seasons, matching the record set by Charlie Brown, who was Senior A coach for 18 straight seasons from 1922 till 1939.

Wayne was first elected to the Tukapa Executive Committee in 2000 and he remained as a member of the Executive enjoying an unbroken stint of 17 years including being Chairman in 2008.

Apart from huge contributions on the playing field and on the Executive, Wayne had also been a key man for the Club in his work on such important tasks as Clubrooms maintenance, playing field maintenance (such as getting the goalposts up and down each season) plus player recruitment (getting jobs for new guys) and organizing social events.

In 2008 Wayne was instrumental in the formation of the Tukapa Cricket team, consisting in large part of many of his Senior Thirds players, who represented the Club in the local Fourth Grade competition for a total of four seasons before going into recess.

Right up until recently, despite his illness, Wayne has continued to follow the fortunes of Tukapa teams firsthand and continue his long-held passion for discussing the sport he loves over drinks with mates at the Chookhouse bar.

Chairpersons Update

Sorry guys with Penny’s funeral yesterday I am running behind with the newsletter. This week we have 3 buses heading to Rahotu and our Snr 3rds on the bus to Stratford’s Page street to play the Steven Needham led Stratford/Eltham boys.

For the 1st time for a while we have a stand-alone supporters bus leaving the club at 11.15am with a stop for lunch at the Rahotu Taven, please feel free to join us. The bus will return to the club after speeches at Rahotu, leaving about 5.30pm.

After having to watch our B’s and Colts win last week by text message, I can’t wait to see what they can do this week. These two teams have been working really hard and now it is starting to show. Our Premiers have a few fellas with the winter bug (not Covid) and will be waiting until the 11th hour to see who is fit before giving out the jerseys. See teams below. Being the the only unbeaten team in the premier competition means that everyone wants to knock us over. Hopefully with the squad depth that we have built this year, the boys will put their hands up and get the job done.

NZ Forestry Bantams

Last Monday we had our NZ Forestrys Bantams head to Te Kuiti to play College Rifles. Between hungover players and covid hit players we managed to get 19 on the bus and strip for the game. Again I watched this game through text messages and our boys managed to get the win with some classy rugby played. The next game will now be at Tukapa in August against Karaka Rugby Club.

The club will be open from 2.30pm this week and hopefully the live steam will be on for the premiers game. Also there is both under 13 teams and a whole lot of other midgets at home so come up early and check out our up and coming players as they do battle.

Next week we are all at home to Southern, which is also Sponsors Day, and will see the return of crab racing. Book the babysitter now and come have some fun at the club. More info to come out next week.

Netball Finals

Our Tukapa Diamonds are in the final on Saturday against Marist at the TSB Stadium at 12.30pm. If you’re not off to the rugby be sure to get up and show your support. They may be around the club for a drink Saturday night as well.

See you all down the Coast. Go well Tukapa teams.
Your Chairman Scotty, Blue and White for Life

Chairpersons Update

Well, what a week of weather we have had, the only good thing is it may have softened the ground up to stop getting any more injuries.

This week sees our Lion Brown Snr 3rds heading on a Bus trip to Toko leaving the club at 11.15am if you want a ride. Saying that, the bus will come back after the after-match from Toko and is only a maybe after it took 2 hours to get the bus out of the Toko car park last year!! With all that said our Snr 3rds have been like the drunk bridesmaids for the last few weeks by only just missing out on a couple of wins but having one hell of a great time together after the games. Good luck fellas.

The rest of our Teams are off across the road to try and defend all the silverware. Dan O’Brien Shield (Premiers), Carbine Challenge Shield (B’s), Stagpole Cup (Colts), and the Barham Shield (overall club)

We have a fair bit of Covid in our club Including me writing this from isolation. We still have strong teams named in all four teams and I can't wait to watch the 1st three games by text update and hopefully the Premiers Live stream.
I can’t repeat the message I sent all teams today word by word but in summary, I said this collection means more to the club than any other trophy and it is with great pride when you walk into the clubhouse and are greeted with the Dan O’Brien and Barham Shield hanging at the door. In past years I have been known to go into the changing rooms on a Thursday Night and give the speech of giving 110% on the field against Spotswood United to show them why we as Tukapa deserve the win. Go well, guys.

Netball

On another note this week we have our Premier 2 & 3 netball teams playing in Semi-Finals. I was hoping to get along and show my support as they do for our Rugby teams, so if you can please make the effort to get along and cheer our Ladies on in the Tukapa way.

Bantams U85

On Monday we have a doubleheader with round one of the NZ Under 85’s cup with our Bantams jumping on the bus and heading to Te Kuiti for a 1pm kick-off at the Meads Stadium. Again this team has been hit with a fair bit of covid and injuries but we have managed to dig a few players out of the woodwork and now have a strong lineup heading to Te Kuiti. If you are keen to jump on the bus please get in touch with someone within the team so we make sure we have enough seats. Go well Bantams, show us that fight that you showed last year. Big thank you to Cam from NZ Forestry for coming on board as naming rights sponsors again.

Good luck to all our Tukapa teams this weekend, Juniors, Seniors, Netball, and Bantams - wear those blue and whites with pride and go well. I look forward to hearing the results and will be charging a toast at home to the good people of our Club … cheers for being great guys.

Your chairman Scotty, Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Update

Well lookout Saturday, what a lineup we have starting at 12pm with Old Timers Day and a happy hour, then to Andrew Thomson, TRFU chair giving us an update on the Silverlake deal and what it could mean to a club like Tukapa at 12.15pm. From there we head to our first round of games with our Div 1 and Colts taking on NPOB and our Snr 3rds taking on Patea - all teams are hungry for a win.

From these games, we move into our feature match at 2.45pm which we will see Mitchell Crosswell lead our fellas out onto the field for his 100^th cap for Egmont Seeds Tukapa Premiers.

After the game at 5.30pm we will present Mitchell with his Blazer and speeches. Then we move into Live music with Nathan Annand on the guitar playing some old favourites from 6.30pm.

Mitchell Crosswell 100 Games for Tukapa Premiers

Mitchell Crosswell arrived at Tukapa RFC for his first season in 2013 having already played in excess of 50 matches for his home club the Feilding Yellows.

Mitchell joined an-already strong Tukapa forward pack in 2013 which featured such notable players as Leighton Price, Carl Carmichael, Blade Thomson, Adrian Wyrill, and Laurence Corlett. On the strength of his contribution to Tukapa that season (when we reached the semi-finals), Mitchell gained selection for the first time in the Taranaki Bulls.

In 2014 Mitchell played in Tukapa’s relatively unsuccessful Senior A season when the team finished in fifth place after the round-robin series and missed out on the semi-finals. However, he again won selection in the Taranaki Bulls for that year’s rep season.

2015 was a huge year for Mitchell when the Senior A’s made the semi-finals (only to be beaten by Inglewood in a match which went to golden point extra/extra time) and he was again picked for the Bulls as well as gaining selection alongside Leighton Price for the Maori All Blacks, having already appeared for the Chiefs earlier in the season.

By 2016 Mitchell had assumed the captaincy of the Tukapa Senior A’s, who he led to a very decisive 39 to 17 victory over NPOB in that year’s grand final. Once again, he was also selected for the 2016 Taranaki Bulls.

In our 125th Jubilee year (2017) the Senior A’s achieved back-to-back Premier titles with a nail-biting win against Coastal in the final, which meant Mitchell collected his second Senior A title as captain. He was again selected in the Taranaki Bulls side and was awarded his blazer for playing 50 Senior A matches for Tukapa alongside Ryan Bishop, Jayson Potroz, and Isaia Tuifua. However, in 2017 Mitchell did not feature for the Bulls being ruled out by injury.

In 2018 Mitchell was back on deck again for both the Tukapa Premiers as well as the Bulls with him having the distinction of captaining both teams. However, that season we lost to NPOB in the semi-final played at Sanders Park, and not for the first time, our chance of doing the “three-peat” was also gone.

2019 was not a great one for Mitchell with our Senior A’s losing that season’s home semi-final against Spotswood United in controversial circumstances following a pitch invasion by players and supporters of the visiting team. Also, Mitchell did not feature for the Bulls that season having been overlooked by the new Head Coach.

Mitchell was back again in 2020 for both the Chooks and the Bulls in a Covid-shortened season with the highlight being his captaining of our Premiers to our 17th Taranaki Premiership title, this time after a win over Inglewood in the grand final in an almost empty TET Stadium.
In 2021 Mitchell missed the entire club season due to injury but did re-gain selection in the Bulls and became part of their very successful unbeaten run in the Championship competition.
All in all, it’s taken Mitchell 10 seasons to reach the prestigious milestone of 100 Senior A matches for the Chooks and to become our latest Centurion. That’s a testament to the man’s longevity as a player as well as his undying loyalty to his Blue and White teammates and the Club itself.

Volunteer Referees

As you may have seen Tukapa is trying really hard to help support our referees my reffing games up at Tukapa in our Yellow Volunteer t-shirts and we are getting really good feedback on what we are doing.

The other side of this is supporting the current referees and touch judges so that they enjoy the games and come back next week. With this I say, as supporters on the sideline or bench players, WE ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! On Saturday I heard far too much abuse from the sidelines.  As the Club Chair walking the sidelines and meeting the referees saying that we are right behind them, then having someone yell something out over my shoulder, makes me look very silly.  Please if you don’t have something good to yell at the referee, keep your mouth shut. To play our game we need these guys, so let’s all work hard to look after them.

Tukapa Bantams

This year we see the return of the NZ Forestry Tukapa Bantams after making the final last year they are back to try and go one better. 1^st up we travel to Te Kuiti to take on the College Rifles Raiders from Auckland on Queen’s Birthday Monday 6^th of June. If you are keen to play in this team hit up Nathan Laurence and if you are keen for a ride on the team bus, which will go up and back on the Monday, give Scotty your name. More details to come as we get them.

Premier Game Live Stream

Our technical team has worked hard over the summer to make some improvements to our live stream broadcast. Watch our home games live on facebook and look out for improved graphics and replays of all the tries.

Corporate Box

The Corporate box is available for some home games at $700 a game which includes a full fridge and food at halftime. If you are keen get in contact with me.

See you all Saturday for one of the biggest days of the year at the Chook House.  Be sure to check out our guest Tap upstairs as well with this week's drop being Mac’s Apparition. A Big thanks to Lion Nathan for their ongoing support. See you Saturday.

Your Chairperson Scotty Siffleet Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Update

Great to see everyone at home last weekend and the club pumping again! Week three here we come, with CFC (Castiron Fried Chicken) for tea on Thursday night the boys are ready to jump on the bus and head down the coast with all four teams playing Coastal. Supporters are welcome to join the players on any of the buses with the times below.

This week I think we set a new record with our bench for the Premiers having a combined number of caps of 630 Premier games. And we still have a lot of experience on the field as well. Luke Dravitski will lead the boys out onto the field this Saturday as he notches up his 50th game. We also welcome back Mitchell Crosswell on the bench after taking last season off. Another lad that we all cannot wait to see back on the field is Nathaniel Peters who will have a trot with the NZ Sparky Div 1 team this Saturday.

The club takes this opportunity to express sincere condolences to Janet Fleming (Coastal Chairperson) on the sudden passing during the week of her husband. We are all thinking of her at this difficult time.

Next Week Old Timers Day

The following week we are all back at home for Old Timers Day and the Ibbotson Cup.

Old Timers Day Program is as follows:

12pm Nibbles and Old timers catch up
12.20pm Guest Speaker
12.55pm Respect paid from teams to Old timers (top window)
1pm Div 1, Div 2 and Colts kick off
2.45pm Premiers kick off
5.30pm Speeches
6.30pm Nathan On Guitar

Coming Events

See below our calendar for other events we have planned for the rest of the year.

See you all on the bus or sidelines in your Blue and Whites this Saturday.

Your Chairperson Scotty Siffleet Blue and White for life

Chairpersons Update

What a feeling, the sun looks like it's here for Saturday and we have all four teams at home with our Lion Brown 3rds taking on Kaponga and the rest of the club coming up against the neighbours we love to beat, our friends Spotswood United. All teams are looking good although our Colts lost a few boys to injury but are still in for a win. If you know any colts aged players or players that are under 24 years and under 85kg we need a few more cattle to beef up our numbers in the colts.

As we all know it takes a lot of work to keep our club looking good and running smoothly. Quite often I get told I am doing too much at the club, but my answer is always that I love the club and rugby and wouldn’t have it any other way. With that said instead of standing back and saying man, the club is running well how about jumping in and giving us a hand.

• After the Premier game we need volunteers to help pull down the signs, flags, and field set up and get them all back in the halfway container
• 7.30am Saturday mornings we need people to help the crew set up the fields for Midget rugby and Seniors
• Help pick up the empty bottles or load the fridges when needed
• Come up during the week and sweep the changing rooms out or wash down the outside

Our club has always been a real roll your sleeves up and get it done type of club. Nothing has changed and we have some really good people doing a lot of work for the club but if we can all share the load we can have a beer together sooner on a Saturday.

Junior Rugby

This coming Saturday we have all the Under 6 & 7 teams of Taranaki coming to Tukapa for the morning with the TRFU to learn skills and have fun, and the rest of our Junior teams will be at NPOB Saturday for our annual Junior pre-season fixtures.

A first for the club see our Under 13 and Under 11 teams kick off their season at Tukapa Friday night at 6.00pm. These will be our first games under lights. Be sure to get along and support our junior club.

Referee Update

As mentioned last week we are short of referees so we have a group of guys who went through training Thursday night and will see some of them out refereeing Saturday to help out our game. Keeping the family side of Tukapa my Old man Pete has also picked up the whistle after a 10-year break to help us out and will ref the under 11’s Saturday morning as a Tukapa volunteer referee.

Great Feedback

Keeping on a family note I would like to share an email from Saint John Bosco school Principal to Cole Brown at the TRFU on Monday, which just strengthens where we are trying to take Tukapa and look after our game for years to come.

Morena Cole

Great first weekend of rugby and the weather was magic. It must be nice to have it underway. Hey, I'm not sure if you are the person I need to share some feedback with so if not I'd appreciate if you could pass this on… This year we have had a new RDO - Ben Siffleet. To date he has been into school weeks 2-10 of term one every Thursday 9:00 - 10:00 and taken two classes for ball skills and game sessions. The staff feedback has been incredibly positive and the kids have been highly engaged… He has already booked two Rippa sessions for this term and collated entries and provided a draw and information for the tournament to be held this term. Historically a job potentially done by Principals. So immensely appreciated that this has become a part of the RDO job and it makes sense that it is… Ben's communication has also been regular and outcome focused. Obviously, his focus is now based on his club and morning grade rugby but this has been made clear and he has been working hard to provide information about skills days and joining a club here at school. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this in my eyes has been and is an amazing return to education from TRFU… TRFU are getting their bang for buck here… If there is a way of passing this on, please do… I feel damn lucky to have such a committed person working alongside me… Have a great day…

Nga manaakitanga ki a koutou,

Dee Luckin

Enough from the Siffleet side of things - we all know we live at Tukapa really.

Major Sponsorship

It is with great pleasure we welcome First National Collective back to Tukapa but more importantly as the Principal sponsor of Tukapa Rugby for both Seniors and Juniors. We will now be known as First National Collective Tukapa. Shawn and his team have been great, not only being long serving sponsors of Tukapa, but this year stepping up their support with 200 shirts for our junior players. To say thank you to the team we will be hosting the First National team against Southern later in the season so be sure to shake their hand and say thank you.

Enough from me, I have 60 meals of lasagne to cook for the boys after training so need to roll the sleeves up and get into it. See you all Saturday.

Don’t forget to tune up your vocal cords for Karaoke Night this Saturday from 7:30pm in the Chook House!!

Premier Team Release

This is the team for this weekend's game against Spotswood United. Make sure you get down to support all our teams.

Your Chairperson Scott Siffleet. Blue and White for Life