Chairpersons Update

It was a very successful awards evening on Saturday night and we have included a summary of the award recipients below. The StreamLine Junior Rugby season is nearing an end and Prizegiving will be held on Sunday 11 October at 10 am. Junior players are asked to bring a plate to share with your team. We also ask that all Tukapa playing jerseys are returned on the day.

Along with prizegiving we will have other events on the day such as Parents vs Kids Rugby games, Bouncing Castle for the young ones, a Lolly Scramble, and meet the Egmont Seeds Premier players. 

This is always a great morning out so make sure you bring the whole family.

Wellington Bledisloe Cup Test Match Deal

helloworld Strandon has put together a 2-day In-seat Package for the first Bledisloe Cup in Wellington. This test is sure to be a sort after so if you are interested please call Bev Ellice on 06 757-5666 to secure your booking.

Tukapa Rugby Awards Summary 2020

Chairpersons Update

Let's Celebrate a Great Year of Club Rugby

It's time for every blue and white supporter to celebrate the coming out of lockdown and the great year of rugby achieved by all of our club teams.

This Saturday evening 26 September we will hold the Tukapa Rugby Prize Giving 2020 in the Chook House and award a number of accolades to deserving club members and acknowledge our very dedicated and loyal sponsors.

You are all invited and welcome to celebrate these achievements with us and the program will run something like this:

1.30 pm Maori’s vs Pacifica Rugby Kick off
4.00 pm Maori’s and Pacifica Rugby After Match
4.00 pm Ash’s Bar open for pre - Happy Hour drinks
6.00 pm Ash’s Bar closes
6.00 pm Happy hour starts at Downstairs Bar
7.00 pm Happy hour finishes.
7.15 pm Speeches and Awards Presentation
8.00 pm Finger food served
8.15 pm DJ starts and Party on Down and Jam to 1990 and early 2000s
11.45 pm Evening Closes Down

There will be a $5 cover charge and we ask if you could RSVP to info@tukapa.co.nz so we can get an indication of numbers for catering.

Blue and White For Life – Scotty your Chairperson

Chairpersons Update

As we start to move out of Club rugby and start to get ready for Taranaki to take the field, we still have a lot of our Tukapa players training with the Bulls, Under 20’s, Maori and Pacifica teams and getting ready to play. I will put a schedule together with who we have in each team and all the games so you know where to go to get your rugby fix.

This week we have bookings in the club so the mighty Ash’s Bar, home of the Brown Bomber will be open.

Thursday 5pm to 7.30pm

Friday    3.45pm to 6.30pm

Saturday 4pm to 6.30pm

Please be sure to sign in for Covid and also use the back staircase on right of the front door.

Prize Giving Postponed

Due to COVID19 we have had to postpone the club prize giving until 26 September and we will send out more information once we have the format confirmed.

Our Scotty Signs for Canterbury 2020 Mitre 10 Cup

A massive congratulations to Scott Mellow who has signed with Canterbury for the 2020 Mitre 10 cup season. We wish him and his whānau all the best! 

Blue and White For Life - Scotty your Chairperson

Chairpersons Update

Well, what a weekend and congratulations to our Premier and Division 2 teams for making the finals of the CMK Club Rugby Championships.

Our Premier Team took out the CMK Premier Championship 2020 33-29 finishing off the season winning every game and now the club has won 17 Premier Championships. Because of COVID19, there was no option to have spectators at the ground but Tukapa as a club supported the teams via live streaming and the Chook House was near to limit of the COVID gathering restrictions.

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Club supporters gave the Premier team a rousing reception when they returned from TET Stadium with the Championship Trophy. You can watch the response below:

All games were close with our Division 2 just missing a win with Normanby coming out the winners 13 - 11.

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Limited Edition Championship Winners 2020 T-Shirt

Limited Edition Championship Winners 2020 T-Shirt is now available so get in quick.

Orders to be in and paid for by Friday the 28th of August.
(Delivery towards the 11th of September).

$25.00 100% polyester quick dry tee.

Kids sizes: 4 years - 16 years
Adults sizes: Small - 3XL & 5XL

Email or message Grant to place an order. (invoice will be issued for the payment to confirm order).
grant@kingsway.co.nz

Prize Giving Postponed

Due to COVID19 we have had to postpone the club prize giving until 26 September and we will send out more information once we have the format confirmed.

Tomorrow night (Friday) the Chook House Bar will be open for a Finals debrief so I look forward to seeing you there. Once again we will be complying with COVID rules and protocols.

Junior Rugby Postponed

Unfortunately, Junior Rugby is also postponed until we hear the result of the next COVID status Level. We will keep you posted.

 Our Man Jeeves: RIP

Brian Charles (“Jeeves”) Holdt was a legendary Tukapa club stalwart who passed away last week at the age of 77.

Born into a staunchly Blue & White family, Brian was the son of Walter Holdt who joined Tukapa in 1932 and who was followed a year later by his brother Syd, with youngest brother Roy joining the club in 1945.

Together these three Holdt brothers established a family legacy of devoted commitment to the Tukapa club.

Brian’s membership at Tukapa began in 1954 and he was in turn followed by his brothers Dennis and Alan. Brian played through the grades and at 19 began his 10-year spell in Senior club rugby from which he was chosen as a lock to play for Taranaki Colts and Taranaki B.

For Brian, the undoubted highlight of his long rugby career in the Senior A’s was being part of one of Tukapa’s most celebrated golden eras when his team, coached by Pat Doherty, won 3 championship titles in 4 years, these seasons being 1966, 1968 and 1969.

In 1966, whilst still playing for the Senior A’s, Brian joined the Management Committee of the club and he later stepped up to the role of Treasurer, a position he held for nine years. From 1982 till 1992 Brian was a Vice President at Tukapa while, at the same time his wife Colleen was active on the Ladies Committee.

More recently, Brian has been a loyal and passionate supporter of the Senior A’s in particular. He would never miss a home game and was always on every Supporters Bus to away games along with other members of the Holdt family and his many Tukapa mates.

All of us regulars up at Tukapa will greatly miss “genial Jeeves” and his friendly banter. Our sincerest condolences go out to Colleen and the wider Holdt family.

The following article appeared in the NZ Herald 12 Aug 2020

The First XV of classic New Zealand rugby clubs: Tukapa

12 Aug, 2020 3:00pm

4 minutes to read

By: Dylan Cleaver dylan.cleaver@nzherald.co.nz

Tukapa Rugby Club

Established: 1892

Home ground: Sanders Park

Province: Taranaki

Naturally, Star was Tukapa's biggest rivals throughout much of their history, but the former lost their identity when they merged to form Spotswood United.

"Tukapa has always retained its own identity," says stalwart Lindsay Thomson, a lock who played 160 games for Tukapa and 104 more for Taranaki between 1983 and 1993.

In recent decades Thomson says the rivalry with Old Boys has emerged as the preeminent New Plymouth derby as they are often each other's biggest challengers for the title.

The enmity is also based on the affiliation Old Boys has with New Plymouth Boys' High School, traditionally the province's leading rugby talent nursery, while Tukapa has "in the past 10 to 15 years" developed a connection with nearby upstart Catholic boys school Francis Douglas Memorial College, home of the Barrett brothers.

To solidify that Catholic association, Tukapa joined the Marist sports association, though there is no overt religious element at the club.

So it's a successful club with a rich history, but there are many clubs like that dotted across New Zealand and, indeed, Taranaki.

What elevates Tukapa to "classic" status is a chicken or, more specifically, a song about a chicken; surely the most curious and well-known (in some quarters despised) club rugby song in the country.

Go on, find yourself a quiet space, shut the door behind you, and give this a whirl:

Oh, that chicken! That cast iron chicken, I never knew a little bird could sing, sing, sing Till it started humming, "Tukapas are coming", And it danced the Highland Fling: Gor' Blimey. When we're passing, down by the meatworks It brings back memories Of that cast-iron fowl, that the Tukapas found On the plains of the Waimate Tukapa, He, He, Ha Tukapa, He, He, Ha Moturoa, Mikotai, Paritutu Moturoa, Mikotai, Paritutu He! Ha! Tukapa!

Well, where do you start with that jumble or words? The most accepted story of the song's origins involves a trip to Manaia to play Waimate (now one of three clubs that merged to form Southern) in 1902.

Tukapa arrived in the south Taranaki town and went for a pub meal before the match. The host prepared a chicken meal that went down very poorly. The birds were said to be so tough they were hard to chew and impossible to digest.

The powerful Tukapa XV subsequently lost a match they were expected to win and the post mortems on the bus trip home identified a scapegoat, which turned out to be a scapechicken.

"We no doubt had to blame something," Thomson says. "It's a big part of our club and we use it to celebrate. The song is what makes us unique and I suspect it's also the reason other clubs like to beat us."

That's the bit we haven't mentioned yet. If you aren't Tukapa, you tend to hate them.

"Us and Old Boys are the teams the others love to beat because, I think, we're seen as the flash city slickers with our big clubrooms." Love Tukapa or hate them, you can't deny they're a classic Kiwi footy club.

Lets Close the Week with the Mighty Blue and White call

Blue and White For Life - Scotty your Chairperson

Chairpersons Update

Due to the situation with COVID 19 there will be no spectators attending the Club Finals at TET Stadium in Inglewood this weekend. The TRFU is committed to providing viewing access to as many people as possible and will be live streaming all games. We will be live-streaming the 3rds at 12pm and the Premiers at 2pm in the Chook House.

To comply with COVID rules we will have 100 people enter through the top door and 100 people through the bottom door. All visitors need to be part of a contact tracing process through the COVID app or fill in the paper form at the door of each bar and you will not be able to cross between bars. All visitors need to follow hygiene protocols and must be seated in clubrooms.

Anyone not compiling or not showing respect for the people tasked with managing and enforcing these rules will be asked to leave - we will not mess around when it comes to this.

The kitchen will open for ham burger and chips for $10 at 2pm and as usual there will be an array of chilled beverages available from both bars.

Entry will be 1st in 1st severed and you will be issued a coloured wrist band on entry.  

Please respect our rules and we hope we can all have a good day. 

For those who are unable to attend the Chook House, the following YouTube channels will be streaming the live games.

Colts Final TRFU ch 4 Coastal v Stratford-Eltham 11 :30 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7khBNZ7N0h17XTBDzqyhZA

Div 2 Final TRFU ch 3 Tukapa Rugby & Sports Club v Normanby 12:00 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXcLLoVLoGNpvEZeFe-hOsA

Div 1 Final TRFU ch 2 New Plymouth HSOB Rugby Football & Sports Club v Southern 12:30 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6SdyD-rxJyyHdqwCbRtafA

Prem Final TRFU ch 1 Tukapa Rugby & Sports Club v Inglewood United Rugby Club 14:00 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_JmsQVpdTxduaMwjGycIQ

Team announcement and program for the both our Tukapa Teams can be found here: https://www.tukapa.co.nz/programme/

Finals Experience

They say experience counts for a lot, so let’s look at the track record of our Senior A’s and Senior Thirds in finals since 2000.

For our Senior A’s, as shown in last week’s article, the biggest hurdle in the knock-out phase of the competition since 2000 has always been the semis (Our Prems played in 17 semis for 10 losses and 7 wins over this period).

However, their record in finals since 2000 has been much better. Our Prems have played in 8 finals during the last 20 years for six wins (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2016, and 2017) and 2 losses (2000 and 2002).

Significantly, of the 6 wins by the A’s over the period since 2000, four of those were against NPOB (2005, 2010, 2011, 2016) with the other two finals victories being against Eltham/Kaponga (2001) and Coastal (2017).

Notable also is the fact that the Tukapa team to play the grand final on Saturday has considerable finals experience within its ranks. Of the 2016 championship-winning team, eight of them (Leighton Price, Mitchell Crosswell, Henry Miles, Daniel Bernet, Brendon Dent, Corbin Porteous, and Eli Kneepkens) will be fronting again in this year’s final. From the 2017 title-winning side the following players will again be contesting the final: Brendon Dent, Leighton Price, Mitchell Crosswell, Jason Potroz, Henry Miles, Daniel Bernet, and Scott Mellow. That amount of experience in winning finals footie bodes well for our chances in the big match on Saturday.

Turning to our Senior Thirds, they have been our most successful title-winning team in the period since 2000. In total, our Thirds played in 12 finals during this period for eight wins and four losses. The team’s purple patch came in the years 2001 through till 2012 when they played in ten finals, winning 8 and losing only 2 including a remarkable four titles in a row (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004) under coach Wayne Penn.

Finally, in terms of individual success in finals over recent decades, Jack Cameron’s record stands out. Jack played in five Senior A finals in his long career at Tukapa with a 100% success rate. In other words, in all the finals he played in (2005, 2010, 2011, 2016, and 2017) he was never in a losing final.

Chairpersons Update

It’s semi-final time and time to get it done, The Gardiner Plumbing Div 2 team is through to the finals already but has one last hit out against NPOB over at Vogeltown Park with a kick-off 1.00pm. Our Pacific Haul Div 1 team head to Hawera on the bus to take on Southern at Hicks Park Hub with a kick-off 1.00pm, the boys will need to take there A-game to pip a very good Southern team.
After a lot of emails going backward and forwards the TRFU has the final say and our Tukapa Premiers will play Stratford/Eltham at 1.00pm.

I feel a little disappointed that the TRFU has sided with Stratford/Eltham because their team is made up of a number of farmers and has disregarded our situation of having both the Premier and Division 1 teams playing the semi-finals at different locations at the same time. This means our development players are not available to sit on the bench for the Premier team as is the case during the regular season.

Having said that it is important that we as a club get the business done and get out there and support all 3 teams to help get them through to the finals.

Be sure to win, or lose we will all get back to the Chook house for a great night Saturday to party with our mates.

Blue and White For Life Scotty your Chairperson

Semi-Finals: For the Record

Being knock-out matches, semi-finals can be cruel. A team can dominate all season and go into a semi with a perfect winning record only to be upset and end up missing the chance to win the championship title. Although our A’s especially have made the semis frequently, it’s fair to say that over the past 20 years or so we have unfortunately come up short in semi-finals more often than we care to remember.

For the record, the statistics on how our A’s and B’s have done in semi-finals are as follows:

• 1996: The A’s won their semi but lost the final against NPOB
• 1997: The A’s won their semi but again lost the final against NPOB
• 1998: Both our A’s and B’s lost their semi-finals
• 1999: The A’s lost their semi v NPOB but the B’s won their semi and then beat NPOB in the final
• 2000: The A’s won their semi but lost the final against NPOB; our B’s lost their semi
• 2001: Our A’s won their semi and then won the final against Eltham/Kaponga
• 2002: The A’s won their semi but lost the final against NPOB
• 2003: The B’s lost their semi
• 2004: The A’s lost their semi v NPOB
• 2005: The A’s won their semi and then won the final against Inglewood; the B’s lost their semi v Inglewood
• 2006: Our A’s lost their semi-final against Inglewood
• 2008: The A’s lost their semi v Coastal
• 2009: The A’s again lost their semi against Coastal
• 2010: Our A’s won their semi and then won the final against NPOB
• 2011: Once more our A’s won their semi and again beat NPOB in the final
• 2012: The A’s lost their semi against NPOB
• 2013: The A’s lost their semi v Clifton
• 2014: The A’s lost their semi v Inglewood
• 2016: Our A’s won their semi and then beat NPOB in the final; the B’s lost their semi against Southern
• 2017: The A’s won their semi and then went on to beat Coastal in the final
• 2018: The A’s lost their semi against NPOB
• 2019: Our A’s lost their semi against Spotswood United.

Overall, the statistics tell us that for the Senior A’s and Senior B’s combined there have been 28 semi-final appearances over the past 24 years for 11 wins and 17 losses. Let’s hope its two wins from two this coming Saturday.

Saturday's Premier Semi-Final

If you are unable to come to the game on Saturday, be aware the game starts at 1.00pm and you can watch it live here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_JmsQVpdTxduaMwjGycIQ

We will also have the Game Day program available on our website here: https://www.tukapa.co.nz/programme/

If you look there now you will see the program for our last home game against Clifton. So check for Saturdays Game Day Program on Friday night.

Chairpersons Update

Well here we go one week left, then into semi’s we go.

What a great Saturday last week, during the day we had three wins from three games, then one hell of a party with our netball girls Saturday night. It was great to see such a tight bond between Netball and Rugby and after a coffee catch up with Grace Kelly, (Chairperson of Netball) our plan going forward is to keep working together and help each other out as much as we can.

This week the earlier kick-off of 11.15am for our Div 1 team and 1pm for our Premiers at Stratford. Our Premiers need to keep the momentum going and are to name another strong line up getting ready for our home semi-final next week. Our Div 1 team needs to win with a bonus point then hope Southern can get up over NPOB for them to get a home semi next week. Our Div 2 boys travel to Bell block for a 1pm kick-off and need to keep moving forward and pick up the win.

I hope we can all get out and support our teams this Saturday then meet back at the Chook house for a debrief with the bar open at 3pm onwards.

Saturday Morning our Streamline Junior Rugby is underway again with games starting at 9.30am onwards. Be sure to grab a Proof and Stock Coffee from the girls in the Chook house café. All profits go back to Tukapa.

See you all on the sidelines

Your Chairperson Scott Siffleet

ASH GARDINER (All Black #728)

Recently a function was held after team training on a Thursday evening to mark the re-commissioning of the upstairs back bar, better known as Ash’s Bar, at Tukapa RFC. Recently this area has fallen into disuse so, at the initiative of some of our leading afternoon grade players and management, it has been tidied up, re-decorated and brought back into service as a private bar area, at no cost to the Club.

Those with long memories will recall that Ash’s Bar first came into existence in November 1998, after being jointly built by Ash Gardiner, using his plumbing connections and life member Rex Manley, who comes from a building background. Rex was also instrumental in building the big wooden bar leaners which were a feature of the bar.

For over 15 years Ash’s Bar served as an “Inner Sanctum” where club members could enjoy a cold beverage at times when the main hall area was booked out for private functions or on Friday evenings during the winter when a smaller, cosier space was a more suitable option than either of the other two bar areas. Appropriately, Ash himself was guest of honour at the reopening where he enjoyed rubbing shoulders with many of today’s afternoon grade players.

For those who don’t already know, Ashley John Gardiner became Tukapa’s 12th All Black when chosen to represent New Zealand in 1974.

Starting with the Senior A’s in 1966, Ash was part of the legendary championship-winning team of the 1960’s, a side which under the coaching of Pat Doherty, won three  club championship titles (1966, 1968, 1969) and were runners-up twice (1965, 1967) within a glorious five year span 1965 to 1969.

Ash’s performances for Taranaki in the late 1960s as a specialist tighthead prop were soon recognized at higher levels.  He was selected for a Junior All Black (Under 23) trial in 1967 and went on to captain the Junior All Blacks in 1968 for their match versus Japan at Athletic Park.

During the next six seasons Ash played prominently at both club and rep level, racking up vast experience with Taranaki including a host of matches against international teams such as Wales (1969), the Lions (1971), the Wallabies (1972) and England (1973).

Ash’s selection for the All Blacks came in 1974 when he was one of a number of long-serving provincial stalwarts who JJ Stewart promoted into the All Blacks for their tour of Australia in 1974. In all, he played in nine of the 12 matches on the tour, scored tries in wins against ACT and Queensland and capped off his tour by gaining test selection for the third test against Australia played on 8 June in Sydney. The All Blacks won that test 16- 6 to wrap up the series two to nil, with one test drawn.

Later in 1974 Ash played for the North Island and had another All Black trial prior to being selected for the All Blacks tour of Ireland at the end of the year. On tour he played in two of the six matches, his appearances being against Munster (won 14-4) and Ulster (won 30-15).

Ash carried on playing for Tukapa and Taranaki in 1975 and was once again chosen for an All Black trial match but after reaching 102 games for Taranaki was forced into retirement on medical grounds. However, he continued to serve Tukapa as a coach and an administrator, with his last year on the club Executive Committee being in 2000.

For the All Blacks, Ash played 11 matches including one test for a total of 8 points (2 tries, under the 4 points for a try scoring system in use those days).

Chairpersons Update

As we head into the business end of the season we have our thirds sitting on top of the northern table but still need to stay there with their grade going to a straight final with the southern division. Our Senior B team had a close loss last week and need to get back on the horse and win their final two games and rely on NPOB or Southern to lose a game so we can have a home semi. Our Premiers are tracking well, with a win this week and a bonus point will lock us in a home semi and a top of the table finish. All senior teams are at home against Clifton so make a day of it.

Saturday will see the start of our Streamline Junior Rugby season with over 170 juniors hitting the fields. Be sure to call by, grab a Proof and Stock coffee from our café and line the sidelines in Blue and White.

This week our Netball - Rugby combined 80’s Party will also be a celebration of 40 years of Tukapa Netball. Read below for more info around the years of Netball.

"Blue and White for Life"

Scott Siffleet, Club Chairman

Celebrating 40 years of Tukapa Netball

40 years ago a group of girls was sitting in the old Tukapa gym having a beer after watching their husbands, partners, family members, friends play rugby.  Someone had an idea to get a netball team together and there began the new era of netball at Tukapa.  One team started the journey made up of True Blue’s and a tidal wave followed.  We are lucky to have the majority of those ladies still active in the club today.  Tukapa was the first rugby club in the province to include netball in its structure.

By year three there was a junior team (those annoying little sisters) making up team two for the club.  Within five years there were nine teams and the club was the biggest in the Northern Taranaki region. Tukapa Netball has remained a dominant club since that time.

The best thing about this club was the loyalty, with many team members being recruited from rugby player’s wives and girlfriends. There have been many marriages through the years that attest to the closeness of the rugby and netball family. The early bus trips were legendary, organised to play netball, watch rugby but more importantly bond together.  The tales are worth sharing but you know the rules … what goes on tour, stays on tour.

The club has enjoyed great success throughout the many NPL grades and has played in various Taranaki Premium team grades giving a pathway for up and coming players.  The club provides opportunities for all grades of netball and supports those who are super competitive as well as those who just want to have fun.  Of course, there is always an “Old Girls” team to be found that want to do both!

The Tukapa Netball club has played an active role in the Tukapa Rugby & Sports Club for 40 years, long may it long continue.

Congratulations Tukapa Netball Club on your 40 years!

“Come along to Tukapa to celebrate 40yrs of Tukapa Netball in true 80s style, get ya 80s dress-up out and come dance to all the 80s bangers with DJ Vybe from 8pm” – Prizes for Best Dressed Gal & Guy

Chairpersons Update

Now that the rain has arrived, our boys are looking forward to testing their positive style of play and their skills in classic mid-winter rugby conditions.

This week is a massive game for the Division one team against Southern and the result could be the difference of having a home semi or not. Southern sit on top of the table and have not lost a game, So I am sure that Bailey, Plims and Juffers will have our boys firing to get the win. Make sure you get there for the 1.00pm start.

Saturday is Whanau Day at Tukapa with a bouncy castle, face painting, and a free pack of chippies to the first 60 kids. So, block out the afternoon and bring the whole family along and enjoy a day at the Chook house.          

Our café will be open from 12.30 selling Pies, Hotdogs, Hot chips, Nanas Vege Soup and of course Proof and Stock Coffee. You can also order a hamburger and chips upstairs at the kitchen and have a family meal together with the players. You must order at the kitchen during the day with a cost of $10 each.

Do not let the weather keep you away. The committee has made sure everything is in place to make your day enjoyable, the game will live streamed on all TV sets and big screen in the club rooms and all food and refreshment facilities will be operating from 12.30pm.

I look forward to seeing you all at the chook house and we will keep our fingers crossed that the rain disappears before kick-off.

Scott Mellow 50 Games for Tukapa Premiers

Scott is another old boy from Francis Douglas Memorial College. He left School and headed back down the coast to where he called home and played for Coastal. As time went on, he met a lovely lady in New Plymouth and then found himself working in New Plymouth so made the move to a town team.

Scott joined Tukapa RFC in 2017 after commencing his senior rugby with Coastal and has played for our Premier team at either prop or hooker ever since.

Scott’s arrival at Tukapa was met with immediate success when our Senior A’s won the 2017 Taranaki championship title after a nail-biting final which we won in the last few minutes of the game. Significantly that victory was against Scott’s old club Coastal.

On the back of his impressive form in 2017, Scott was one of seven Tukapa players chosen for the Taranaki B rep team.

In 2018 Scott was part of our Prem side beaten at Sanders Park by NPOB in the semi-finals but he had the consolation that season of being picked for the Taranaki Bulls rep team. At the end of season prizegiving in 2018, Scott picked up the Len Earby Trophy for top overall afternoon grades player.

History repeated itself for Scott in 2019 when our Senior As were beaten in the semis but he was once again selected for the Taranaki Bulls.

This season Scott has once more shown outstanding form and is now considered a leader and key part of the Chooks Premier side. Reflecting his seniority, Scott was captain for the day last Saturday when our Prems defeated Coastal at Rahotu to retain the Craig Eaton Cup.

Never miss a Home Game

Did you know that all our home games are now live streamed on our website, our facebook page and on YouTube?

To watch on the website goto https://www.tukapa.co.nz/ scroll down to News and a post will be there 10 mins before start time with a title like for example this week : Tukapa vs Southern Live

To watch on Facebook goto https://www.facebook.com/tukaparugbyclub gameday will go live well before the game kicks off.

To watch on YouTube a link will be posted on our Facebook page and on our weekly News Update on a Thursday. All away games will only stream live on the YouTube channel.

This weeks game on YouTube can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=TRFU+ch+3

Chairpersons Update

Well, what a day the Chook house went off for the Tukapa Old Timers and Sponsors day. It was great to see so many people out and supporting Tukapa. Special mention to those who travelled from outside the region.

A successful weekend with wins for all our senior teams, two centurions added to the history books, and a pumping clubroom on Saturday night!

Also a special thanks to NZ Forestry for your support with the live band ‘Playin Up’ who put on an awesome performance Saturday night!

I can say that the bar taking was one of the best we have had in recent years.

With all the support the Boys have off the field, all three teams are doing well on the field. All teams are in the top four and looking to stay there given we stay injury-free.

This Week Games

This week our Pacific Fuel Haul Division one and Egmont Seeds Premiers are away to Coastal at Rahotu with kick-off times of 1.00pm and 2.45pm.

Our Gardiner Plumbing Division two team is at home to Coastal with a 1.00pm kick-off.

It looks like the weather should be fine and a great day of rugby is on the cards.

Supporters Bus for Coastal

Due to the great support over the bar and from our Sponsors we have decided to run a couple of buses down to Rahotu. If supporters are keen to come on these it will be $10 at the door of the bus.

1^st Bus leaves with the Div 1 team at 11.00am from Tukapa

2^nd Bus leaves with the Premiers at 12.00 noon from Tukapa

There is only one bus returning leaving Rahotu at 6.30pm and back at Tukapa at 10.00pm with a couple of stops on the way home.

Craig Eaton Remembrance Cup

The Craig Eaton Remembrance Cup, which is to be competed for on Saturday at Rahotu,  is named in honour of Craig Eaton who died in 2018 aged 52. The Cup was donated by Craig’s widow Lianne and their three daughters Rebecca, Courtenay and Olivia.

Craig played 27 consecutive seasons of afternoon grade rugby for Tukapa before he retired from the game in 2010. He began straight out of school in the Under 17 grade, then moved up through Under 19’s, Colts and Senior B’s to become the Senior A pivot in the late 1980s/ early 1990s. From about 1996 onwards, Craig played first five eighth for the highly successful Tukapa Senior Thirds team which won eight Taranaki championship titles between 1998 and 2010.

During his time as Tukapa’s Senior A first five Craig was also a regular in that position for the Taranaki B team.

One of Craig’s last wishes was a trophy in his name be played for at Premier level between his beloved Tukapa club and Coastal, firstly because there was no existing trophy between the two clubs but mainly because Craig’s family, including his dad Kelvin, were originally Coastal people.

Junior players needed

WANTED: keen and enthusiastic junior players to join a second Tukapa under 11 team!!

The competition starts 25th July 2020. If you know anyone who may be interested, please get them to contact Junior Convener Leigh Werder 027 768 8725 or Club Chairman Scott Siffleet 021 317331 ASAP.

We are also still taking players in all other grades.