Chairpersons Update
As we start to get the wheels turning for hopefully a season of rugby without any Covid disruptions, Tukapa is looking in great shape across all teams. I would like to welcome our new and old coaches back and thank you for the time you give up.
| Premiers | Ben Siffleet, Nathan Lawrence |
| Div 1 | Bailey Walsh, Kris Moller |
| Colts | Zinny Sinclair, Jared Werder |
| Div 2 | Daniel Green, Reece Hannam |
Without these guys doing what they do and giving our players the best opportunity to develop we would not have rugby teams to support.
As well as our coaches, I also what to thank my Executive committee for all the work behind the scenes you guys do 12 months of the year.
| Chairperson | Scott Siffleet |
| Club Administrator | Jan Holdt |
| Club Captain | Daniel Green |
| Treasurer | Tom O’Connor |
| Board members | Reece Hannam |
| Darryn Jones (Junior Convenor) | |
| Jack Deluca | |
| Dan Johanson | |
| President | Dave Fuller |
| Vice President | Lindsay Thomson |
| Patron | Peter Coles |
| RDO | Ben Siffleet |
On top of all these people there are also a lot of other volunteers that keep our great club going, thank you guys you are great.
I have been up at pre-season this year and I am very impressed that all our teams are training as one and helping each other out - with over 30 at every training session, this is great. Our motto for the season is ONE CLUB and for me this means we don’t leave anyone behind, we look after our mates and everyone is included no matter where you are from or who you are. Life is too short not to enjoy our time at Tukapa and it has taken till now when we lost Rangi to realise that everyone takes something different from Tukapa but at the end of the day we all love the place and our Family there.
Lighting Project
An update on our lighting project, we are only a matter of weeks before we can flick the switch on Stage 2 and have lights for field 1 to join our already completed field 2. You will see that our lights are now all in place on field 1 thanks to Daniel Green, Ben Siffleet, Darryn Jones, Liam Bernet, Mason Porteous, Talor Owen, Pete Siffleet and myself. Also big thanks to Hirepool and Chris Bell for the lend of a scissor lift and digger.
While we had the scissor at the club we have also managed to get four lights back working on field 3 using bits off the other field’s old lights. Hopefully, in the near future, we will have funding to also upgrade this field.
At this stage, Rugby will start on the 9th of April against NPOB for all teams with our Premier’s and Division 1’s kicking off over at the Whitehouse at 1pm and 2.45pm and our Colts and Division 2 at the chook house at 1pm. The following weekend being Easter we are looking at Premiers, Division 1 and Colts all playing under lights on the Thursday night to free up Easter weekend. But with all this said, who knows where we will be at with the mighty Covid.
I have talked about all our volunteers and the other most important part of running our club is our Sponsors without them we would not have the funds to keep our club alive. I have started working through the list of Sponsors and if you are a sponsor I will be in contact over the next couple of weeks. For our members I also need a hand with sponsors, I need you to help me and be sure to shop with our sponsors, use the trades that sponsor us and be sure to tell them the reason you are using them is because they support Tukapa. When I meet with sponsors this is the biggest thing they want to see is that our own members support them as they support us. So please get behind our sponsors and back our own people.
This year we have a change in RDO (rugby development officer) which is a paid roll through the TRFU and funded by the Taranaki Farm Trust. This trust is a real asset to Taranaki rugby and the envy of all other unions through NZ. This year Ben Siffleet is our man for Tukapa and has already brought some fresh ideas to the roles with “Give It a Go” days for our Juniors running on a Thursday to try and get more kids involved in rugby. Ben will be a real asset to Tukapa and is more than happy to help out with any coaches that need a hand. He has also started sessions in Primary Schools today with St John Bosco, St Joesphs, Frankley and Westown all in the 1st term program as well as working closely with Francis Douglas.
An update on a memorial for our mate Rangi. We have been looking at the 3rd of April for this but with the way the world is at the moment we don’t want to run this in the current bubble set up so will put this on hold until we can do it properly.
Pre Season So we have booked in two teams to go to Wellington and defend the Zemba Cup, this is a tradition we have brought back alive over the last few years and will again play this year, the date for this is 26th March.
We also have a new game this year that we hope everyone can get in behind and support as our season launch we will be playing Chooks All Stars Vs College Old boys which will be an in-house game on the 19th March. We are still working through details with more info to come.
In the next few days you will get another email on how to join as a player and/or Social member for 2022
In line with New Zealand Rugby advice, Tukapa Rugby & Sports Club will require ALL club members to hold a Vaccine Certificate to participate in training and game day activities as well as entering the club’s premises. The club premises are defined as the clubrooms, deck and concreted area around the building, changing rooms and on-field areas.
Spectator areas will be defined as “uncontrolled areas” and will be the personal responsibility of individuals to follow the appropriate public health guidelines.
This year we are introducing digital membership cards through the Sporty website:
- This will manage the mandatory uploading of My Vaccine Passes (MVP) when registering as a player or social member
- Members must register individually (ie. partners of members no longer register together as MVP’s are required for each person)
- Players and members will have the ability to manage their digital cards on their phones
- This is more cost effective for the club
Members and players from the 2021 season will receive an email with a link to the website as well as instructions on how to save your digital card to your phone. A reminder that all registrations will require the uploading of your MVP to finalise the process.
If you have any issues with this please talk to me.
Alternatively, here is a link to the forms:
Social Members https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/189131
Senior Players https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/171695
A message from the Premier Management
2022 season at Tukapa is looking exciting. Pre-season for the club has started well and we have some great keen players putting their hand up early.
Our new prop Tom Edwards from Canterbury is here and looking strong. Tom is a builder that can play both sides of the scrum, we welcome Tom and his partner to the club. We also have Keahn Tipu joining us from the Gold Coast. Keahn is a 10 / 15 and we are excited to have him and his partner joining us at Tukapa. Our third player coming into the Squad is Campbell Woodmass who is a halfback that has been playing for the Wellington Lions and a good mate of an ex Tukapa man Scott Waldrom. Again we welcome Campbell and partner to our Tukapa Family.
Along with the new blood both Lukas Halls and Chris Jollands are looking fit after missing last club season and with the return of some old heads such as Scott Mellow, Leighton Price and Pomare Samupo, the 2022 prem squad is shaping up nicely.
We are now in full swing with pre-season training so get along and get into Rugby.
Ben Siffleet, Co Coach Tukapa Premiers
A message from our Club Captain
The Tukapa season didn’t all go to plan but we are already looking forward to the 2022 season. With a few pres-eason trainings already taking place getting rid of the holiday food bubble, it’s good to see people are keen. There are already a few new faces appearing which is a good sign, but we will always welcome more.
The Senior 3rds haven’t started their recruitment drive yet so don’t be surprised if some of you get a message. The majority of the lads will be back so no doubt the social environment will still be in fine form, but in saying that, we would all like to improve on the footy field as well.
With the season starting with a trip to Poneke and new lights to play under, there’s certainly plenty to look forward to in the season ahead.
Lastly thank you to all the volunteers for the endless help throughout the season. It certainly doesn’t go unnoticed.
I look forward to seeing you all again this year.
Daniel Green
I really just cannot wait to get into the season and see some great rugby played by our Blue and White Hoops. See you at the chookhouse.
Blue and White for life, your chairperson Scott Siffleet
Recent Comments