MIKE'S WAIKATO RUGBY REFEREES EXCHANGEJul 27, 2010
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Waikato Rugby Referees Exchange - July 2010
Trip Report by Michael Wyer
Day 1
I landed in Auckland on a Friday afternoon to be picked up by Brian Alcock, a senior referee from the Waikato Rugby Union. An easy drive south of 120km (90 minutes) gets us to the Waikato region and the capital city of Hamilton. There I met my host family, Murray and Elaine Hunt, and a few of the local sheep. Joining me on the trip was Hong Kong referee Stefan Lehner; another Aussie, which confused the New Zealanders who said they were expecting at least one Asian-looking guy from Singapore/Hong Kong (!).
Me and Murray Hunt (a local referee and my host for the trip) |
Making friends with the locals |
Day 2 - Saturday
My first game was an Under 19s match between Melville Rugby Club and Pirongia Rugby Club. Melville is a suburb of the city of Hamilton whilst Pirongia is a town at the base of the Pirongia Mountain (959 metres high) which is a 30-minute drive from Hamilton. The pitch was much softer than in Singapore and the temperature much colder (~8° Celsius) but the game was high-tempo with a lot of aggressive counter-rucking to bring quick ball. Pirongia won the match 17 – 12.
Melville U19 players pre-game warm-up (temperature about 8° Celsius |
Me with Perry, local ref. |
The striking difference, to Singapore rugby, which I felt at my game and later at one of the Premier games was how entirely engulfing rugby is for the local community. You might think this is obvious because it is New Zealand after all but until you are in the middle of it you do not appreciate how rugby focused they are. There are so many games going on and people watching it is like a rugby festival on every available piece of green turf. The local rugby competition has five divisions including Premier A, Promotion-Relegation, Premier B, 85kg and Under 19s. Each division has about 12 clubs competing. The best players from the Premier A division will be selected in the Waikato team which competes in the “NPC” In the picture below you can see #13 is Super 14 Brumbies first-five eighth Christian Lealiifano who has signed with Waikato for the NPC and is playing below for local club team Marist.
Marist players (#13 is Christian Lealiifano) |
Waikato Rugby Union |
Days 3 – 5 and Days 7 - 9 : “Gwynne Shield” Waikato Schools Rugby Tournament (round robin)
The Gwynne Shield is an annual regional junior rugby tournament for boys Under 13 years and under 55kg weight. It has been contested in the Waikato since 1921 and involves more than 200 students. Ten teams from across the Waikato were competing in the tournament, after which Waikato age group selectors will chose the region's representative team. We had to referee six games during the tournament including the Semi-finals and I was appointed as Assistant Referee for the final which was easily won by Te Awamutu 25 points to 5 , over Cambridge. Although the boys are quite young their skills were excellent (amazing in fact). They were very good at the break-down in their recycling of the ball and were most impressive with their handling and passing.
Stadium #2 pitch |
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Match Officials for Gwynne Shield Final, 2010
(L-R: John R; Herbie T; Michael W)
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Matangi conversion kick |
Day 6 – day off to be a tourist
After an overnight temperature close to zero degrees we were pleased to have beautiful clear weather for our rest day. Hamilton City is at the centre of many fantastic tourist destinations such as Lake Taupo, Rotorua and Waitomo Caves all of which are no more than an hour and a half drive away. On the way to Rotorua we stopped briefly in the small town of Tokoroa which has recently produced both All Black (Richard Kahui) and Wallaby (Quade Cooper) players. A bit of trivia there! In the evening we were given tickets by the WRU to the NPC pre-season game of Waikato versus Auckland at the Waikato Stadium. Waikato won the game 34 – 14. It is worth mentioning the stadium further because the grass / pitch surface is apparently the best in New Zealand. It was the venue for the recent All Blacks vs Wales test match and also the venue for the Final of the Gwynne Shield.
NPC pre-season game: Waikato vs Auckland. Japan’s Taizo Hirabayashi is one of the ARs. |
L-R: Murray and Elaine Hunt (Waikato/Cambrige Refs); Stefan Lehner (HK Refs); Michael Wyer (S’pore Refs) |
Day 10 : Saturday senior rugby (85kg division)
My last senior game was in an 85kg game between Melville and Te Rapa. The 85kg division is very popular because it allows for very evenly matched forward packs and a fast pace due to the lack of really big guys on the pitch (and there are a lot of REALLY BIG guys in New Zealand which you do well to avoid). Te Rapa is leading the 85kg league and was much too strong for Melville in winning 53 – 12 but the score belies the tightness of the contest for the ball at the tackle-ruck and required very conscientious reffing to keep control of things.
Melville versus TeRapa (85kg) |
Melville versus TeRapa (85kg) |
Melville versus TeRapa (85kg) |
Day 11 : Last day
My last day and my lasting memories are of two things: the stunning natural beauty of New Zealand and particularly the Waikato region and of rugby players piling into each other at the breakdown.
New Zealand’s famous ‘Long White Cloud’ |
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