Village Viewpoint - Fri 11 April 2025

Welcome to The Village Viewpoint sponsored by Gavin and Cassie Murphy and the team at Gee and Hickton Ltd Funeral Directors, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua.

We had a spectacular start to the season, our teams went five wins from five and it turned out to be a stunning Autumn day at the Recreation ground. It was great to see supporters lined up around the grounds, catching up, enjoying the rugby, the sun and a snack from the kiosk.

The Ponies kicked off the day in style with a convincing win over Paremata-Plimmerton. They scored some great tries under the warm morning sun in a day that saw them baptize 9 new debutants.

A tougher ask this weekend as they travel to Kilbirnie park to take on Poneke. They are boosted by the inclusion of Harmony and Nia back from Hurricanes Poua duty.

The Colts start from scratch this week after The Wellington, Avalon and Wainuiomata colts teams have been pulled from the competition. Another worrying blow for our game. It remains to be seen what action the union will take, the rules are clear, in order to field a Premier team you must have a colts presence. Watch this space.

The colts ran rampant against the Axemen last weekend in an 80 point drubbing. Vice captain Jacob Gibbs always looked dangerous in the midfield as well as scoring a good try on the left edge. With de-powered scrums it was tough for props Junior and Faenza to make a statement but were industrious around the park. The tall frames of Madoc and Kai were a nightmare for the Axemen at lineout time, stifling their ball time and time again. Adam Jansen Van Vuuren showed why the Premier coaches have showed interest in the exciting young fullback.

A much different kettle of fish this week as they take on our friends from over the bridge HOBM. A massive first round clash in the newly formatted colts round 1 competition. If you are tentative about getting out to Tawa, pop down to the Rec to see these two talented young sides go at it. Harry moves into the starting lineup at hooker and Marcus boosts the team after his premier debut last week. John Fitzgerald runs the cutter and will look to unlock talented young wingers Nahson and Etuale with plenty of space on the fringes.

It was the same story on field 3 as the Prem Reserves went on to a blowout win against the Axemen. Another game with depowered scrums due to numbers it turned into a pretty loose affair, but was still full of big hits. Marco Venter's physicality and carries were immense, the depth the club has at lock currently is very exciting. Nathan was busy all game as usual, he even found himself in space on a couple occasions but prefered finding the comfort of heavy contact. Josh Styche lead the team from the front, quick shout out for Josh he also sits on the Rugby Committee as the players representative, thanks for getting involved off the field Stychie! Tom Fleming scored a blistering hat trick, there's no substitute for speed and Tom had quite a bit more than his Axeman counterparts. Harry Wrigley threw crisp bullet passes all day from 9.

On debut for the club having come to us from the UK, young Luke Pearson had a blinder of a game in the loose, he was into everything and scored a commanding try bumping off multiple defenders to dot down under the posts, welcome to the club. Kurtis Imries game is developing rapidly, his defence is already becoming a bit of an urban legend with some August Collins like hits in the midfield. Young Regan Shaw had a cracker off the bench with multiple evasive carries.

Much like the colts the Prem reserves face a very different proposition this week when they take on the very historically strong Tawa Prem 2 side. Bolstered by Tau, Teddi, Rory, Max, Leyton and Lipo, the B’s will fancy themselves out at Lyndhurst. They will need to take a big step up after the carnival style of footy from the previous week. Coaches Siu Anae and Mike Woollett will be reminding the boys to stay in it for 80mins, a loss in the dying minutes the last time they ventured to Lyndhurst will still be fresh in many of the players memories.

The Brotherhood went from a dire situation last Thursday night at training to a solid win against Paremata-Plimmerton on Saturday. Numbers were tight and there was some talk the team might have run its course but thanks to Edwena, Boxy and Brent the Brotherhood faithful rallied and they got a well fought W on the no 3 at the recreation ground.

It was great to see veterans like ‘Iron’ Mike Tregaskis and Christopher ‘The Factory’ Lolohea in the ranks, both of them still have the mongrel to compete and mana to lead.

They face traditional rivals the Ponike Ruffnuts this weekend. This matchup always provides the fireworks, big hits and some festival tries. If you are watching the colts make sure to stick around and cheer on the Brotherhood at 2:45pm.

A clunky but convincing win for the prems last weekend. We showed glimpses of how good we can be mixed in with some early season mistakes, multiple needless or incontestable kicks handed possession away, sinking attacking opportunities.

Jermaine Pepe, new to the club was sound at the back, showed some silky touches and is already cementing his place as a strong leader. It was great to see young Ben Kershaw out there injury free and enjoying his footy, he had a big contingent of supporters in the north western corner of the ground. A special day for a brace of local boys Marcus and Faenza, both old boys of HVHS made their debuts. Braith Ingram was the pick from our pack, he was everywhere, he was physical and was a real nuisance for the Axemen. Logan Wakefields addition has been huge, a terror for opposition at lineout time he also brings a wealth of leadership and experience to the team after a number for Heartland campaigns with Wairarapa Bush. Riley forbes looked dangerous with limited pill in perfect conditions for an outside back.

Great turnout for clubroom clean up Sunday morning from the boys, well earned bacon butties! They have set the bar high.

We travel away to Tawa tomorrow, who toppled last years Jubilee cup Champions OBU in round 1. Jordan Bradbrook back home this season gets the green light in the centers, combining with Hurricane and All Black XV star Riley Higgins on his journey back from injury, he will be one to watch igniting the Petone backline. Another young star Thompson Tukapua gets a start at 10 after his lively debut last week, his electric speed and accurate boot will hopefully have us playing in the right areas of the field. Cam Ferreira will be looking to go quick and run around the heavy Tawa pack . Marcus Roil will be pivotal to us getting the upper hand up front, he is in career best shape and put on a scrumming clinic the previous weekend. Towering lock Sam Thomson out of St Pats Silverstream will make an impact from the bench, as too will versatile veteran front rower Kafa'onga Katoa.

There are a few crafty elder statesman in the Tawa side including Belgium Tuatagaloa, a PRFC Blazer recipient who had a stunning season for us last year. Many are confused by the move, we will need to be on our toes, we know how he can break a game wide open.

As you all know Tawa is terrible for finding a park so carpool and get out there early! Prem Reserve 1:00pm, Prem Kick off 2:45pm.

N. Punivai has seen more gametime than he was maybe anticipating this season, he has looked great on the edge for the Canes. Pete continues his massive workload for the side tonight at number eight and Brads presence will be felt off the bench. They Face the Crusaders 7:05pm tonight at the Cake Tin.

Over the weekend, Black Fern #170, our very own legend Jackie Patea-Fereti announced her retirement from rugby.

Jackie was selected for the Black Ferns in 2011 and made her Test debut against England in 2012, playing a total of 18 Tests.

A proud representative of the Wellington region, she has played for both Hurricanes Poua and Wellington Pride — including captaining Poua from 2023 to 2025. Jackie also holds the official record for most games played for Wellington, with 85 appearances.

A tremendous career that spans over 2 decades. Jax is a devout servant of the game, especially here in the Hutt Valley and an incredible role model not just for our Ponies but all rugby players.

We wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Thank you Jax for your years of service to the club and the huge impact you have had elevating the game. Kia Kaha Kia Maia

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We desperately need a few more volunteers to help out around the club. If you would like to put your hand up or know someone who is keen to help, flick an email to Steve Tanner st@bcasolutions.co.nz we would especially love to talk to anyone with finance or bookkeeping experience.

If you have any news or info for the Village Viewpoint flick it through to Hack haydenotoole@gmail.com

Up the Saddle! Go the Canes!