ANDREW THOMPSON
Board Member

Andrew Thompson has been involved with the Taranaki Rugby Board since 2015, where he was co-opted a year before becoming an elected director.  Andrew has held the position of Chairman since 2020 until May 2023.

Andrew is currently General Manager and shareholder of the privately owned agricultural business Agrisource previously having held global senior management roles within the agricultural crop protection field.

Andrew has held administration roles for the New Plymouth Old Boys Rugby Club with particular interest in the junior rugby area and was a former first-class player for the Counties Rugby Union.

CHERRY BLYDE
President

Cherry is married to Steve, (31 years). Cherry and Steve are Dairy Farmers, and have four children. All four have played and three still are playing rugby. Cherry has been involved with rugby since 1990 when Taranaki first had a Womens team. Since then she has been involved with the game; Coaching (Junior Rugby), Junior Convenor of Clifton, Manager for Taranaki Women 7’s teams, worked for TRFU as Secondary Schools Liaison 2013-2016. Cherry is very passionate about the grass roots rugby and the development of the Girls/Womens game.

​​​​​​​KEVIN BARRETT
Vice President

Kevin and wife Robyn are proud organic Dairy Farmers from Pungarehu and have been around the Coastal Rugby scene for many years.

Kevin was appointed Vice President of the TRFU Board in 2022 and is loving being involved in Taranaki Rugby since retiring from playing in 1999.

Kevin has eight children, three of which are in the current Yarrows Taranaki Bulls squad and his eldest son Kane, used to captain the team.

DAN RADCLIFFE
Chairperson

Dan Radcliffe joined the Taranaki Rubgy Board in 2020 as an appointed Director and in June 2023 was nominated as Chairperson. 

Dan is a Taranaki entrepreneur and businessman who lives in North Taranaki with his young family. Through his work in business, Dan has enjoyed a number of successes, including the New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2014 and being inducted into the World Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2015. Dan is affiliated to the Clifton Rugby Club - the club he played for as a junior.

JOHN DAZLEY
Elected Director

Originally arriving in New Zealand to play rugby for Stratford in 1997 for a year, John decided to stay and make Taranaki his home. John has been constantly involved with the Stratford club and was involved in the successful merger of the Stratford and Eltham rugby clubs. It has been a pleasure for John to give back to the game which has had a great impact on his journey so far. John is looking forward to the opportunity to be on the TRFU board in these ever changing and challenging times for rugby.

MARISE JAMES
Appointed Director

Marise was co-opted to the TRFU Board in 2016 and became an Appointed director in 2018. She is a Chartered Accountant and director of Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Taranaki Limited, one of Taranaki’s leading accountancy firms. Marise has extensive experience in advising both commercial and rural businesses. Her diverse experience includes being a hands on dairy farmer, and she has wide governance experience having been on the boards of TSB Bank, Fonterra, FMG Insurance and Landcorp to name but a few. Marise is a Nuffield scholar and was awarded a Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand in 2014 and the Institute of Directors in April 2014.

PETER TENNENT
Appointed Director

Peter was co-opted, then became an Appointed Director in 2018. Peter and his wife own and operate The Devon Hotel. Peter was the New Plymouth Mayor until 2010, and continues to take an active role in a number of community organisations.

SARAH MAKO 
Appointed Director

Sarah is of Ngaruahinerangi, Ngāti Rangitihi and Ngāti Whitikaupeka descent and is currently the Pou Taiao Matua/ Senior Environmental Policy Advisor for Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa, the post settlement governance entity for Te Atiawa. She has been a practising environmental planner for 10 years. 

A keen sportsperson, Sarah plays netball and basketball competitively. Having grown up in Stratford, where her whānau reside, Sarah is passionate about Taranaki Rugby and has a long association with Eltham Rugby Club and Stratford Rugby and Sports Club. She was an avid supporter of the merger of the two clubs. 

Sarah is actively involved in her hapū and iwi, currently serving as a trustee on Te Korowai o Ngāruahine. She is focused on supporting her whānau and community to achieve their aspirations.