Our 2024 Season
The 2024 season was a testament to resilience and growth for the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union. Despite challenges, including Cyclone Gabriel's impact, the union saw record-breaking participation across all levels and notable success in the Heartland Championship, culminating in a Lochore Cup final appearance. Continued efforts in community engagement, female participation, and infrastructure improvements have laid a strong foundation for future success.
Our Board
The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union Board has seven members – four independent; Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of our Council of Clubs; and Chairperson of our JAB. The President is also part of the Board but has no voting rights.
Board Members
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Adam Simperingham – Independent Board Member
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Alice Houkamau – Board Member / Chair of JAB
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Colin Skudder – Council of Clubs Deputy Chair
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Hayden Green – Independent Board Member / Chair
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Meka Whaitiri – Independent Board Member
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Mitchell Purvis – JAB Deputy Chair
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Sarah Pohatu – Independent Board Member
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Tim Lister – Council of Clubs Chairperson
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Non-Board Members
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Daniel Newman – Co-opted Board Appointment
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Jacques van Wyk – Finance Manager
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John Kirkup – Provincial Union Support Manager
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Ken Houkamau – Vice President
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Ray Noble – CEO
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Sione Ngatu – President
Our History
Members of the armed constabulary had formed what they referred to as a rugby club, at Ormond in 1876 but the first officially recognized club in the district was the Gisborne Football club of 1878 Initially, home-and-away games were arranged with the Napier Club – when matches were endless gladiatorial mauling contests and tries registered 2 points – but these had to be discontinued when the Hawkes Bay Rugby Union was formed in 1884. However, once the Gisborne club decided to adhere to the rules of the English Rugby Union it was joined by the formation of the Union Club in 1886 and the 1888 Rover Club in games played on ‘Tucker’s Paddock.”
Two years later, the Gisborne Club and the Rover Club had been supplanted by the Poverty Bay and Turanganui Clubs and had been further joined by Waimata and Waerenga-a-hika. On 30 August 1890 a meeting of 40 delegates from these clubs, at the Masonic Hotel, agreed to adopt the Auckland Rugby Union rules and the Poverty Bay Rugby Union was formed, with Capt. W.H.Tucker as President. Affiliation with the NZRU, one year after the founding of that national body, followed in 1893. That was also the year that the Poverty Bay Representative team had its first win, 15-4 over Hawkes Bay, at Napier.
The next year,1894, saw a 6-6 draw with Hawkes Bay and a 6-19 loss against a Wellington team led by the famous “Offside” McKenzie and containing six other current or later All Blacks. The game was played in the morning while the north-bound steamer was unloading in the roadstead. Poverty Bay’s leading player, James Poynter, became the first Poverty Bay player to receive national recognition when he was later selected for the first North Island XV ever assembled and which succeeded 15-3 over the team from the colony of NSW – the first overseas team to tour New Zealand.
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