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It was another successful season for Poverty Bay and it was again Wanganui that halted the march towards the Meads Cup final. A significant improvement was the scoring of 44 tries during the championship compared with 17 the previous year. Only the champions, North Otago, scored more. Yet Poverty Bay had four players selected to the Heartland team compared with three by North Otago which was boosted by several ineligible loan players. Poverty Bay brought in just one player for the championship,Whaimotu Craft-Chemis fromTaranaki, who had been playing in Gisborne in 2008.

The use of loan players and their impact on match results in the championship often distorts the strengths of club rugby in Heartland unions. Poverty Bay union could fairly claim to be the strongest Heartland union of 2010 on the basis that all its rivals contained imported players who contributed significantly to the scoreboard. That Poverty Bay can be so successful by using its own club players is a satisfying achievement the union can be proud of. Like many aspects in life success is measured by what you own, not what you have on loan.

The team strength was in the threequarters where Origin player Craft-Chemis, Tom Teaeki and John Stewart scored 24 tries between them. Their speed and the attacking flair of fullback Kahu Tamatea provided some spectacular rugby. Pomare Samupo was a sound ball distributor in midfield. After one game captain Scott Leighton became unavailable when he joined the Police Force. In his place Tim Gardner, who had last appeared in 2007, was a reliable substitute. Halfback was the only position which was unsettled, William Haenga, Mario Counsell and Daniel Harris sharing the position.

Karl Gemmell was a young newcomer whose efforts at number eight were rewarded with Heartland selection. Another young newcomer, Lennon Carrington, and the experienced Sione Ngatu were the flankers. This effective trio, along with the front row trio of Colin Hovell, Ngarimu Simpkins and Stanley Williams, started every championship game. Hovell was a late addition to the Heartland squad. Williams was another promising newcomer while the arrival of the experienced Simpkins from Bay of Plenty provided an inspiring captain. With a pair of experienced locks in Chris Bell and Murray Hewson the forward pack was a fine blend of youth and experience.

Higher honours went to:

New Zealand Heartland:       Gemmell, Hovell, Ngatu, Simpkins, Tamatea

POVERTY BAY REPRESENTATIVES 2010

	Name	Position	PL	TR	CON	PEN	DG
	Stanley George Williams	Prop	10	3	0	0	0
	Robert Ngarimu Simpkins	Hooker	9	1	0	0	0
	Colin John Kinnard Hovell	Prop	10	2	0	0	0
	Lennon E.N.P. Carrington	Flanker	10	2	0	0	0
	Karl Nivarre Gemmell	No. 8	9	2	0	0	0
	Sione Tangi Ngatu	Flanker, Prop	10	0	0	0	0
	Daniel Harris	Halfback	8 (5)	0	0	0	0
	Scott Campbell Leighton	First Five	1	0	3	1	0
	John Morrison Stewart	Wing	10	11	0	0	0
	Timothy Michael Gardner	First Five, Fullback, Wing	10 (2)	1	4	0	0
	Allan Coll Campbell	Centre	2	0	0	0	0
	Thomas J. Teaeki	Wing	10	4	0	0	0
	Lloyd John Gabriel	Hooker	8 (8)	2	0	0	0
	Murray James Hewson	Lock	9	2	0	0	0
	Jonathan Andrew 'Jono' Naoupu	Loose Forward	6 (6)	1	0	0	0
	Tevita M. Maka	Loose Forward	4 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Jack Teepa Brooking	Centre	1	0	0	0	0
	Mario Counsell	Halfback	7 (5)	1	0	0	0
	Clayton Charles Kiwara	First Five	7 (6)	0	0	0	0
	Michael Daniel King	Centre, Loose Forward, Wing	4 (3)	0	0	0	0
	Ryan Wiggins	Wing	1	0	0	0	0
	Petelo Kepueli Piliu	Lock	6 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Daniel Barbara	Wing	5 (5)	0	0	0	0
	Ratu Samanikoroivuku Vosaki	Wing	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Christoper Richard Hayward Bell	Lock	9 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Mangu Kemp	Centre, Fullback	1	0	0	0	0
	Kahu Daniel Tamatea	First Five, Fullback	10	4	27	8	0
	Richard James Simeon 'Riki' Waitoa	Lock, Wing	3 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Hikanui Curtis	Prop	2 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Robert Rewi	Prop	1	0	0	0	0
	William J. 'Willie' Haenga	Halfback	5	0	0	0	0
	Anaru Junior Poihipi	Prop	7 (7)	0	0	0	0
	William Thomas 'Willis' Tamatea	Loose Forward	3 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Whaimotu Temuera Craft-Chemis	Centre	7	8	0	0	0
	Pomare Albert Jacob Samupo	Centre	8 (1)	3	0	0	0

We hope you enjoy this look back as we look forward to many more years of recording the history of Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union.
We acknowledge all the information from the NZ “Rugby Almanack” Series from 1934 and appreciate their hard and dedicated work in providing this detailed history. – Web Admin—