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—

Back to Year by Year Index click here

With one win in its first six Heartland Championship games Poverty Bay was bottom of the table, but the performances were better than the results would suggest. The opening loss to King Country turned on an intercept try, the Osborne Taonga was lost to Ngati Porou East Coast in the rain where the result was in doubt until the final whistle, and Poverty Bay led Whanganui 24–20 with 20 minutes to go before succumbing 24–32. Only against eventual champion South Canterbury was the side outclassed.

Both of the last two matches were won which lifted the side up to 10th position on the final table, two points from a playoff place. The meritorious win over third-placed Thames Valley was well deserved.

The forward pack set a good platform. In the front row, tighthead prop James Higgins was in outstanding form both in the scrum and general ball carrying. Injury in the Osborne Taonga match against Ngati Porou East Coast ended his season which was a blow to the team, and he would surely have earned NZ Heartland selection again otherwise. Shayde Skudder was a vital cog at hooker in the scrums and general play, as well as an accurate thrower into the lineout. In his second season, Lance Dickson progressed well and finished as the first-choice loosehead prop.

Locks Dan Law and loan player Morgan Reedy won plenty of possession from lineouts and worked hard in the tight. It was a shame Reedy was not available for every match. Adrian Wyrill, who missed last year’s Heartland Championship due to injury, was again the standout loose forward and openside flanker Keanu Taumata, in his second season, gave a good account of himself. Jesse Kapene fitted in well at No 8 until the experienced Tamanui Hill returned from injury.

Debutant Moses Christie was an exciting discovery at fullback, with his ability to kick goals and launch counter-attacks. He was also very sound on defence. Te Peehi Fairlie was the pick of the wings. Player of Origin Ted Walters had a number of midfield partners and the most effective combination seemed to be with Ethine Reeves against West Coast in the final match. With over 50 games for the province behind him, Reeves had spent most of the season with the Development team.

Ruan Du Plooy was a classy halfback who also fitted in well at first-five when Kelvin Smith made a late start due to injury.

Andrew Tautaevalu, one of Poverty Bay’s best players in recent years, was named in the Heartland Championship squad but then chose to withdraw. Matthew Raleigh had returned from Wairarapa Bush and Ruan Du Plooy, who has represented Waikato in 2012, arrived after a stint playing in Hong Kong.

POVERTY BAY APPEARENCES 2022

	Name	Position	PL	TR	CON	PEN	DG
	Lance Dickson	Prop	10 (6)	0	0	0	0
	Tamanui Hill	No. 8	8 (2)	2	0	0	0
	Shayde Skudder	Flanker, Hooker	11 (2)	4	0	0	0
	Jarryd Broughton	Prop	3 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Morgan Reedy	Lock, Loose Forward	5	0	0	0	0
	Keanu Taumata	Loose Forward	11 (1)	2	0	0	0
	Stuart Leach	Loose Forward	1	0	0	0	0
	Rawiri Sonny Boy 'Ra' Broughton	Scrum Half	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Ruan A. du Plooy	Scrum Half	10	1	0	0	0
	Te Peehi H.H. Fairlie	Wing	9	4	0	0	0
	Jacob Leaf	Centre	6 (3)	0	0	0	0
	Taine Aupouri	Centre	1	0	0	0	0
	Ricardo Patricio	First Five	9 (7)	1	5	0	0
	Jordan McFarlane	Hooker	5 (1)	2	0	0	0
	Campbell Peter Lincoln Chrisp	Prop	3 (3)	0	0	0	0
	James Higgins	Prop	7 (2)	1	0	0	0
	George Whakatope	Flanker	2 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Kesomi (Niko) Lauti	Loose Forward	6 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Kupu Lloyd	Halfback	2 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Ngahiwi Manuel	Hooker	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Matthew Raleigh	Wing	2	1	0	0	0
	Mario Counsell	Halfback	8 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Moses Christie	Wing	11	5	10	6	0
	Paoraian Manuel-Harman	Fullback	2	0	0	0	0
	Mitchell Purvis	Centre	9 (2)	5	0	0	0
	Hunter Mokomoko	Wing	4 (1)	3	0	0	0
	Toru Noanoa	Prop	8 (3)	0	0	0	0
	Ethine Snowden Reeves	First Five, Fullback	4 (1)	0	1	0	0
	Adrian Wyrill	Lock	9	2	0	0	0
	Seth Lundon	Loose Forward	2 (2)	1	0	0	0
	Tione Hubbard	Centre	5	1	0	0	0
	Tulsa Kaui	Prop	11 (9)	0	0	0	0
	Nehe Papuni	Prop	1	0	0	0	0
	Adriaan Brits	Lock	5 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Matt Te Rangi Rutene	Back	5 (5)	0	0	0	0
	Ted Walters	Centre	8	3	0	0	0
	Dan Law	Lock	9	0	0	0	0
	Jesse Kapene	Loose Forward, No. 8	7 (3)	2	0	0	0
	Kelvin Muir Smith	First Five, Fullback, Wing	6 (1)	0	6	2	0
	Rikki Terekia	Hooker	5 (3)	0	0	0	0
	Braedyn Grant	Fullback	6 (4)	1	0	0	0
	Cruz Hinaki	Back	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Fletcher Scammell	Lock	11 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Solomoni Rasari	Centre	1 (1)	0	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—