100 YEAR CENTENARY

Hinuera Centenary Weekend – 26th to 28th April, 2024

The weekends festivities started Friday afternoon with welcome drinks & nibbles for 190 registered attendees. The Hinuera Indoor Sports & Events Centre was decorated with team photos from the past 100 years and slideshows of action shots from our teams in recent years.

At 5:30pm the first game of the weekend kicked off, with Hinuera Honeys playing the Coastal Barbarians (Whangamata & Ngatea combined). This was the Honeys first 15-a-side game as a team, and the home crowd what eager to see what the ladies could do. Well they didn’t disappoint. The Honeys displayed excellent continuity & running rugby to secure a resounding 36-10 victory. The girls and their supporters were ecstatic.

At 7:00pm the next two games kicked off with Hinuera Colts vs. UMS on field 1, and Hinuera Bulls vs. Waihi Athletic Presidents on field 2. The Presidents game saw a number of former Hinuera players dust off their boots for the occasion in what was a promising start for their season ahead. The Waihi team also featured some Hinuera old boys plus a couple of players from our cross-town rivals UMS. This, along with no kicking outside of your own 22, led to a ‘relatively’ fast-paced and intense game of Presidents rugby. Thankfully the ref only ran 30-minute halves. Hinuera Bulls winning 2 tries to 1.

In the Colts game, it was a real high-impact arm wrestle, typical of a local derby game. Discipline was costing both sides, however Hinuera Colts capitalised better through superior set-piece play and won 18-3. The perfect start to Hinuera’s Centenary celebrations with 3 wins from 3 games. It was all up to the Senior A’s & B’s to get the job done on Saturday.

After brief showers the night before, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day at Wealleans Park, Hinuera. Mother nature had turned it on for what would be a fabulous day of rugby & centenary celebrations.

The day’s festivities commenced with a formal lunch in our indoor events centre. 230 attendees were hosted by club legend Nick Dawson as he recounted key points in the club’s history and interviewed various other club legends regarding their playing & coaching years at the club. Invited dignitaries Adrienne Wilcock (MPDC Mayor), Matthew Cooper (NZR) & Allen Grainger (WRU) commended Hinuera Rugby & Sports on achieving their 100-year milestone. The lunch concluded with 22 notable players & coaches of yesteryear presenting the Senior A playing squad with their new centenary jerseys for the season ahead. It was a real ‘changing-of the-guard’ moment seeing the older generation present their jersey to the current generation.

At 1:30pm the Senior B’s were determined to keep the club’s winning streak going against the also unbeaten Putaruru B’s team. Putaruru looked set to spoil Hinuera’s celebrations as they took early ascendancy in the game with tries in quick succession, but Hinuera scored just before half-time to narrow the gap to 10-14. The words of wisdom by Hinuera’s coaching team at the break worked as Hinuera quickly scored back-to-back converted tries to take the lead 24-14. Putaruru narrowed the gap to 24-19 with a try out wide. Then Hinuera managed to put some distance between themselves & Putaruru with a penalty and another try added, taking the score to 32-19 with less than 10 minutes to go. Putaruru hit back to score with two minutes to go but missed the conversion and still trailed by 8 points. 32-24 was how the game would finish and ensured the beer would taste sweet for the Hinuera B’s team that evening.

Prior to the A’s game, both clubs lined up on the field to commemorate the ANZAC’s with the playing of the Last Post. Then it was game time. Could Hinuera A’s cap off a perfect weekend for the club with another victory? Or would Putaruru have the final say?

Well, Hinuera didn’t let the occasion get the better of them as they started with ferocious intensity. Determined running by the forwards led to a converted try within the first 2 minutes. A few minutes later Putaruru were on the board with a penalty. The game ebbed & flowed with two additional penalties to Hinuera, before Putaruru finished the half with another. 13-6 at the break to Hinuera.

The arm wrestle continued in the second half with Hinuera only adding one successful penalty from three attempts at goal. But Hinuera’s defence was rock-solid as they held Putaruru scoreless in the second half until the final play of the game. Putaruru muscled over to score under the posts, and following the conversion, the ref’s final whistle blew with the margin closed to 16-13. Hinuera A’s had cemented 5-game clean sweep for the club on its centenary celebration weekend.

With the on & off field formalities taken care of, everyone was ready to wind the clock back 100 years and dance the night away at our Roaring 20’s party. Our indoor events centre was once again transformed into a party hall, with The Monroes band taking stage and ensuring the significant dance floor area was full all night. Over 350 attendees dressed in their best Peaky Blinders or Great Gatsby costumes enjoyed a night to remember. The club vibe that night was truly special. It was the perfect way to celebrate a successful centenary weekend and 100 years of Hinuera Rugby & Sports.

But the centenary weekend was not over. The closing event was a BBQ brunch and lawn bowls at Hinuera Bowling Club on Sunday. Again, the weather was perfect. And for those looking for a relaxing way to recount the weekend’s festivities (or keep the party going), bowls and a few cold beverages in the sun was just the ticket.

Thank-you to all the club members, committee & sponsors who worked tirelessly to ensure we put on a celebration befitting our club’s 100-year achievement. The volunteered hours and services donated epitomise the ‘can-do’ attitude and community spirit of Hinuera Rugby & Sports.

Also, the immense work by Peter Michel & Jackie O’Reilly that went into documenting & designing our 366-page Centenary History Book. This is an enduring body of work which ensures our club’s history is captured and available for all to read in years to come. This book, along with other centenary merchandise is available to purchase for a limited time on our website - https://www.hinuerarugby.com/100.../centenary-merchandise-1

Here’s to Hinuera Rugby & Sports continued success in 2024 and beyond. We can’t wait to do it all again at our next milestone.

Kieren Ross

Chair of Centenary Committee

Waikato Rugby

New Zealand Rugby

Matamata-Piako District Council

Photos: Jackie's photos , Kodak and Black Matamata & NC Photography

CENTENARY NEWS