Ruatoria City rugby club icon Jum Reedy talks from the heart about legacy of Kath McLean and former players. Video / Neil Reid
Roading destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle is set to hit the rugby community on the East Coast hard in 2023.
That includes the worst-case scenario of NPC home games having to be relocated from their beloved Whakarua Park – where Ngāti Porou East Coast last year sensationally triumphed in the Lochore Cup final - and lengthy five-hour drives for some rep players and management to get to Gisborne Airport for away games.
And as the clean-up from the cyclone continues on the East Coast – which destroyed parts of State Highway 35 and other routes as well as destroying and damaging scores of homes – the province’s club rugby scene has also been badly impacted.
One of the heavyweights of the local club rugby scene, Tolaga Bay-based Uawa, has gained approval to join provincial neighbour Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union’s club competition as there were no guarantees its senior team could travel further up the East Coast for games.
And there are fears some of the province’s other club teams could struggle to field competitive teams due to both clean-up commitments and Gisborne-based players not being able to travel up the coast for games.
“The big impact is starting to hit us now, in terms of where we are with the roads. It’s tough,” Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby Union [NPECRU} chief executive Leroy Kururangi told the Herald.
“They are working hard on the roads to get them up to scratch, but it is going to take a bit longer.
“We were dumbfounded in our meeting [Tuesday’s board meeting]. . . we can’t just push the button and say, ‘Yep, we are ready to go’.
“We are hopeful that come closer to May we might know where we are. This could affect Heartland rugby . . . we don’t know. We are all impacted by this.”
Rugby unites the East Coast community.
But this year - due to widespread road destruction in the isolated province – the rugby scene is set to be divided.
There are numerous potentially lengthy closures on SH35 after Cyclone Gabrielle, including near Mangatuna due to a bridge being washed away. Photo / George Heard
The East Coast club competition has been pushed to begin in May due to the number of impassable routes around the East Coast.
And at Tuesday’s NPECRU meeting approval was given to Uawa to play in the 2023 Poverty Bay second division club competition. There are no road closures between Tolaga Bay and Gisborne, unlike the route further up the coast which has numerous closures due to slips and wash-outs.
Kururangi said the decision to allow one of the region’s best clubs to play in a rival province this season had divided opinion on the NPECRU board.
“They [Uawa] want an answer as to when the roads will be open, we can’t give them an answer,” he said.
“It was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing from within the board. But at the end of the day, they just want to play rugby . . . now they have some certainty in playing some rugby.”
The board canvassed club delegates at Tuesday’s meeting, with the majority saying they had Gisborne-based players required to fill their playing rosters.
“Waiapu, my club, has the majority of their players who live in Gisborne or work in Gisborne,” he said.
Club rugby on the East Coast plays a big part in uniting the isolated province. Photo / Neil Reid
“And they are not keen on the trip around to come through Ōpōtiki.”
The Gisborne to Ōpōtiki route via SH2 takes about two hours. The route via SH2 to Ōpōtiki, and then down the undamaged section of SH35 to Ruatoria takes about five hours.
Given the significant travel, and some club’s reliance on Gisborne-based players, thought had given to relocate some club games to Ōpōtiki – which is part of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.
“We have even talked about change of venues knowing that the Gisborne [based players] will have to come up [via] Ōpōtiki . . . whether we all meet there to get some form of rugby going,” Kururangi said.
“That comes back to the clubs again, we can’t enforce it on them.”
One of the rugby clubs hardest hit by Cyclone Gabrielle was the Ruatoria City Sports Club, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.
The Ruatoria City Sports Club which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year has had to indefinitely close its clubrooms due to cyclone damage. Photo / Neil Reid
Its clubrooms were badly damaged by floodwaters and silt, and are closed indefinitely.
Given concerns some of the road repair jobs will take months to complete, Kururangi said if SH35 remained cut-off during the 2023 Heartland Championship then it would be hard to host NPC matches at Whakarua Park.
When asked if Ōpōtiki might be an option for home games if SH35 was not open, Kururangi said: “It could be.”
Ngāti Porou East Coast flanker Jack Richardson at Whakarua Park relaxing after winning the 2022 Lochore Cup final. Photo / Neil Reid
“Even for us to get out of here [will be tough]. We are lucky enough that a majority [of the players] are in Gisborne ... there is only us in the management and the odd player that have to go around the long way [via Ōpōtiki].
“We are certainly looking at how it could impact on us [in the Heartland Championship].”
While it was positive to hear the progress being made by roading crews, in multiple areas, he said the area was still very vulnerable to further damage.
Junior rugby managed to kick off on the East Coast last month, something which Kururangi said was “good for our community”.
The East Coast rugby community was also looking forward to the second year of its women’s club competition, which in 2023 is set to grow to five teams.
“We will get through it [the cyclone-related issues],” Kururangi said. “We will just push on and see what happens.”
