Photographer Peter Bush (left) and Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder at Eketahuna.
Photographer Peter Bush (left) and Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder at Eketahuna.
The crowd turned up and the rain stayed away for Eketahuna's big day out on Saturday - the Super Rugby pre-season game between the Hurricanes and the Crusaders.
Spectators flood into Eketahuna's Rugby Park on Saturday for the pre-season Super Rugby game between the Hurricanes and the Crusaders.
The game, hosted by the Eketahuna Rugby Club, which celebrated its 125th anniversary last year, saw the rural township (population 440) swell when more than 4000 rugby fans jostled for prime viewing on the back of sheep trucks and in the historic grandstand built in 1913.
For organiser Dennis (Doc) Dougherty the event was something special.
The team from PGG Wrightson Hastings enjoy their big day out at Eketahuna.
"I'm absolutely rapt," he told the Dannevirke News. "I'm over the moon and a great team behind me has made today great. Our club has a proud tradition of mucking in and has been at the heart of the community here for more than a century. I think everyone who lives in Eketahuna has been involved in making today a success and that's just wonderful for the town."
Photographer Peter Bush (left) and Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder at Eketahuna.
Dougherty said he wasn't planning too much of a celebration on Saturday night. "I'll just sleep and I may sleep for a week."
But already Eketahuna rugby fans are looking forward to another amazing day of Super Rugby next year, so Dougherty and his team may not have much of a rest.
The game was a huge bonanza for the small rural town, as rugby fans arrived from around the North Island.
At the Lazy Graze Cafe, they sold four times as many pies as a normal Saturday, with business also brisk on Sunday as many fans had camped overnight.
Local shops Maison and Sarah Jones were also buzzing as rugby wives made sure they shopped before kick-off.
And there was rugby, with the Hurricanes taking out the game 41-31 from the Crusaders, after dominating in the first half only for the Crusaders to come back in the second half.
On the comeback from injury, Dan Carter had hearts racing among some of the female spectators when he came on for the Crusaders in the second half, slotting two conversions.
Carter said he enjoyed the atmosphere at Eketahuna, where the spectators were just metres away from the sidelines. "I really enjoyed it ... it's quite humbling. Coming here on the bus, travelling to Eketahuna the boys loved it."
Both coaches praised the sold-out game's atmosphere.
"It was just amazing, it's really grassroots here," Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said.
"Eketahuna should be really proud of themselves. It takes a lot of effort to get the ground like this and all the people here. The community has really chipped in and I hope one day we come back and do it all over again."
And it took a community effort to have the grounds ready for play.
Eketahuna rugby stalwart Denise Rowden said two dams on her property had been emptied to help water the paddock and youngsters Victor and Kendall Baucke had spent plenty of time with their father at the ground at night as he rolled the pitch.
"This is real grassroots rugby and we're proud of it."
