Former representative of the Horowhenua College 1st XV (1988-1990) held a reunion at the weekend.
Former representative of the Horowhenua College 1st XV (1988-1990) held a reunion at the weekend.
With nicknames like Boomer, Hoggy, Widget, Boots, Juice, Booga, Corncob, Dingdong and Porridge it was always going to be a good weekend.
A group that played Horowhenua College First XV rugby between 1988 and 1990 organised a reunion at the weekend, where acquaintances were renewed and memories regaled.
Theirs was a different era of schoolboy rugby in New Zealand. A school the size of Horowhenua College boasted as many as five rugby teams and its 1st XV was competitive against some of the bigger city schools.
Nowadays, those bigger schools attract promising young players from smaller centres, however the school still has a healthy number of keen young players in its rank.
Michael Tukapua, Dave Pescini, Buster Davis, Mike Hayes and John Good at the Horowhenua College 1st XV (1988-1990) reunion.
Some former coaches and managers attended the reunion, handing out some last minute instructions before they took to the field for an afternoon match against the school’s current 1st XV, who used the hit-out as preparation for the season ahead.
Former player Chris Wilton, now a teacher at the school and coach of the 1st XV, refereed the match.
In hot conditions on a dry track, rugby was the winner. There’d been a few changes since the 80s ... lifting in the lineouts ... mouthguards ...f ive points for a try? And what? No rucking? Some old habits die hard.
Geoff Bell spies a gap and puts on the gas.
Among the stories and memories were some special ones reserved for their teammate and second five-eighth Patrick Mooney, who died in a car accident in 1989 while a student at the school.
With the blessing of Mooney’s family, his former teammates pledged to contribute to and help oversee a fund that would be awarded annually as a scholarship in his name to a student of the school.
The Patrick Mooney Award would see an annual financial contribution towards the cost of that student’s post-school study, and provide them with access to mentors who can help with that study or chosen career.
Former teammate Geoff Bell said an applicant would indicate how they had demonstrated some or all of the following attributes that Mooney was remembered for by his friends: humility, selflessness, loyalty, sporting commitment and skill.
Representatives of the Mooney family, the school, and his teammates and friends would select the recipient and present the award at the school’s annual senior prizegiving.
Bell said the reunion had provided a catalyst for the Patrick Mooney Award.
“Without this reunification I am almost certain this award would not have come to fruition,” he said.
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.
