Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate / Sport

RUGBY - Historic match big score for Kerikeri

Northern Advocate
6 Jun, 2009 06:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


The go-ahead has been given for a one-off historic rugby match between Auckland and Northland at the Kerikeri Domain on August 15.
Northland rugby boss Andrew Golightly is thrilled the New Zealand Rugby Union has sanctioned Northland's first national championship game outside of Whangarei and he believes the the match will be popular with the public.
"We anticipate it will be a sell-out and something that fans will want and see, so we don't think tickets will last long once they go on sale," Mr Golightly said.
The NZRU decision to grant Northland's request to play the match in the mid-North flies in the face of recent rugby trends, which sees major games played in major stadiums.
NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said the board was willing to consider Northland's request, given Okara Park was under development for the Rugby World Cup 2011.
"We recognise that a lot of work has taken place around New Zealand to prepare venues to Air New Zealand Cup standard in recent years, so this decision is not a shift in policy. However, given the situation that Northland has in terms of managing venues and the enthusiasm that exists in Northland and, in particular, in Kerikeri, for this fixture taking place there, we were happy to make this one-off allowance," Mr Tew said.
Mr Golightly said the second stage of planning with the Far North District Council would now kick in but he was unsure how many tickets would go on sale.
"There's been a figure of 10,000 touted but we'll just have to wait and see if that will eventuate or not," he said.
There will be more planning meetings where stakeholders can hammer out the details. "Now we'll be out to work together with the Far North District Council to ensure the game is a huge success for Northland as a region."
Toll United Trucks, one of the union's main sponsors, have already come up with the left-field proposal of hosting corporate hospitality areas on the back of flat-deck trucks.
"Certainly this match will be distinct from any other venue and we think that will only add to the interest of the event," Mr Golightly said.
The Northland team will play all of their pre-season games away from Whangarei, with their opening match in Rotorua on July 31. The Auckland match is their third match, with their first home match at Okara Park against Taranaki on August 6.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Premium
Northern Advocate

Rupeni Caucaunibuca: Rugby’s greatest talent was never fulfilled

17 Apr 12:30 AM
Northern Advocate

Ninety-year-old’s passion for pickleball encourages all ages

10 Mar 11:00 PM
Northern Advocate

Rural Games success for Toa Henderson

10 Mar 08:16 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Rupeni Caucaunibuca: Rugby’s greatest talent was never fulfilled

Rupeni Caucaunibuca: Rugby’s greatest talent was never fulfilled

17 Apr 12:30 AM

The Fijian winger who had the world at his feet and the potential to surpass Jonah Lomu.

Ninety-year-old’s passion for pickleball encourages all ages

Ninety-year-old’s passion for pickleball encourages all ages

10 Mar 11:00 PM
Rural Games success for Toa Henderson

Rural Games success for Toa Henderson

10 Mar 08:16 PM
Happily Ever Wahfter: Lance O’Sullivan marries doctor fiancee in Vegas after game proposal

Happily Ever Wahfter: Lance O’Sullivan marries doctor fiancee in Vegas after game proposal

04 Mar 09:04 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP