New Zealand Rugby board to sit in Gisborne for first time in history

Waikohu's Latrell Walker scores in the corner in the tackle of YMP's Taine Aupouri in Poverty Bay Premier club rugby last season. Waikohu will not field a team in this year's competition, reducing it to six clubs. Photo / Paul Rickard

The board of New Zealand Rugby, in a historic first, will sit in Gisborne in June as Poverty Bay makes its case to host a major fixture, such as a Māori All Blacks match or a Hurricanes pre-season game in 2026.

Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union (PBRFU) chairman Hayden Swann said the board would be shown the redevelopment progress of the pitch, grandstand and other facilities at Rugby Park in the $12.5 million “shovel-ready” recovery project launched after Covid-19.

It was to Poverty Bay’s advantage two Tairāwhiti men, Doug Jones and Greg Barclay, were on the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) board, Swann said.

The board will be in Tairāwhiti at King’s Birthday Weekend, when it is Ngāti Porou East Coast’s turn to host the traditional derby fixture with Poverty Bay.

Meanwhile, PBRFU council of clubs chairman Tim Lister has confirmed former Lee Bro Shield Premier club champions Waikohu will step down to the Senior 1 grade this season.

The remaining six clubs will play each other twice, with the season starting in April.

Lister said Premier clubs had not yet decided if the knockout format would be that of recent years — 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 after round-robin games — or the old format of the top two teams getting a life in the playoffs.

Swann said seven was an awkward number of teams for a competition, with a bye required each week, while a long weekend (with no matches) resulted in a lack of continuity.

The six Premier teams are YMP, High School Old Boys in their centenary year, Ngātapa, Pirates, OBM and reigning champions Tapuae.