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Robbie Hunter spends Saturday afternoons closely monitoring the numbers on the scoreboard at White Domain in Pōrangahau, his second home.
He watches on at each home game as the rugby players stride on to the field.
He knows all too well the adrenaline buzz when thefirst whistle blows.
Hunter, a former Junior All Black, was a part of the 1974 Pōrangahau United Football Club premiership rugby team that won the Intertown Competition – the last Pōrangahau team to be crowned winners.
Robbie Hunter arranged a reunion of the winning 1974 Pōrangahau United Football Club rugby team. Photo / Michaela Gower
As the 2024 club rugby season progressed, the 71-year-old felt inspired to host a reunion with his former teammates, and decided to reach out to organise a lunch at their old stomping ground.
“Everybody as far as I know is still alive, apart from the coaches.”
A sign taped to the front door at the clubrooms reads: “This day is just about the old people who played for us in the olden days.”
The 1974 Pōrangahau United Football Club rugby team. Photo / Michaela Gower
Hunter’s passion for rugby has remained and he said Pōrangahau rugby was made special by both players and supporters.
“If you have got off-field atmosphere, that will carry to on the field.”
He recalled the winning season in 1974 as a “mudhole” and said the layout of the field moved several times due to the wet grounds.
Former captain of the 1974 Pōrangahau United Football Club rugby team John Martin (left) and Doug Fuller reflecting on past teams. Photo / Michaela Gower
“They marked the field out with a two-wheel motorbike because they couldn’t get the white marker on it – the lines disappeared in the finish.”
The winning game was held on home soil against Dannevirke Old Boys, who the Pōrangahau team had suffered a loss to earlier in the season.
The 1974 Pōrangahau United Football Club rugby team watched on as the Pōrangahau Sports Club men's rugby team played Otane. Photo / Michaela Gower
“We lost to them in the 25-6 in the first round in Dannevirke and we beat them here in the final 25-6.”
He didn’t play the final as he was away representing Hawke’s Bay provincial team at the time and said a highlight of that season for him was getting the news his team had won.
He was proud of the club’s growth which had seen a name change from Pōrangahau Rugby Club to Pōrangahau Sports Club to include the women’s netball and kids’ sport.
Change was something he had witnessed both on and off the field.
“Rugby is so much more wife-friendly now than it used to be, in the old days in first-class rugby, ladies weren’t allowed at the after-match function.”
Hunter said the bus trips to other clubs were often a highlight for the team – but was hesitant to reveal too much of the mischief.
“I think there are a couple of guys here that might remember Tologa Bay. We were leading 12-0 at halftime and lost 24-12. They gave us watermelons at halftime and we all got the stitch – it stuffed the whole game.”
His advice for the 2024 team? “I think they need to be fitter”.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
