Former Waikato player and coach Kiwi Searancke in 1999. Photo / Brendon O'Hagan
Former Waikato player and coach Kiwi Searancke in 1999. Photo / Brendon O'Hagan
Prominent rugby figure Kiwi Searancke has deep roots in Waikato rugby and a rich family heritage.
He played 73 times for Waikato between 1976-1983 and later transitioned to coaching.
Searancke’s coaching career included roles with Waikato, the Black Ferns and Glasgow.
The Waikato Rugby Union has a long history of producing standout players. Waikato Herald reporter Jesse Wood is looking at this talent of the past and what they have been up to. Now, he caught up with Kiwi Searancke.
The grandson of a Māori All Black, a Waikato player — who had a song played about him and his front-row buddies on the radio — and a coach. Kiwi has quite a story to tell.
Born in Te Awamutu in 1951, Searancke’s life has seen many achievements and stories that reflect his passion for the game.
Searancke’s rugby roots run deep. His grandfather, Te Rehe “Brownie” Amohanga, was a 1919 Pioneer Māori Battalion team and 1923 New Zealand Māori representative who fought in Gallipoli during World War I.
“He was a bloody interesting man,” Searancke said.
“He went to World War I and ended up as a second lieutenant. He went to officer training at Eton, got commissioned in the field, got wounded twice — quite severely at the Battle of Ypres — and then met my grandmother in England in the New Zealand recovery ward in hospital.
“She moved from a pretty wealthy part of London, down to Hangatiki. Imagine doing that in 1918.”
Amohanga loved the game of rugby and loved watching his grandchildren play.
Te Rehe Amohanga part of the 1919 Pioneer Māori Battalion rugby team.
“I didn’t know a lot about his rugby career but he did tell me once that he’d played a game in South Africa, coming home on the boat [from war],” Searancke said.
“He played in Hangatiki for his family team and for Maniapoto. In those days, that was like playing for King Country. By all accounts, he was a fullback and was pretty fast.”
Boxing was another one of his grandfather’s loves. Searancke said he had a boxing ring at his Kihikihi house.
Here Amohanga helped train his nephew Earl Nikora — one of the greatest Māori boxers.
Early life and rugby beginnings
Growing up in Kihikihi, Searancke attended Kihikihi Primary School and Te Awamutu College.
He began playing junior rugby in 1958 for Kihikihi Rugby Club but “fell in love with basketball” during his high school years.
Searancke never played first XV rugby as in those days, you couldn’t play two winter sports at college. Instead, he continued playing for Kihikihi.
After finishing school, he moved to Auckland for an electrical pre-apprenticeship training scheme under Māori Affairs.
There, he played for the Eden Rugby Club fourth-grade team alongside future Waikato teammate Hud Rickit, before returning to Hamilton to complete his apprenticeship and reconnect with local rugby in 1970.
The 1969 Eden Rugby Club fourth grade team featuring Hud Rickit and Kiwi Searancke in the back row.
He bumped into old school friend Bill Bartie and recruited him to play for Kihikihi.
Fifty-four years later, their friendship is still strong, with plenty of mischief and stories along the way.
Later the pair would join Te Awamutu Old Boys and Te Awamutu Senior Sub-Union, both going on to represent Waikato.
Japan
In 1974, the duo — with fellow Te Awamutu resident Andy Baker — were some of the first rugby players to be recruited to Japan.
Tokyo’s Daito Bunka University had a six-match tour of the Waikato region the previous year.
The team’s manager/Tokyo University Rugby Club chairman Onishi Tokyo extended invitations to Baker (carpenter), Bartie (fitter and turner) and Searancke to attend and play for Daito Bunka.
There were a few issues and language barriers but overall they enjoyed their stint.
Te Awamutu's Andy Baker (from left), Bill Bartie and Kiwi Searancke walking home from rugby training at Tokyo's Daito Bunka University in 1974.
Career highlights
Searancke’s playing career is dotted with milestones.
He played 73 times for Waikato as a prop between 1976 and 1983 and was part of the formidable front row trio with “Foxy” Bennett and Paul “Bam Bam” Koteka.
They were Mooloo cult heroes.
During Waikato’s 1980-1981 Ranfurly Shield era, a song about them frequently played on Radio 1ZH, Up and Under.
“Up and Under, here we go. Are you ready? Yes or no. Up and Under, here we go. It’s the song of the Waikato front-row.”
Searancke represented and captained Te Awamutu Old Boys for many years.
“From about 1976 through to 1983 Old Boys were one of the top three teams in the Waikato competition. We made the finals twice and were beaten twice by Melville. We won the Has Catley trophy in its first year.”
Although Te Awamutu Old Boys finished first equal with Hamilton Old Boys in 1978, they became the first name engraved on the Has Catley Trophy (former Waikato centurion and All Black who died in 1975) as they had beaten HOB earlier in the competition.
That was the first round of the season (best of 12) before they played top six.
In 1979, Searancke became player/coach of the side.
This was followed by stints with Hamilton Marist and Eastern Suburbs to close out his career.
During that time in Hamilton, he and his wife Ruth ran a dairy in Hamilton East, while having three children.
One of the untold stories of Searancke’s rugby career was how close he was to an All Blacks trial.
Up and Under: The mighty Waikato Mooloos famous 1970s-1980s front row trio of Paul "Bam" Koteka, Pat "Foxy" Bennett and Kiwi Searancke are reunited. Photo / Jesse Wood
His 1978, Te Awamutu Old Boys team performed well, leading to his selection for Waikato in the games leading up to the All Blacks tour of Britain and Ireland.
After the first game, Waikato Rugby life member Harold Sherwin informed Searancke that All Blacks selector Jack Gleeson was impressed and planned to watch him again.
“Harold Sherwin, a great Pirongia rugby stalwart, rang me. He said ‘Kiwi, you’ll never believe this. Jack Gleeson has fallen in love with you’.”
Following his second match, Gleeson sent Searancke and 40-50 other players, a letter with a training programme.
Unfortunately, Searancke was dropped from Waikato and didn’t play again that season. Therefore he didn’t get the New Zealand trial spot.
Looking back on his playing time, a few names sprang to mind as mentors — in one form or another.
Kihikihi School teacher Dent Harper, a former Northern Districts cricketer, was one of these.
“He was a rugby nut. He’d be running up and down the sidelines,” Searancke said with a laugh.
“There was a group of us playing soccer one lunchtime and he called us into his office. He went through our family history. He said to me ‘Your grandfather played for the Māori All Blacks, he’d be thinking, why the heck are you playing soccer?’.”
Other mentors were local men Bush Macky and Lou Morgan as well as Waikato selector George Simpkin.
Coaching
In the mid-1980s, Searancke transitioned to coaching alongside former Waikato rep Doug Phillips, starting with Waikato Colts and Waikato B before taking on New Zealand Under-19 and Under-21 roles.
He got to see many future stars make their way through national age-grade rugby including Scott Robertson.
Later, as Waikato’s assistant coach, he was part of a string of Ranfurly Shield successes.
Succeeding John Boe, Searancke became the next Waikato head coach, with captain Ian Foster taking on the role of assistant coach.
“As a coach, I had this theory. Once you see what someone is like on the field, you want to see what they’re like in the clubrooms. You don’t want someone fighting all the time,” he said.
“I took over and coached Waikato from 1999-2001 — 21 defences of the shield we had. I don’t know if there’s anyone in the Waikato that has had the shield as many times — as a player and a coach. I think it was eight times as a player.”
Searancke’s coaching career extended internationally, including with the Black Ferns.
In Scotland, he led Glasgow to historic victories, including the first win by a Scottish pro team in Wales. Despite challenges, he left a lasting impact.
Returning to New Zealand, his next role came in Gisborne with the 2004 Poverty Bay side.
The 2004 Poverty Bay team, winners of the third division championship.
Here he introduced the likes of winger Viliame Waqaseduadua, Fijian forward Isoa Domalailai, halfback Aaron Good, former Waikato winger Dan Moeke, future province legend Scott Leighton and a group of players out of Gisborne Boys’ High School.
Following this Searancke co-authored a high-performance plan with Steve Anderson, pivotal to Irish Rugby retaining its Tier One status.
Anderson, Searancke’s assistant at Glasgow, was a “leaguey” and told Searancke he needed his rugby brain.
“We went there for two years. Wrote the high-performance plan, got it approved and Irish Rugby said ‘Thanks boys, that’s it’. So, we came home after 2008.”
Reflecting
After spending most of his life in Kihikihi, he and Ruth now reside in Hamilton,
“I’ve had some wide, varied and great experiences — and Ruth always said yes,” Searancke said.
“I was sitting in the hospital recently. There was a knock on the door. It was a young fella in his 60s. He came in and said ‘You don’t know who I am, I saw your name and I used to go to Albert Park in Te Awamutu and watch you play’.
“I’m pretty lucky really. Those were some great memories and things to have in my in life.”
Jesse Wood is a multimedia journalist based in Te Awamutu. He joined the Te Awamutu Courier and NZME in 2020.
