A pleasing welcome financial feature of the past season was the union assistance given to clubs who were each granted $1500 as well as the waving of all club affiliation and team entry fees — a one-off special allocation amounting to $24,710.
Because of cancelled fixtures union expenses for travelling team accommodation dropped from $27,789 in 2019 to $7176, airfares from $14, 411 to $664, bus travel from $19,517 to $6289, player expenses from $27,815 to $6255, meals from $50,777 to $17,568, outfitting from $41,314 to $13,998, laundry from $7080 to $2239 and management expenses from $40,304 to $8200.
In kind principal sponsorship dropped from $89,468 to $39,292, cash principal sponsorship by $30,500 to $25,000 and 1st XV sponsorship from $37,250 to $5935.
There was a drop in Community Trust grants from $141,513 to $43,424.
The bulk of the union's income last year came from NZRU funding plus the surprise NZ Sport funding and the Government Covid-19 wage subsidies.
Considering the WRFU, which at the start of the year had budgeted for a $20,000 profit but at one stage was facing a disastrous deficit of $250,000-plus if the Heartland championship and all the other various grade rep fixtures went ahead, it was a remarkable effort by the union board and office staff to emerge with probably the best surplus of any of the dozen Heartland unions.
But, as Bridget Belsham warned, the union will need to watch its budget very carefully this season, although the forthcoming decision by the NZRU regarding the multimillion-dollar Silver Lakes share offer could have a dramatic financial benefit to the country's 26 unions.
Union Name Change
A close 12-9 vote majority has resulted in the first name change in 133 years for the Wanganui Rugby Football Union with an 'H" to be added to Wanganui.
The notice of motion came from the Marist club who first raised the matter at the 2019 annual meeting. The name change was made at last month's WRFU AGM.
Union chairman Jeff Phillips said the WRFU board supported the change but recognised it was a contentious and polarising decision with the rebranding also having financial implications due to costs involved in renaming upcoming rep team playing gear, union signage and all union stationery, etc.
This will occur gradually over the coming few seasons.
Jeff Phillips said adding the "H" aligned the spelling of the union with the now official spelling of the region.
Union life member and former chairman Brian Vaughan, speaking on behalf of the name change proposer Marist's Trevor Olney, said it was fitting that the union followed the trend of the district and add the "H".
Fellow life member J B Phillips, the union's historian, said that apart from Whanganui Maori using the "H" in recent seasons, there is no other recorded reference to an "H" in any documents and history books since the WRFU was formed in 1888.
He said despite two official Wanganui District Council polls, both resulting in more than 70 per cent of citizens voting against the name change, the council narrowly decided to ask the NZ Geographic Board in December 2014 to add the "H" at the request of the Tupoho iwi runanga.
Parliament had approved either spelling from December 2012 but in November 2015 Government declared on the recommendation of the NZ Geographic Board that the spelling be corrected to Whanganui District — reflecting the views of the District Council, local iwi and public submitters. It was officially gazetted on November 19, 2017.
Since then some local bodies, businesses and sporting organisations have added the "H" and others have stayed with the original Wanganui.
2020 Club Awards
Although there was no WRFU Awards Function last year because of Covid-19, the union still decided to make club awards with Tyler Rogers-Holden (Taihape) named the overall premier Player of the Year and Cody Hemi (Ratana) the senior grade winner.
Craig Clare (Border) was premier back and Hadlee Hay-Horton (Taihape) the top grade forward for 2020.
In the seniors the Marist Celtic pair of Ioane Aki (back) and Ross Pui (forward) took the honours.
Cole Baldwin (Border premiers) was named coach of the season, Ben Lourie took the referee award.
Lesley Adrole (Kaierau) and Colin Thomas (Utiku OB) were named joint winners of Volunteer of the Year with Volunteer Acknowledgements honours to Alex Hakaraia (Ruapehu) and Tana Martin-Matana (Taihape).
Recent Deaths
Whanganui rugby has suffered three recent deaths of a prominent former administrator, a referee and an ex-representative player.
Robert Bartley, a leading businessman in the city, was a key member of the WRFU Board between 2000 and 2009, serving as finance and sponsorship chairman, he also filled a role as assistant manager of Heartland rep teams and was a very generous sponsor of Whanganui rugby through his numerous companies.
He was also a key committee member of the Marist club.
The union lost an experienced former representative referee and administrator with the death of John Rhodes.
A life member of the local referees' association, he served a term as president, was treasurer for 10 years and was convener of the area appointment board.
As a referee he controlled a national Prince of Wales Maori match and seven Whanganui rep fixtures at Spriggens Park during the 1980s.
His first rep appointment was against North Otago game in 1980 (won 65-4 by the Butcher Boys), and then followed wins for Auckland in 1981 (34-3 to the visitors) and both Wellington (32-10) and Hawke's Bay (20-16) in 1983.
He whistled Whanganui to a 16-9 victory against Manawatu in 1986 but there were wins to visitors Taranaki (44-4) in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Monday morning fixture and to Manawatu (12-10) in his last rep appointment in 1988.
John Rhodes was also deeply involved in swimming, both on the centre and also as chairman of the Wanganui East Pool Trust, and was also on the committee of the Wanganui East (workingmen's) Club.
Hunterville-educated former King Country (1964) and Whanganui rep utility back Ivan Aitken died in Tauranga at the age of 82.
He played seven games for Whanganui in 1966 while playing for Bulls, scoring a try in a 16-23 loss to Bush at Pahiatua and kicking two penalty goals and a conversion in a 14-21 Queen's Birthday loss to Taranaki on Spriggens Park.
Although Wanganui won only one game and had a draw from 10 fixtures the NZ Rugby Almanack stated that Aitken "was a success — a good reliable and sound custodian". He played fullback and in the three-quarters for Whanganui.
His funeral was held at a venue named after him, the Ivan Aitken Hall, at the Tauranga Intermediate School.
Clubs preparing
With the 2021 Tasman Tanning Whanganui club championship season fast approaching the18 teams in the premier and senior grades are engaged in warm-up practice fixtures.
Unbeaten defending champions Harvey Round Motors Ratana host 2020 sixth-ranked Bennett's Taihape in the opening round of the 12-team senior competition on April 17.
Runners-up Ali Arc Logistics — DNA Kennels Marist Celtic play 10th-placed Border on Spriggens Park, third-placed Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau v Marist Buffalos (9th last year) at Devon Road, Utiku OB (4th) v Ruapehu (DNP last season) in Taihape, Counties (8th) v Black Bull Liquor Pirates (11th) at Kaiwhaiki and Speirs Food Marton (7) v neighbours Kelso Hunterville (5th) on Marton Park.
The six-team premiers start on April 24 with home games for 5th placed Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist (v champions Waverley Harvesting Border), 6th ranked Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri (v runners-up Byford's Readimix Taihape) and 3rd ranked Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau (v 4th placed McCarthy Transport Ruapehu).
