Coast make the most of it

Bursting through: Classic All Black Rico Gear powers into the gap with his eyes forward. Ngati Porou East Coast defenders scramble to cut him off. Pictures by Paul Rickard

Ngati Porou East Coast rugby is in great shape ahead of the Sky Blues' (now postponed) first Heartland game.

On Saturday, the Classic All Blacks gave Hosea Gear's crew a last top-up of inspiration in the form of a game between the sides at Hatea-a-Rangi in Tokomaru Bay.

The Classic All Blacks won the match 37-20 in front of 700 fans on a sunny day in perfect conditions. Both teams played with width and at pace in 15-minute quarters.

The older team showed incredible skill in handling and support play.

The Coast's game-day captain, halfback Hamuera Moana (deputising for injured openside flanker Hone Haerewa), eluded would-be tacklers for a team who got to face off against many of their childhood heroes.

Few men in New Zealand rugby are held in higher esteem than All Black No.860 and unbeaten All Black skipper Sir Wayne “Buck” Shelford.

“The Coast is always a wonderful place to come back to — people have the time to enjoy each other's company and have a chinwag with the locals,” said Shelford, whose party stayed at both Te Kaha and Ruatoria and enjoyed such non-rugby diversions as golf, pig hunting, fishing and diving during their three-day stay.

“The young East Coast players — boys and girls — we spent time coaching were a fantastic bunch. The trip has been a great team-building exercise.”

The All Black brother pairing of Rico and NPEC head coach Hosea Gear, who have played a crucial part in setting the Coast up for improvement and success in the Union's 100th year, dusted the cobwebs off.

Hosea said: “Some of the Classic All Blacks can still play at a high level, Luke McAlister's still fast, strong, good on his feet, Luke Braid was everywhere, Daniel Braid, Corey Flynn, Rua Tipoki were as solid as ever, Rico wouldn't look out of place at rep level.

“Kees Meeuws and Eroni Clarke made some barnstorming runs, Pita Alatini still has footwork and handling. All of those guys' minds and vision — they're as sharp as ever. They kept the ball alive with numerous offloads and finished extremely well with some brilliant tries that were great to watch.

“The teams came together during the three breaks and the Classics ABs gave our boys specific feedback, which was amazing. I'm grateful to those guys.

“We work hard with the resources and coaching advisers we have available to help our players upskill, yet for them to receive that help while they're actually playing was unbelievable.”

On what was a wonderful day for rugby, the likes of Poverty Bay centurion Jamie Hutana, Uawa stalwart Puri Hauiti, Tokomaru Bay United captain Mike Chambers-Raroa, New Zealand Rugby board member Bailey Mackey and double try-scorer left wing Mike King all turned out for the Classics.

NPEC No.8 Trent Proffit scored the first try one minute and six seconds into the game.

With a conversion, the Sky Blues led 7-0. The quartertime score was 10-5 to the Classic All Blacks 27-5 at the break and 32-10 at three-quartertime.

The visitors' captain, Kees Meeuws, praised NPEC for their passion and vigour — “Our boys felt their tackles, that's for sure”.

Moana, as skipper of the Coast, said: “That was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience. The skill-level from them was exceptionally high and we played well in the second half.”

NPEC life member and Tokomaru Bay United stalwart Jack Chambers said: “The game was played in great spirit — it was a run for our Coast boys, but you can't replace experience. The Classic All Blacks could slow the game down and control the pace, but the Coast definitely looked fitter.

“They're well-prepared for the representative season, and we need to acknowledge the great effort that the union's put in.”