PIRATES AND GMC TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN PATHS

COLLECTOR'S ITEM: Pirates-GMC utility back Whakarae Henare (right) looks to slip past OBM defenders John Jones and Michael O'Riordan in club rugby last year. The new Pirates-GMC uniform will be shelved this year. Picture by Paul Rickard

PIRATES and GMC have gone their separate ways, ending their joint venture in Poverty Bay club rugby after just one season.

The Pirates club is set to enter a side in the premier grade this season and, although the green of GMC won't be on the playing strip any more, club representatives remain hopeful that GMC supporters will still back Pirates.

GMC — the smaller partner in last year's combined effort — haven't fielded a senior 15s side for several years and they're at least a year away from doing so again.

Former Pirates club president Pat Makiri was influential in bringing the parties together but confirmed the partnership was over.

“We're moving forward just as Pirates,” he said.

“GMC are not moving forward with us.”

Former Pirates-GMC backs coach Barnard Huriwai, who led the GMC presence in the venture, said GMC's withdrawal from it followed a communication breakdown.

He became aware just before Christmas that he wasn't going to be part of the coaching set-up this season and said the path ahead had been unclear. Huriwai said he couldn't see a way forward for the two groups.

Joining forces had been promoted last year as positive for Kaiti — it was a way to get the GMC name back into rugby in Turanganui-a-Kiwa and this enabled a larger section of the community to feel represented by club rugby.

Pirates had reached out to both Horouta and GMC early last year in a bid to extend the Pirates footprint in Gisborne and make an impact in the premier grade with combined clout.

However, Horouta decided not to be part of it, preferring to enter the senior one competition on their own. It turned out they didn't have the player numbers for that and, after a bye and two defaults, they withdrew.

A combined Pirates-GMC side in the premier grade were winless at the end of the season and, although they were on the wrong end of some large scorelines, they had patches where they performed with credit.

Pirates-GMC went on to win the men's section of the Turanga Sevens in Gisborne in November, going through the tournament unbeaten.

Huriwai was still involved at that stage but the partnership unravelled amid planning for this year's 15s campaign.

Last year's Pirates-GMC player-coach Wille Waitoa, who has been appointed head coach for Pirates this season, said they did their best to make the joint venture succeed but it didn't work out.

His team were keen to get better results on the park in 2020, he said.

“We're ready to go again.”

Kevin Hollis joined Pirates about 55 years ago, he has been a loyal supporter of both Pirates and Pirates-GMC and his business, Kevin Hollis Glass, is the lead sponsor.

Hollis said fundraising would be done for a new playing strip.

Former GMC president Albie Gibson was key to getting Pirates-GMC up and running, but stepped back midway through the 15s season.

“It was always a trial,” he said.

“We appreciated the approach by Pirates to put our name back out there.”

Although the joint venture didn't result in an influx of players with links to GMC, Huriwai said GMC supporters had made a difference.

He said GMC was beginning to build as a club again — getting together a netball team, running a touch rugby module for children next week and planning a return to senior rugby, possibly in 2021.

The Pirates-GMC venture had helped get GMC moving again.

“Thank you to Pirates, who have woken up a sleeping beast.”