Records hard to beat

BIG DAY FOR EAST COAST: Double try-scorer Jimmy Kururangi is carried off Whakarua Park on the shoulders of his teammates after East Coast’s September 1986 victory, 18-7, over Poverty Bay. Kururangi is the Coast’s top try-scorer, with 24 from 1979 to 1996. Gisborne Herald file pictures

RUGBY

NGATI Porou East Coast Rugby Football Union has had some incredible players in its storied 100-year history, from the famous — think George Nepia — to the modern, like the most recent cap, #1197 Keegan Rowley.

In that time, players from across the Coast have created records that, in some cases, defy belief.

Such is the story of the most capped NPEC player, Morgan Waitoa, who made 115 appearances over 27 years, from 1979 to 2006.

Waitoa earned 113 caps in his playing days, and retired from first-class rugby in 2001. Then in 2006, at 45, he made two more appearances as a player-coach.

He is one of only two players to have reached the 100-cap milestone for NPEC. The other is Charlie Harrison, who earned 113 caps between 2003 and 2017.

Eli Manuel has scored the most points for NPEC. His total — accumulated between 1985 and 1998 — is 414 points.

Mano Flutey holds the second spot, with 405 points from his 38 games from 2000 to 2003.

Flutey has scored the most points by a Coast player in a single season — 145 in 2000.

Jimmy Kururangi has scored the most tries — 24 from 1979 to 1996 at a rate of 0.31 tries per game.

In terms of tries per game, Lotawa Epeli comes out tops among those who scored at least 10 for the Coast. He scored his 10 tries at an average of 0.63 tries per game.

These and other records are included in a history of the Ngati Porou East Coast Rugby Football Union, written by Kevin Hare.

Records for points and tries scored are calculated for the period from 1976, the year the National Provincial Championship (NPC) began.

Hare said he took this approach because he wasn’t able to obtain a complete record of pointscorers before 1976.

Joe McClutchie is the most accomplished NPEC coach in history, with a winning record of 50 percent over his 65 games at the helm. In that time, he was also awarded the NPC coach of the year award in 1999.

McClutchie is also the longest-serving coach since the introduction of the NPC, coaching the team for six years — in 1993 and from 1999 to 2003.

The biggest win the Coast have ever recorded was the 69-point 72-3 thrashing of the West Coast in 1992; their highest score was 74 against Buller in 1999. Their biggest loss and highest score conceded was against North Otago — 116-3 in 2010.