Waikohu to host Tiny White Day at Te Karaka

HOSTING DUTIES: Jesse Fleming, from Waikohu, tries to slip out of a tackle by High School Old Boys midfield back Hayden Stuart in the first round of Poverty Bay club rugby — Tiny White Day — last year. The Waikohu club will host this year's event at Te Karaka. File picture by Paul Rickard

Six teams will contest Poverty Bay rugby's premier-grade club competition this year, starting on March 28.

The Waikohu club will host Round 1 — Tiny White Day — at Te Karaka and all the games that day will be held at the same venue.

Lee Bros Shield champions OBM will play the first premier-division match, against High School Old Boys, at 11.30am.

Ngatapa will take on Pirates at 1.15pm and Waikohu will clash with YMP at 3pm.

There had been hopes a Wairoa team would contest the premier grade this season but discussions didn't pan out.

Wairoa club Tapuae, the 2019 senior one competition champions, will remain in that grade this year.

Pirates combined with GMC to field a team in the premier grade last season but they are entering just as Pirates this year.

Richard “Tiny” White was Poverty Bay's first All Black and played 23 tests.

The lock was one of the best forwards for the All Blacks in the 1950s and stood out in the 1956 series against the Springboks.

OBM hosted the opening round of Poverty Bay club rugby last season and HSOB fullback Andrew Tauatevalu was awarded the Tiny White Medal for player of the day.

In 2019, the host club lost their opening-round clash with YMP, 2018 champions Waikohu were tipped over by HSOB, and Ngatapa were too good for Pirates-GMC.

OBM went on to beat YMP 65-5 in last year's final.