Competition setting Hawke’s Bay club rugby alight

An early season game of night-time Premier club rugby in Hawke's Bay between Napier Tech and Hastings Rugby and Sports in April 2019.

A midweek round of night games has been scheduled in the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union’s Nash Cup Premier Club rugby competition as the union battles issues over the number of weekends available for the grassroots game.

As a result, the draw packs an 11-team, 11-round competition into 10 weeks, starting this Saturday with the April 12 Wednesday night Round 4 matches, sandwiched between a round on Good Friday and the following weekend’s Saturday matches.

They have 6.30pm starts and include a game on the all-weather MacRae Field turf, primarily a training field for the Magpies and other representative players at the union’s Orotu Drive Complex.

Others will be at Bond Field (Park Island), Tareha Park (Taradale), Elwood Park (Hastings) and Central Park (Waipukurau).

The Ray White Nash Cup competition ends on May 27, leading into the six-team Maddison Trophy Premier championship, which ends in the club finals weekend at McLean Park, Napier on Friday and Saturday, July 14 - 15.

Provincial unions have had to consider possible earlier competition ends, as the New Zealand Rugby Union grapples with with some major venues not being available for national championship matches during the Fifa Women’s World Cup to be held from July 20 - August 20, and some considerations about the timing of the men’s Rugby World Cup in France (September 8 - October 28).

But the Hawke’s Bay union has managed to keep the Friday night and Saturday afternoon club finals to the third weekend of July.

Club rugby manager Sean Davies said there is growing interest from clubs in playing night games, which would free up some weekends for family time, and several clubs which don’t have lighting up to match standard are looking at options.

In Saturday’s season openers, all with 3pm starts, Nash Cup holder Napier Tech has an away game against Clive at Farndon Park, but Maddison Trophy-holder Taradale has a bye.

Three of the other matches are in Hastings, with Tamatea playing Dannevirke side Aotea at Bill Mathewson Park, Hastings Rugby and Sports playing Napier Pirate at Elwood Park and MAC playing Havelock North at Flaxmere Park.

Napier Old Boys Marist - which beat HRS 31-22 in the first round of the March 11 - 12 North Island Marist Spillane Cup tournament in Taupō last Saturday, but was beaten 25-15 by Hamilton Marist in the final the next day - has a home game against Waipukurau club Central.

Other grades start over the following weekends, including a five-team women’s competition kicking off on April 15.

In football, Napier City Rovers kicks off its 2023 Central League campaign with two away games against Stop Out in Lower Hutt on Saturday and Petone the following weekend, while other grades of regional and Hawke’s Bay club football start progressively up to April 22.

Club netball had its pre-season Lowson Collins tournament last weekend, with 18 teams and wins to MAC Blue (Premier), Havelock North Matai (Senior 2) and Limitless (Senior 3). Its schools netball and rugby crossover tournament is on March 31, and grading club games start on April 29.

Senior hockey opens with a fun day on April 1, and the season’s launch, with two divisions in both men’s and women’s hockey, is on April 15.