Rugby: Potent prop ideal choice

Hastings Rugby and Sports prop Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe who is our MVP this week. Photo/Paul Taylor

Part of the criteria for the weekly Hawke's Bay club rugby MVP award is that the player must be employed.

It's always good to get a photo of the recipient at work so fans can see the other side of the player they see week in and week out on the field. However occasionally there are exceptions to this rule.

Auto Super Shoppe Hastings Rugby and Sports tighthead prop Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe is one of the exceptions. After his player-of-the-match performance in Saturday's 29-28 win against Progressive Meats Havelock North at Anderson Park it would have been cruel to deny the 19-year-old who is in his first year out of Hastings Boys' High School the opportunity to become the third weekly winner in the battle to become the 2018 recipient of the McDonalds-Hawke's Bay Today Club Rugby Player of the Year award.

Powerful at set piece time, full of authority at the confrontation area and extremely mobile for a frontrower in the loose, Tavita-Metcalfe, scored a crucial try with five minutes remaining to put the visitors two points behind on the scoreboard before first five-eighth Danny Toala had the final say with an 85th minute penalty.

"I was happy to help the boys get the win in a close match. Premier club rugby is a lot more physical than school rugby was but I'm loving it and that Havelock North pack is the toughest I've played against so far," Tavita-Metcalfe said.

A New Zealand Secondary Schools rep last year and a Hurricanes under-20 player this season, Tavita-Metcalfe, has made rapid progress since arriving at HBHS from Levin's Waiopehu College in 2016. "Basically I wanted to get into a Super 8 school where the standard of rugby you play is a lot higher than I would have got with Waiopehu College back home in Horowhenua," Tavita-Metcalfe explained.

He has set making the Hawke's Bay Magpies Mitre 10 Cup squad as his main goal for the season and is one of at least four members of the 2017 national title-winning HBHS 1st XV team on track to secure a berth. Tavita-Metcalfe has enjoyed being part of the wider training group.

"We have some pretty hard weight training sessions and my speed is slowly improving," he said.

To be fair Tavita-Metcalfe hasn't been short of speed during his time in the Bay and a key factor in this was the time spent as a Levin Wolves under-17 and under-15 rugby league player. He missed out on making the New Zealand under-20 team this season and this will be his main goal next year.

Needless to say his Hastings Rugby and Sports teammates and coaching staff wouldn't have been too upset to hear he had missed the cut for the Baby Blacks. His availability will increase the Elwood Park lads chances of making the Nash Cup and Maddison Trophy finals.

"I believe we've got a pretty good chance of winning both competitions," Tavita-Metcalfe said.

With his Baby Blacks quest over for this season at least Tavita-Metcalfe can focus on job hunting and is keen to score a teacher aide role preferably in the primary school sector.

"I love working with children and I'm keen to become a fulltime teacher in the future. I get plenty of training with Heyden's young ones as I'm living with his family," he said referring to Hastings Rugby and Sports co-coach Heyden Lafaele.

Time will tell but the chances of Tavita-Metcalfe juggling a fulltime teaching career with a professional rugby contract are pretty high.

Best & fairest
■ Hastings Rugby and Sports v Havelock North: 3, Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe (Hastings); 2, Jacob Stephenson (Havelock); 1, William McGoon (Havelock).
■ Napier Technical v Pirate: 3, Mark Braidwood (Tech); 2, Hamish Willis (Pirate); 1, Ted Walters (Tech).
■ NOBM v Central: 3, Hannon Brighouse (NOBM); 2, Sam Weber (NOBM); 1, Ricky Hayes (NOBM).
■ MAC v Taradale: 3, Fa'alemiga Selesele (MAC); 2, Johnny Ika (MAC); 1, Joe Apikotoa (Taradale).
■ Tamatea v Clive: 3, Kianu Kereru-Symes (Tamatea); 2, Lincoln McClutchie (Tamatea); 1, Jesse Tuhua (Clive).
Leaderboard: 6 points: Fa'alemiga Selesele (MAC). 4: William McGoon (Havelock North), Johnny Ika (MAC), Everard Reid (Tamatea). 3: Francis Ah Hum, Angelo Mufana, Joe Apikotoa (all Taradale), Hannon Brighouse, Chris Johnston, Sam Weber, Liam Edwards (all NOBM), Mason Emerson, Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe, Danny Toala, Aleki Vuki (all Hastings), Jacob Stephenson, Sam Ulufunoa (both Havelock North), Mark Braidwood (Tech), Kianu Kereru-Symes, Lincoln McClutchie (both Tamatea).