Tournament attracts over 450 rugby league players to Hastings

The Hawke's Bay wāhine preparing for this weekend's rugby league tournaments at the Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings, with the help of a couple stalwart leaguers in coaches George Hokianga (left) and Richie Eagle (right).

Hawke’s Bay will have possibly its biggest-ever gathering of rugby league players with the staging of the NZRL North Island men’s and women’s tournaments on Saturday and Sunday.

Over 400 players are expected for the Premiership and Championship division matches, involving 19 teams, with matches across five fields at the Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings, with the first at 9am on Saturday and finals on Sunday afternoon.

South Island tournaments will be played simultaneously in Christchurch, and top teams will meet in national finals on September 26-27.

Teams could play up to five matches in two days, but the games will be running at 30 minutes each way in men’s grades and 25 minutes each way in the women’s games.

There will be five teams in the men’s Premiership and six in the women’s, including Canterbury, and Hawke’s Bay teams will play in the Championship divisions.

The men, known as the Unicorns since almost the founding of the game in Hawke’s Bay 115 years ago, have two games on Saturday, playing Te Tai Tokerau at 11am and Whangarei City Districts at 2pm. Their last game before the finals will be on Sunday against Coastline, starting at 10.25am.

Despite the history, Hawke’s Bay had struggled for senior representative matches in the past decade, and a match in 2023 was the first appearance of the historic brand at that level in six years.

The women’s team will start their tournament against Northland’s Northern Swords on Saturday at 12.35pm, and then meet Bay of Plenty at 3.40pm. On Sunday, they have a midday game against Manawatu.

Refereeing officials are expected from throughout the North Island.

Rugby League Hawke’s Bay chair Ants Taueki said teams, which have up to 25 players each, will be staying at marae and motels in the Napier and Hastings area.

New Zealand Rugby League was unable to confirm when national tournament rugby league was played in Hawke’s Bay, but stalwarts recall two age-group tournaments at least 40 years ago.

NZRL national football operations manager David McMeeken said “some great things” are being done for rugby league in Hawke’s Bay.

“It is one of the fastest-growing regions.”

No games will be played in the Hawke’s Bay senior competitions during the weekend.

The spring-season senior format unique to Hawke’s Bay, first implemented 25 years ago, started on August 15.

The seven-team men’s grade is currently led by Tamatea Arikinui with four wins from five games, and the four-team women’s grade is led by unbeaten Omahu Huia.

Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter, based in Napier. In a journalism career of more than 53 years, he has had four decades covering news and sports events and issues in Hawke’s Bay.