Horowhenua-Kāpiti rugby coach Chris Wilton cut a lonely figure in the Levin Domain grandstand during a game when Covid restrictions applied.
Horowhenua-Kāpiti rugby coach Chris Wilton cut a lonely figure in the Levin Domain grandstand during a game when Covid restrictions applied.
Horowhenua-Kāpiti’s head coach Chris Wilton is stepping down from the role after nine years at the helm.
Getting the nod for the top job was the realisation of a goal for the proud Horowhenua-Kāpiti stalwart, who will go down in the annals as the longest-serving head coach in the provinces’129-year history.
“I’ve never once thought I wasn’t blessed. I’m very grateful for the experience and it was a privilege that I never took for granted,” he said.
Wilton, 53, has put in a mighty shift. He started coaching age grade representative teams more than 20 years ago, and his rise to the top position was a good advertisement for determination.
When he was appointed assistant coach of Horowhenua-Kāpiti in 2014, it was the third time he had applied - but it wasn’t long before he got the top job in 2016.
“One thing that taught me was that if you really want something, you have to persevere. It taught me to persevere. If you have a disappointment, don’t let it deter you,” he said.
There’s a pride that comes from belonging to a province, and that’s what Wilton has for Horowhenua-Kāpiti. It’s the very reason he wanted to coach in the first place.
It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe; an innate pride for all things - good or bad - about the place where you are from, or that you represent.
Horowhenua-Kapiti rugby coach Chris Wilton is stepping down after nine years in the role.
It’s in his DNA. Growing up in Levin, he played for Horowhenua College and played age grade representative rugby, and having a father (Mick Wilton) that played for Horowhenua meant his roots, were red, white and blue.
A rugby sojourn in his teens took him to Western Australia, then Ireland. He returned home more than a decade later, in 2003, where he finished his playing days at number eight for Wanderers.
He then started signing up for every coaching course that was going.
“I wanted to take every opportunity to learn,” he said.
“The game was changing, and continues to change - the breakdown, scrums, the tackle. If you want to coach, you have to keep up, and you have to adjust in order to get the most out of your season for the team.”
“If you don’t keep up they’ll be left behind, especially at this level.”
One highlight for Wilton was coaching future All Black hookers Dane Coles and Codie Taylor when they were coming through the grades – Coles in 2003 with the HK secondary schools team, and Taylor in in 2008 with the HK U18 team.
In 2015 he was presented with an All Blacks jersey signed by both Coles and Taylor, specifically for Wilton.
So, what did he remember about either All Black? Did they stand out, even back then?
“What I remember about Dane Coles is, he had a presence on the field and a fair bit of pace – he was fast enough to be flanker,” he said.
“What I remember about Cody Taylor was that we would train in Ōtaki and he used to start running from Levin, and we would pick him up on the way somewhere past Ōhau,” he said.
Wilton, who teaches at Horowhenua College, wrote the team haka “Nga Mata Tapuwae”, with a vision for it to be used by all representative teams - players, coaches, managers, supporters and board members.
“That’s what Nga Mata Tapuwae is about, all being one,” he said.
Horowhenua-Kapiti performing Nga Mata Tapuwae.
He became a reluctant celebrity when Covid-19 first broke out, posting a video of a song he quickly wrote to lift the spirits of everyone stuck at home through lockdown.
A video of his Covid-19 inspired song quickly went viral.
Wilton managed to take the team to a few finals in what can at times be a tough and unpredictable competition.
In 2017, they made the Meads Cup final, losing to arch-rivals Whanganui 14-30. It was a hugely successful season, with the team winning three major cups: the PGG Wrightson Cup (vs Wairarapa Bush), the Centennial Cup (vs Buller) and the Bruce Steel (vs Whanganui).
In the following year’s season, HK won the Lochore Cup for the first time, beating Wairarapa Bush 26-23 in front of a huge crowd at Levin Domain.
Raising the Lochore Cup for the first time was made even more special as the HKRU celebrated its 125th anniversary.
Wilton said he couldn’t leave without thanking all the players, coaches, managers, resource and support staff he has worked with and alongside over the years, and also Horowhenua College principal Grant Congden.
Ryan Shelford (captain) and Chris Wilton (coach) with the Lochore Cup in 2019.
But he saved his biggest thanks for his whānau - wife Wikitoria and children Te Ahuru, 19, and Ngapera, 17 - who have never known a father that didn’t coach rugby.
“You can’t do it without the whānau support, whether you are a player or a coach. It’s not always easy for whānau,” he said.
