Re-elected Whanganui Rugby Football Union chairman Jeff Phillips (right) and the latest life member Trevor Olney share a moment at the Marist clubrooms. Photo / Bevan Conley
Re-elected Whanganui Rugby Football Union chairman Jeff Phillips (right) and the latest life member Trevor Olney share a moment at the Marist clubrooms. Photo / Bevan Conley
The timing was perfect for the decision to include the "h" in Whanganui rugby and Trevor Olney's life membership to the sport's governing body.
Olney is not only Whanganui's most capped player, but was the driving force behind the Marist Whanganui Rugby Football Club remit at the Whanganui union's 2019annual meeting for the "h" to be included.
Re-elected chairman Jeff Phillips said the then board undertook to investigate the Marist request.
At Tuesday's 2021 annual meeting an official name change was announced after the union's affiliated bodies voted to add an "h".
The organisation will now be known as the Whanganui Rugby Football Union Incorporated.
Phillips said while the board was always supportive of a name change, it was also well aware of how contentious the subject was within the community.
"As a board we were supportive of the proposal for changing the spelling of the union's name, though they did recognise that changing our official name is a contentious and polarising decision among our community," Philips said.
"We acknowledge that 'Wanganui Rugby', as it has been known, has a long-standing history dating back 133 years and we do not want people to think that a name change takes away that history or devalues it. The upcoming treaty settlement 'Te Tomokanga ki te Matapihi' will legislate that there is only one spelling of Whanganui and we need to be proactive for future generations to come.
"We felt that adding an 'h' to Wanganui Rugby will align the spelling of our union with the official spelling of the region, as well as spelling it correctly according to the conventions of Māori.
"Although there are financial implications associated with rebranding, the cost involved would be a transitional process.
Photo / File-Bevan Conley
"Our community will see some immediate changes in regards to administrative and social media as well as this year's Heartland Championship team wearing a jersey with the new spelling. Other representative teams' playing strips will be replaced over a longer period of time."
He also said it was fitting Olney had been made a life member at the same time as the name change decision was announced.
"Trevor has been the driving force behind this process from the beginning and, in fact, will be the first recipient of the new badge featuring the 'h'. We held off on ordering new badges until we knew the outcome of the vote," Phillips said.
Olney has a rich history with Whanganui Rugby as a player and through acts of service to the union.
His service to Whanganui Rugby spans over decades with his love of the game starting at a young age. He played primary representative rugby for Whanganui, as well as playing Whanganui B, Colts, Māori and Sub-Union fixtures with a total of 146 caps, over an 18-year period, for the Whanganui A Team, making him the most capped player in Whanganui's history.
As well as his Whanganui representative games, including four Ranfurly Shield games, he played in three games for the NZ Māori team, as well as playing for the Prince of Wales Māori team and NZ Marist.
He started his senior club rugby playing career with Kaierau in 1972 and 1973 and moved to Marist in 1974, where he stayed until he retired.
He played most of his rugby as a solid front-row prop but he was also a sound middle-row lock.
As well as an extensive playing career, Olney has also contributed to rugby as a coach of a number of representative teams and also as a delegate for many years on the Council of Clubs.
Meanwhile, an extension was made to the terms of president and vice-president at Tuesday's annual meeting.
"Due to the duties of our current president and vice-president being significantly affected during 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Affiliated Bodies of the Union voted to amend the Whanganui Rugby Football Union's constitution to provide for the respective terms of the current president, Tommy Kilgarriff, and the current vice president, Jeff Slight, to be extended by approximately one year so that they expire at the 2022 annual meeting," Phillips said.
"We welcomed this amendment, for one year only, to enable both gentlemen the opportunity to perform duties associated with a normal club and Heartland season."
