The rugby club with no beer

Captain Stu MacDonald (left) and coach Greg Doolan at what was once the bar in the Arataki team's Mt Maunganui clubrooms. Picture / Alan Gibson

Today is the ninth game of the season for Arataki men's rugby team. And once again, they will go without a cold beer at the after-match function.

That is because these men belong to what is thought to be the country's first alcohol-free rugby club.

True to its name, Arataki - which means "paving the way" - has turned its back on booze and a mainstay of New Zealand rugby, the club bar.

Arataki's path to beerlessness has not been easy, but those who spearheaded the drive are hailing it as a success.

The idea grew out of desperation to get back the team's Mt Maunganui clubrooms, which had been forfeited to the local council eight years earlier because of unpaid bills.

Team captain Stu McDonald, long-serving player Rob Herewini and local identity Tommy Kapai approached the council about renting the rooms to revive club spirit.

The trio soon realised operating a bar was out of the question on top of rent.

"We had no money for a liquor licence," McDonald said.

From this developed the idea of making the club completely alcohol-free and turning rugby into a family event again.

Naturally, the team did not take too kindly to the prospect of doing without their after-match beers.

"They freaked out at the start, to say the least," McDonald laughed.

Three months on, though, attitudes have changed, and so have the team's flagging fortunes. They are now ranked number two in Bay of Plenty's second division and hope to make the first division by season's end - a place they haven't been in years.

New players have joined, lured by the success and the club's point of difference.

"It's just that whole attraction of being part of something that is almost life-changing for some people," McDonald said.

In the past after games, the team went straight to a local pub for drinks. Now players mingle with their partners, children and visitors over a big meal at the clubrooms.

"All the kids are running around making a warm atmosphere for our visitors and ourselves," McDonald said.

Visiting teams give the club a bit of stick about the booze ban, but it never lasts long.

"Once they're fed and entertained, they change their tune. It's usually all hongis and handshakes when they leave."

Outsiders have also remarked that the initiative must be church-funded, but McDonald, 28, said God played no part.

"The only thing we're pretty sacred about is our rugby jersey and our name."

A key proponent of the club's alcohol-free policy is coach Greg Doolan.

A former NZ Marist Colts player, the 48-year-old moved back from Australia after a plea for help from his friend Mr Kapai.

Doolan had played and coached for Arataki in the mid-80s and was keen to see the no-alcohol plan succeed, finding the club and community in no better shape than when he embarked on his international coaching career 20 years earlier.

He set up Friends of Arataki Charitable Trust, donating his own money on condition that the club commit itself to being booze-free.

Doolan believes that alcohol has been an inseparable part of rugby for far too long.

"I grew up thinking playing rugby and drinking alcohol were synonymous. I don't want this generation of children to grow up the same."

He said the consequences of rugby's binge-drinking culture were evident in New Zealand's high rate of domestic violence and he was keen to teach men, in particular, ways to communicate without being intoxicated.

His own turning point and a decision to quit drinking came when he looked at his three young sons.

"I realised first and foremost I wanted to be an example to them."

Doolan has also organised after-school programmes for children at the clubrooms, where they get help with homework from volunteers.

He is also developing a programme called "2BFree!" to teach young people about living free of alcohol and drugs.

Arataki is an experiment Doolan would like to expand nationwide.

"The whole idea of the concept is that the rugby club can be a great gateway and a great platform for the community."

But McDonald believes it could be difficult convincing other clubs to follow Arataki's lead, particularly those reliant on alcohol sponsorship.

He also knows that it's tough to convince players they are better off having their rugby without beer.

"I'd be lying if I said it was a smooth ride."