Super Rugby game coming to Kaikohe

Hooker Matt Moulds will likely be part of the Blues team to play at Lindvart Park in Kaikohe. Picture / Peter Meecham

A Super Rugby pre-season game is coming to Kaikohe for the first time after the Far North District Council agreed to cover potential losses up to $59,568.

Auckland/Northland franchise the Blues will meet Waikato team the Chiefs at Lindvart Park on February 2, less than two weeks before the season kicks off on February 15.

The news has been greeted with jubilation in Kaikohe, with rugby club president Cheryl Waaka-Smith saying the game would help the town feel embraced and good about itself.

''It's great for the club and great for Kaikohe ... kids will get to see their heroes in the flesh, and it's a chance for the community to show we can do this, we can get behind it and make it a good day.''

The match was only confirmed by the Northland Rugby Union (NRU) on Monday but she had already been contacted by the college, the business association and others offering to help make it a success.

District councillor John Vujcich said the cost to the council would be a maximum of $59,568 only if everything possible went wrong, which was unlikely.

A report by council staff had estimated the game would make a small profit. Even if it made a loss there would be no extra cost to ratepayers because the money would come out of an existing events budget, he said.

The NRU initially approached the Far North District Council (FNDC) with a proposal to hold the event at Kerikeri Domain, the location of a pre-season match in 2011.

However, the Kaikohe Rugby Football and Sports Club put up a strong case to have the game at Lindvart Park instead.

The club argued Kaikohe already had a fenced-off ground, changing facilities and ample space for spectators, meaning big savings for the NRU and FNDC.

Kerikeri, on the other hand, would need temporary fencing and grandstands, and parking was in short supply. It would also have to bring in portable showers or bus players from the sports complex on the Heritage Bypass.

Due to tight timeframes the proposal couldn't be considered by the full council but went to last week's Audit, Risk and Finance Committee meeting instead.

Committee members voted to allow FNDC chief executive Shaun Clarke to enter into an agreement with the NRU to underwrite 80 per cent of the potential loss, to a maximum of $59,568. They also resolved to source services from Kaikohe and Hokianga as much as possible.

Vujcich said Kaikohe was chosen over Kerikeri because it stacked up better financially, even allowing for lower crowd numbers.

Hosting the game in Kaikohe would also bring significant social benefits, including showing young people what could be achieved by ordinary Northlanders like themselves who had worked hard to hone their sporting skills.

The net cost to the FNDC of hosting the 2011 Blues v Hurricanes pre-season match in Kerikeri was $41,879 including staff time. The game, which was won 33-22 by the Blues, drew a crowd of about 4000 and takings of $104,392. An Air NZ Cup Northland v Auckland pre-season clash at Kerikeri Domain in 2009 drew about 7000 spectators.