Charlie Ngatai will coach Ngāti Porou East Coast for the 2026 Heartland Championship season. Photo / Photosport
When former All Blacks midfielder Charlie Ngatai hung up the boots in 2024, he never imagined coaching would be part of his future.
Fast forward two years and the 35-year-old has been named head coach of Ngāti Porou East Coast for the 2026 Heartland Championship season.
It is a special appointment for Ngatai, who hails from Gisborne, captained Gisborne Boys’ High School’s First XV, and has strong family ties up the East Cape, including whakapapa links to Ngāti Porou.
Ngatai has already dipped his toes into coaching with the Te Rapa men’s side in Waikato’s premier club rugby competition. He will lead the club again in 2026 before turning his focus fully to Ngāti Porou East Coast.
Speaking to the Herald, Ngatai said the chance to reconnect with the region and give back to the community was a major factor in accepting the role, with hopes of helping return success to the Sky Blues.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to the community up the coast in some way,” Ngatai said.
“Being able to reconnect with the community was a massive part of the decision. It’s about giving my all and sharing the things I learnt over my career with players who are just starting their rugby journeys and those who are coming towards the end.
“I want to pass on my knowledge, give back, and hopefully help them grow into better players by the end of the season or further down the track.”
Ngāti Porou East Coast is the smallest of New Zealand’s 26 provincial unions in terms of player numbers and population base, and is based in the small East Coast town of Ruatōria, around 130km north of Gisborne.
The union’s past 13 years have been a rollercoaster, beginning with the high of winning the Meads Cup in 2012 after beating defending champions Whanganui.
What followed was an eight-year, 54-game losing streak that finally ended in 2021, a season that captured national attention when former All Blacks Ma’a Nonu and Hosea Gear pulled on the jersey. Gear’s brother Rico also featured during the campaign, with former Samoan international Faifili Levave.
“I remember Ma’a and Hosea putting on the jersey, with a few other friends I played rugby with,” Ngatai, who was playing in France at the time, said.
“That’s the beauty of rugby – players like them are happy to go back and play for communities and clubs like Ngāti Porou East Coast.
“Without community support and players willing to give back, we simply wouldn’t survive.”
The following season brought further success with a Lochore Cup title, but last year the side endured another winless campaign, leaving Ngatai under no illusions about the size of the task ahead.
Ngatai’s own rugby journey began in the Heartland Championship with Poverty Bay before he was picked up by Wellington and the Hurricanes.
He later moved to the Chiefs, where he was part of the side that defeated the Brumbies in the 2013 Super Rugby final. He also switched provincial allegiances to Taranaki, winning the 2014 NPC title and scoring a brace in the final.
Ngatai earned his sole All Blacks test cap against Manu Samoa in Apia in 2015 and captained the Māori All Blacks on several occasions before heading to Europe, where he played for Lyon and Leinster.
He hopes his story can inspire others, believing there is significant untapped talent in Gisborne and along the East Coast.
“I’m just a young boy from Gizzy who grew up loving the game and managed to go further,” Ngatai said.
“It was always a goal of mine to play professional rugby and I achieved that. Hopefully I can inspire some other kids up the coast to do the same.”
Away from rugby, Ngatai admits he is still adjusting to life after 15 years as a professional.
“It’s a big change, but I’m loving it,” Ngatai said.
“I get to spend more time with my kids. I’m pretty much an Uber driver now – running around, taking them to sport and being there for them.
“You still think about moments from your career. We were in Wellington recently and I showed my kids where it all started, which brought back plenty of memories.”
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.