Te Awamutu College First XV receives funds from local auction

Te Awamutu Senior Rugby Sub-Union committee members Andrew Young (front left) and Richard McCandlish (front right), captain Ryan Baillie and the Te Awamutu College First XV with the funds raised from the centenary jersey auction.

Last Saturday the Te Awamutu Senior Rugby Sub-Union handed over $1500, which was raised in its centenary auction last year, to the Te Awamutu College Rugby Club First XV team.

The sub-union’s September 2022 centenary match against New Zealand Army culminated in auctioning the team’s special-edition jerseys.

Jerseys 1-15 were on auction for the public to bid on, while more than $6000 was raised from each reserve jersey to be split between local charities and voluntary organisations — Te Awamutu Rugby Referees Association, Te Awamutu Junior Rugby Sub-Union, Hato Hone St John, Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter, NZ Rugby Foundation and the Poppy Foundation.

One auction winner, Robert Horne, had the choice of where their money went, choosing the Te Awamutu College Rugby Club First XV.

The Te Awamutu College team will use the money to get its players to the three-day Northern Region Tournament at Colin Lawrie Park, Pukekohe, from August 28-30.

“This donation will be used to cover many of the costs associated with taking the team away to this tournament, it will be a great experience for the lads,” Te Awamutu College First XV manager Keri Baillie says.

“We are driving up each day, and although we would love to take a bus each day, we would like to thank Pirongia Rugby Club and Te Awamutu Sports, who are kindly making their club vans available for us.”

With a maximum of 28 squad members allowed, Te Awamutu are looking at taking 25-28 players depending on availability.

The team will play up to six games, with two 60-minute matches a day.

Twenty-two players will be named per game with all of them playing a minimum of a half.

The sub-union committee would like to thank everyone involved and all the sponsors that made the auction possible.

Although there is no 2023 Te Awamutu Senior Sub-Union team, keep an eye out for their return to Peace Cup rugby in 2024.