This year’s Whangamatā Golden Oldies Rugby Tournament saw 13 teams from across the Coromandel, Waikato and Auckland converge onthe town.
The event was run by the Bob Scott Whangamatā Toe Kickers team, with the profits going to local youth rugby, while also celebrating old boys’ rugby and the legend of Scott, who played rugby with bare feet.
“It went really well; we had 13 teams of all different shapes and sizes; there was a lot of fun.”
Bob Scott, one of the best fullbacks to pull on the All Blacks jersey, died aged 91 in 2012. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Scott was the oldest living All Black at the time of his death. He played 52 games for New Zealand, including 17 tests, after making his debut against Australia in Dunedin in 1946.
He served in Italy during World War II and afterwards toured Britain, France, Germany and New Zealand with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces team, before being picked for the All Blacks for their first post-war test series against Australia in 1946.
Scott chose to retire to the warmth and community spirit in Whangamatā and remained busy, travelling to functions, helping others or playing his beloved bowls.
He was known in Whangamatā for his generosity, helping fundraise for young rugby players.
Among beneficiaries of the fundraising from the event was Scott’s great-grandson Callum Whatley, who in 2020 captained the Whangamatā Area School First XV to victory in the Thames Valley Secondary Schools championship.
Choat said over the years it had been played, the tournament had raised more than $60,000 for junior sport in the community.
About 500 people turned out on the weekend, making it a good day for the club and for youth rugby, he said.
The teams played several games each with no winners and players were all over 35 years old.
Choat said it was a celebration of the game of rugby and all about the social aspect of the sport.
He said this upcoming weekend will be another big one for the club, with 3000 people expected in Whangamatā as Thames Valley face off against Buller in the Heartland Championship.
“It helps the whole community; it’s a great fixture.”
Kickoff is at 2.30pm on Saturday at the Whangamatā Rugby and Sports Club field on Aickin Rd.
