Metro rugby experiment works

Whanganui St Johns Club Metro Colts is shaping up for a top season in the Manawatu Colts division with about a third from last year signing up for duty in 2017.

Whanganui St Johns Club Metro Colts is on song to take the McDonalds Manawatu Colts division by the scruff of the neck this season following an excellent pre-season run on Saturday.

Co-coached by Carl Gibson and Darryl Malcolm the side finished third behind perennial winners Massey White and the Whanganui High School 1st XV last year.

WHS is no longer able to field a team in the colts divisions this season after losing 13 players from the from last year.

Massey White has won the competition for the past four or fives years running going through unbeaten last year, although Metro was unlucky not to bowl them during pool play.

After "two or three" training runs, Metro lined up against Southern in Hawera on Saturday pleasing the coaches.

"Southern is a strong side that plays in the Taranaki colts division and we shaped up very well against them on Saturday," Gibson said yesterday.

"The final score was something like 17-15 to them after they kicked a late goal, but it's not about the scorelines in pre-season matches. It was a very good physical hit out and we performed extremely well.

"We only have about a third of the team we had last year and the rest are newcomers. About half of those didn't play last season, but have come back to the game and that's what Metro is all about."

The side was originally set up as a bridge to transition school leavers through to senior club rugby level. It was hoped that it would keep those same school leavers in the game, rather than losing them to the many other distractions life throws at them in today's environment.

While the Wanganui Rugby Union already had similar ideas, the concept was pitched by Metro co-coaches Darryl Malcolm and Carl Gibson and accepted. It was decided to run the new side through the Metropolitan Union, a sub-union to the main body to keep it separate from clubs.

"Finishing third in the Manawatu division in our debut year and then have good numbers rock up to training for this season shows we are achieving what we set out to do," Gibson said.

"At this stage we've got good numbers, but we are always on the hunt for more. Rugby is a tough game and there will be injuries."

Gibson said while players this year were shaping up well there were no immediate standouts like Metro fullback Terangatira Waitokia. Waitokia was called into the Meads Cup-winning Whanganui Heartland side where he shone. In fact, Waitokia was named New Zealand Heartland Player of the Year.

"We don't have any like Te so far this season, but we do have some very good players and we will be ready to tackle the Manawatu Colts division again when our season starts on two week's time," Gibson said.

Metro training runs are at 6pm at Cooks Gardens on Tuesday and Thursday and anyone keen on playing is welcome to attend.