Wilton ends record breaking rugby tenure
Horowhenua-kāpiti’s head coach Chris Wilton is stepping down from the role after nine years at the helm. Getting the nod for the top job was the realisation of a goal for the proud Horowhenua-kāpiti stalwart, who will go down in the annals as the longest-serving head coach in the province’s 129-year history.
“I’ve never once thought I wasn’t blessed. I’m very grateful for the experience and it was a privilege that I never took for granted,” he said.
Wilton, 53, has put in a mighty shift. He started coaching age grade representative teams more than 20 years ago, and his rise to the top position was a good advertisement for determination.
When he was appointed assistant coach of Horowhenua-kāpiti in 2014, it was the third time he had applied - but it wasn’t long before he got the top job in 2016.
“One thing that taught me was that if you really want something, you have to persevere.
‘‘ It taught me to persevere. If you have a disappointment, don’t let it deter you,” he said.
There’s a pride that comes from belonging to a province, and that’s what Wilton has for Horowhenuakāpiti. It’s the very reason he wanted to coach in the first place.
It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe; an innate pride for all things - good or bad - about the place where you are from, or that you represent.
It’s in his DNA. Growing up in Levin, he played for Horowhenua College and played age grade representative rugby, and having a father (Mick Wilton) that played for Horowhenua meant his roots, were red, white and blue.
A rugby sojourn in his teens took him to Western Australia, then Ireland. He returned home more than a decade later, in 2003, where he finished his playing days at number eight for Wanderers.
He then started signing up for every coaching course that was going.
“I wanted to take every opportunity to learn,” he said.
“The game was changing, and continues to change - the breakdown, scrums, the tackle.
‘‘If you want to coach, you have to keep up, and you have to adjust in order to get the most out of your season for the team.”
“If you don’t keep up they’ll be left behind, especially at this level.”
One highlight for Wilton was coaching future All Black hookers Dane Coles and Codie Taylor when they were coming through the grades – Coles in 2003 with the HK secondary schools team, and Taylor in in 2008 with the HK U18 team.
In 2015 he was presented with an All Blacks jersey signed by both Coles and Taylor, specifically for Wilton.
So, what did he remember about either All Black? Did they stand out, even back then?
“What I remember about Dane Coles is, he had a presence on the field and a fair bit of pace – he was fast enough to be flanker,” he said.
“What I remember about Cody Taylor was that we would train in O¯ taki and he used to start running from Levin, and we would pick him up on the way somewhere past O¯ hau,” he said.
Wilton, who teaches at Horowhenua College, wrote the team haka “Nga Mata Tapuwae”, with a vision for it to be used by all representative teams - players, coaches, managers, supporters and board members.
“That’s what Nga Mata Tapuwae is about, all being one,” he said.
He became a reluctant celebrity when Covid-19 first broke out, posting a video of a song he quickly wrote to lift Covid 19 lockdown spirits.
He was tight-lipped about his next move, only to hint that he wanted to keep being a servant to the sport.
“I want to continue coaching.”