Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Seddon to host Makos match
There’s never been a better reason to take a Thursday afternoon off work.
The Awatere Rugby Club, which last year combined with Kaikoura to create East Coast Rugby, is hosting a special fundraising match between the Tasman Makos and Wellington Lions on August 10 to pay for the insurance excess of $29,000 on around $180,000 of damage to their Seddon clubrooms.
Club committee member, coach and chairman of the East Coast steering committee, Andrew Lawson, says about the same amount was fundraised following the 2013 Grassmere earthquake and it was ‘‘a bit gutting’’ to have the newly fixed clubrooms damaged so badly again during the Kaikoura earthquake.
Most of the building’s aluminium window frames were sheared off and fell out, plumbing pipes severed, gib torn and cladding damaged.
‘‘It was gutting to walk into it the day after and see it back to square one.’’
Andrew says the building has already been returned to a usable state using club members’ own time and labour, an early insurance payout of $30,000 and an interest-free loan of about $25,000 from Tasman Rugby, which is due to be paid back in September.
‘‘We really needed it or it would have been the death of the club.’’
The club was hit hard not only by the physical damage caused by the earthquake, but by the severing of ties with Kaikoura by the closure of State Highway 1.
‘‘We’re down a lot of players because we can’t use the Kaikoura guys, and we had to get a team on the paddock.’’
He says Tasman Rugby ‘‘have very kindly given’’ the prearranged Makos vs Wellington Lions game to Awatere as a fundraising opportunity, and the club hopes people will take an afternoon off to join them. ’’We want to turn it into a party. Anything we can raise is brilliant.’’
The game kicks off at 2.30pm, following a Marlborough Maori vs Nelson Maori match at 12.30pm.
Viewing opportunities include parking up in one of 30 parks and watching from the comfort of your vehicle with up to five people and a picnic for $80. Another option is the Tussock Jumpers Saloon, a fenced area with a Farmlands marquee and grandstand set up at the halfway line which promises prime seating and a good time, with drinks supplied and a guest speaker. Tables can be booked by groups for $50. Or, you can buy a ticket and stand on the bank, says Andrew.
The club will also host a prematch function at the club rooms for lunch and a guest speaker which Andrew says anyone can attend, and he hopes past and present members will come to enjoy. To book a car park or table, email andrew@lawsonhomes.co.nz or call 021 563 428.