Huntly mural honours league legends

Huntly rugby league legends have been celebrated in a large mural as part of the leadup to the Rugby League World Cup.

Tawera Nikau, Lance Hohaia and Wairangi Koopu are featured in the Huntly heroes piece on Shand Pl, next to The Topp Twins artwork.

The mural also includes the three teams playing in two matches at Waikato Stadium: Samoa v Tonga on November 4 and New Zealand v Tonga on November 11.

They are the first rugby league international games to be played in Hamilton.

Nikau and Koopu attended the unveiling of the artwork and while Lance now lives overseas, his father Rex Hohaia went along.

Nikau said it was great to celebrate successful locals.

‘‘It does give some inspiration to some young rangatahi in the town, showing that if you work hard and are determined you can get to where you want to be.’’

It was also celebrating the sport itself and the fact the world cup would be held in New Zealand this year as many Kiwis did not get the chance to watch it in person, he said.

While Nikau is proud of the mural, he hoped further discussions with the Huntly Community Board would see other Kiwi players from Huntly up there.

‘‘There’s probably around 12 to 15 legends from Huntly.’’

Auckland visual artist Bobby MacDonald said it was the first mural he had done on this scale.

He spent three days completing the piece and, being a big league fan, he was star struck.

As a perfectionist, he said, there were some things he wanted to do better but overall he was happy with it.

And he hoped to add more local league stars.

Both the Waikato District Council and Hamilton City Council helped fund the mural.