Players worried by funds misuse

A premier rugby club in Upper Hutt is negotiating the return of thousands of dollars after an internal investigation led to a volunteer allegedly confessing to having misappropriated club funds.

The Upper Hutt Rams Rugby Club sought assistance from the Wellington Rugby Union last month after discovering serious discrepancies in its financial records over the past 12 to 18 months.

Stuff understands the amount involved could be as high as $18,000, and that the club has been working through a reparation process with the alleged perpetrator.

‘‘Wellington Rugby has been supporting Upper Hutt Rugby Club and one of its volunteers after an issue was brought to our attention,’’ Wellington Rugby chief executive Matt Evans said.

‘‘We understand the issue has [been], or will very shortly be, resolved to the satisfaction of the club.’’

The claims of financial misappropriation were brought to Stuff’s attention by an unnamed group of concerned Upper Hutt players, past and present.

‘‘There are numerous examples of discrepancies which don’t make sense and the club has a number of unpaid invoices that are not reflected in the financials,’’ the group said in a statement.

‘‘We believe that this is only scratching the surface and if you were to dig deeper the situation gets worse.

‘‘There are a lot of rumors [sic] flowing around in the community and we believe the Wellington Rugby Union or the Upper Hutt Rugby Club needs to make a statement to the Upper Hutt community about this situation.’’

Upper Hutt Rugby Club chairman Dave Ritchie directed Stuff to a statement on the club’s Facebook page, which said it had called for a special general meeting on June 4 to address its financial situation.

‘‘The club committee would also like to take this opportunity to address rumours regarding the state of the club namely its financial position, and the misappropriation of club funds.

‘‘A review into our financial position, policies and procedures is currently under way . . . We hear the speculation circulating and want to take the opportunity to address the membership with the outcomes of this review.’’

The Upper Hutt Rams were formed following a merger between the Upper Hutt and Rimutaka rugby clubs in 2014. Ex-All Blacks star Cory Jane is one of the club’s most noteworthy former players.