Diana Manu scores big for local touch
$5000 grant helps update players' uniforms
Diana Manu has been announced as one of the five Bunnings Home Ground Heroes — a title she says will benefit her club enormously. Bunnings Home Ground Heroes is a community initiative that acknowledges the unsung heroes in the touch rugby community who go above the call of duty to enable players and the sport to thrive.
Manu, who lives in Paraparaumu, is the chair and manager of the Touch Kā piti Horowhenua province, and the $5000 she was awarded to reinvest into the community will help take the pressure off the club needing to fundraise.
“I was really grateful to Bunnings because we need the cash.
“That’s $5000 we don’t have to fundraise for. And in this climate, that’s really hard to do.”
There were “heaps of ideas” about how the $5000 should be spent, but it was decided it should be used to ensure all the players have updated uniforms.
“A few years ago, we redesigned our uniforms . . . but we could only do half of them, so our under-12s and under-14s are still wearing the old stuff.”
Manu, who was chosen from 192 nominations, said Bunnings had been running the Home Ground Heroes initiative for three years and she had been nominated in both the previous ones.
She said Bunnings had been good to the province for longer than that though — providing module packs with items such as rugby balls and supporting the province’s coaching courses by supplying coaching packs since 2018.
Manu started managing touch rugby in 2010 as the touch coordinator at Kenakena School in Paraparaumu.
About a year after that she took over as chair of the province and has been there ever since.
Manu used to play touch rugby as a hobby but said she was always more drawn to the managing side of the sport.
“Some people are best reffing, some are best playing, some are best coaching . . . I’m the managing side — more organisational.”
In July Manu will go to Nottingham for the Touch World Cup as a manager, accompanied by two fellow province members — referee Samuel Taylor and one of their coaches. “It’s good for a little province.” Manu wanted to thank everyone who nominated her.
Bunnings New Zealand general manager Melissa Haines said the team at Bunnings had “thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Touch New Zealand to find our Bunnings Home Ground Heroes for the season”.
“It’s just a small way we can help to make a meaningful difference in our communities. We look forward to seeing how this year’s winners support their communities.”
Touch New Zealand chief executive Joe Sprangers said they were grateful for Bunnings’ support in helping celebrate community touch.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the positive impact $5000 will have for these touch communities.”