Development officers for rugby
Ene Fa’atau and Simon Dibben are Wanganui Rugby Union’s new Development Officers.
A former Irish-based Samoan international and a current local Heartland representative are the newcomers to the roles of Development Officers with the Wanganui Rugby Union.
They are Wellington-born Eneliko (Ene) Fa’atau, who has been working or playing in Ireland since 2006, and 48-cap Wanganui Heartland representative player Simon Dibben.
The pair take over from current WRFU RDO’s Lesley McKenzie (off as technical coach for the Japanese international women’s sevens team) and Justin Lock (coaching coordinator with the Feilding Ag High School) who have been Wanganui RDO’s since 2015.
McKenzie, a Canadian women’s international hooker with 25 caps between 2004-2011 including two World Cups, came to Wanganui via Wellington (girls’ development co-ordinator 2013-15) and has had five recent visits to Japan to assist in coaching.
She coached the Wanganui Marist Celtic senior men’s team for the past few years as well as coaching local representative women’s squads and last year being assistant coach of the Hurricanes Heartland under20’s. Lesley has been an IRB coach educator since 2015.
Her latest contribution to Wanganui rugby was the formation of Gain Line Wanganui — a 10-month programme focused on off-field development of 18 to 23 year old players to core areas (strength, conditioning and nutrition) to help prepare them to compete physically in club rugby.
Lock, a former Rangitikeibased builder who repped 41 times for Wanganui in the front row between 2007 and 2011 when playing for Marton and Marist, has also been coach of Marton and the champion Border premier club team for the past two years as well as assisting in the selection and preparation of local representative squads.
Ene Fa’atau, aged 37, who is bringing his Irish partner and five-month-old daughter to Wanganui early next month, played for Samoa in the international sevens at Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore in 2004, and for NZ Marist in Samoa.
He helped Marist St Pat’s win the 2000 Wellington club championship, toured South Africa with the 2002 Manu Samoa Pacific Nations squad in 2002 when Marist St Pat’s won the Wellington premier club title, captained he club’s 2003 champions sevens team and was in the Wellington sevens training squad. In 2004 he repped for Samoa Sevens.
At the end of the 2005 local season, when he was in the Wellington Development team, Ene linked up with the De La Salle Palmerston RFC in Dublin.
He returned to New Zealand during 2006, playing for the Huia club in Motueka and for the Tasman Development reps before returning to Ireland where he became the Palmerston RFC’s club captain in 2007.
Ene switched to Dundalk in 2008 as head club coach-player and stayed until 2015 before linking up with Galway Corinthians as head coach with the club runners-up in the Connacht senior league in 2016 and again last year.
At school level he worked with Sandford Park High School in Dublin (in charge of the senior and junior squads 2006-08), De La Salle College (substitute supervisor in 2006-10 at Dundalk and Churchtown 2006-08) and was special needs assistant (2014-15), the Dundalk Institute of Technology ((full responsibility for coaching the men’s and women’s teams 2008-14) and was the community club and youth development officer for Leinster Rugby in Dundalk (2009-11).
With his former playing and recent coaching and administration skills — he holds Irish coaching plus strength and conditioning certificates as well as camera analysist experience — Ene Fa’atau brings a wealth of knowledge to Wanganui rugby.
In addition he will be coming to a union that has a large number of resident and loan Samoan players amongst the local Pacific Islands fraternity.
Simon Dibben, aged 30, is the fourth Wanganui representative player to become a Wanganui RDO, following in the footsteps of Justin Lock (41 caps 2007-2011), Jordan Farrington (1 game in 2008) and Mike Kenworthy (12 games 1979-1980).
Dibben, who has played in Steelform Wanganui Heartland champion squads for the past four years (2014 Lochore Cup and 2015-16-17 Meads Cup), was in the 2011 NZ Heartland team, was a NZ Marist rep in 2015-16 and plays for the Marist premiers.
Married with one daughter he comes from a working background of rural fire fighting, tiling, well drilling, teachers’ aid and being a motor cycling technician.
Park Dwellers Clash
The spotlight in the third round of the 2018 Tasman Tanning premier club championship on Saturday will centre on Spriggens Park.
Unbeaten Black Bull Liquor Pirates and Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist, who both operate from the Park, meet in a Grand Hotel Challenge Shield game on home soil.
Although Marist is ahead 21 victories to 15 in fixtures during the new millennium, including a massive 80-0 romp in 2007, Pirates has won nine of the last 11 games since 2012 including two very close tussles last season — 33-32 and 32-29.
Pirates, with a number of new players, has started the present campaign by de-throning Border 22-17 of the Challenge Shield in Waverley and defending the trophy 19-all at home 19-all against Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau last weekend in the first drawn match between the two teams since the turn of the century.
With first five Sam Monaghan in fine form on Spriggens Park, collecting 42 points (four tries, two penalties and eight conversions including the first hat-trick of tries for the year), Marist has also started with back to back victories, beating Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri 36-10 on opening day and Harvey Round Motors Ratana 36-17 last Thursday night in a game that ended in near total darkness.
Marist’s only wins over Pirates since 2012 both came in 2016, the year after Pirates won the second of back to back championships to break a 56-year absence of major titles, with convincing 34-0 and 49-19 victories.
But they were well adrift of Marist’s massive 80-0 runaway triumph in 2007, followed by 47-10 and 45-13 (semi-finals) wins. Steelie Koro kicked 140 points (58 conversions and eight penalties) and fellow rep Asaeli Tikoirotuma collected 27 tries (135 pts) for eventual champions Marist in 2007.
That was the year that the two top performing teams — Kaierau (unbeaten) and McCarthy Transport Ruapehu — were both axed from the championship play-offs because of fighting and kicking in their last qualifying fixture. Marist lost four qualifying games but beat Pirates in the semis and Ratana 24-15 in the final.
PGG Wrightson — Balance Taihape and Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri, who beat each other on home soil last year, play at Memorial Park on Saturday.
Taihape won 54-24 on the field last season thanks to 33 points from Dane Whale who picked up three tries and landed six conversions and two penalty goals.
Each club had scored four tries in the first round clash at Ngamatapouri which the hosts won 31-30 thanks to goal-kicker Te Tua Kemp (11 points).
Both Taihape (11-29 away against Border) and Ngamatapouri (thrashed 95-5 at home by Ruapehu) were beaten last weekend.
After winning the past 10 games since 2011 Border will go out favourites to beat Kaierau at the Devon Road Country Club although the maroons can be troublesome at times as the 10-19 and 26-43 results in 2017 indicate as does the 19-all draw with Pirates last Saturday.
The only wins for Kaierau since Border returned from Taranaki were both at Waverley — 17-6 in 2011 and 23-16 in 2012.
Although Ratana has won six times at Rochfort Park the records show that the Rangitikei club has only once won in the last 19 games against Ruapehu — 15-10 away in 2014 — and it will be a testing return to Ohakune on Saturday, particular after the way the ‘Mountain Men’ annihilated Ngamatapouri at Easter.
Ratana, now under new coach Steelie Koro, may have struggled for the past five seasons but there have been signs of improved form in the 21-10 (v Taihape) and 36-17 (v Marist) away losses this year.
Defending champions Ruapehu may have dropped a few games against Ratana since the turn of the century but look likely to follow up the scalps of Kaierau (15-5) and Ngamatapouri with a third scalp for the new season which would be the best start since winning the title in 2013.
Marist (10 pts) leads the premier series ahead of Ruapehu (9), Border and Pirates (6 each), Taihape (4), Kaierau (2), Ratana and Ngamatapouri (0).
Border On Top
Unbeaten Border, who lead the senior series after three rounds, will defend the Stihl Wanganui Challenge Shield against Kaierau at the Devon Road Country Club this weekend.
Top of the table Border, who took the shield off Speirs Food Marton 15-13 and defended it at home against Pirates (53-0) and Ruapehu (by default at Easter) has 14 pts, one clear of Counties who have beaten Kaierau 29-0, Ruapehu 22-0 and Utiku OB 20-10.
Border and Kaierau drew 13-all in the first round at Kaierau last year bit it was 46-7 to the hosts at Dallison Park in the return match and Border won by default in the consolation semi-finals.
Counties are away to ninth placed Taihape on Saturday.
Kelso Hunterville, runnersup to Marton in 2017, has beaten Ruapehu 52-10 away and Celtic 19-6 in a well-attended night home fixture last week and has sat out a bye. The seven-time champions are away to Utiku OB this weekend. On Saturday Pirates and Celtic meet at Spriggens Park, Ruapehu hosts Buffalos and Marton has the bye.
Super Rugby Draw
The Investec Super Rugby draw for this weekend (NZ times) is:
Friday: Hurricanes v Sharks, Napier, 7.35pm.
Saturday: Sunwolves v Waratahs, Tokyo, 5.15pm. Chiefs v Blues, Hamilton, 7.35pm.
Brumbies v Reds, Canberra , 9.45pm.
Sunday: Lions v Stormers, Johannesburg, 3.15am. Jaguares v Crusaders, Buenos Aires, 9.40am.
Byes — Bulls, Rebels, Highlanders.