OPINION
Whether it’s on Woollams Ave in Coromandel Town, Aickin Road in Whangamata, or Boyd Park in Te Aroha with the Foxes — there’s something special about grassroots rugby. It’s where the heart of New Zealand’s game truly beats.
When I returned from Sydney 12 years ago and settled in Whangamata, I was reminded of just how deeply woven rugby is into the fabric of our communities. Every Saturday at Aickin Road Stadium, you can feel it — the pride, the passion, the sense of unity. Whether you’re leaning on the rail with the locals or having a beer with the club stalwarts, you know this is more than just a game. It’s our culture in action.
But that culture is under pressure.
Club rugby, the foundation of our national game, is doing it tough. We live in a professional era, and that reality doesn’t stop at the Super Rugby level. Many of our community clubs now pay players, support travel costs, and even bring in overseas imports to keep the game alive. That takes serious funding — and it’s becoming harder to find.
In Whangamata, for example, just getting the team to an away game costs around $1,000 in bus hire. Clubs rely on bar takings, raffles, a few generous sponsors and the dedication of volunteers. But increasingly, it’s not enough. Across the country, benefactors are quietly covering the shortfalls because they believe in the game. But how long can we expect them to keep doing it alone?
That’s why the visit of NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson on Anzac Day evening (April 25, 5.30 pm) to the Whangamata Rugby Club is a big deal. It’s a chance for small-town New Zealand to ask the big questions.
Like:
Where did the Silver Lake money go?
Has our local club seen a cent of it?
If there was support — is it ongoing or was it a one-off?
What is NZ Rugby’s plan to genuinely support and grow grassroots rugby in towns like ours?
Because without this level of the game, we lose more than rugby — we lose connection. We lose the place where generations meet, where kids learn what it means to belong, and where communities rally together in a way no other sport quite manages.
We don’t just love grassroots rugby. We need it. And now, more than ever, it needs us — and it needs real commitment from those at the top.
