Rakaia Rugby Club will celebrate its 150th jubilee in April with an action-packed weekend of recollection, games and a banquet evening featuring former All Black captain David Kirk.
The club, one of New Zealand’s oldest, has been a solid offering for players from within the township as well as surrounding area.
It prides itself on being a family club and one of its most notable families was the Perry’s.
Father and son – Grant and Tim – both donned the black jersey of the All Blacks. Grant in 1980 and Tim in 2017.
But they were not the only club members to wear the Silver Fern.
Celebration committee member Jo Burrows said thanks to the club’s late stalwart, John Lawlor, there were comprehensive documents of the club’s history.
Lawlor had given 50 years of continuous service to the club, which also included secretary and treasurer duties.
‘‘Without John we wouldn’t have the records and history we do today,’’ Burrows said.
To add to that information, she was keen to hear from anyone who may have club-related photographs to share for display during the weekend.
The club, like many over the years, has had its highs and lows as player numbers dwindled then swelled.
At one point numbers dropped so low, the club was without a senior side.
But in 2011, it had a resurrection and fielded a team, something they can now continue to do as they develop teams across the grades.
Club president Mark Hanrahan said a welcome addition had been members of the Pacific Island community.
Many families had moved to the area since 2011, he said.
Rakaia holds the record for the first club to win the much coveted Watters’ Cup for four consecutive years.
And it was one of the first club’s to embrace women’s rugby.
Radio breakfast host Lana Cochrane Searle has played for the club for a few seasons and said, in a Facebook post, that the club had a way of pulling people in.
‘‘(They) back you, making you feel like you belong, especially in women’s rugby,’’ Cochrane Searle said.
Hanrahan said it was part of the club’s ethos, and across the grades there were players with three and four generations donning the blue and gold shirt.
‘‘We might be a small club but we are progressive in our thinking and focused on providing a supportive and welcoming club.’’
He said the club was pleased last year to open a purposebuilt clubroom at the Rakaia Domain to use and share with other sporting codes, and the community.
The venue is where all of the weekend’s celebrations will be hosted.
The 150th celebration weekend kicks off with an informal catch-up at the domain on the evening of Friday, April 17.
Saturday is a full-on club day, with games across the grades at the domain. The jubilee banquet with former All Black captain, David Kirk, follows.
On April 19, a brunch and farewell conclude the weekend.
