Foxton Rebels have a cause – Rugby League

Tu Tangata, Issue 34, 1 February 1987, Page 2

Foxton Rebels have a cause - Rugby League

Two years out, the Foxton Rebels rugby league team are at the top. In their first year of competition league in the Manawatu, they took out all available trophies, Senior Knockout, Senior Competition, and Senior Champion of Champions. And this year just finished, they moved up a grade to Premiers and took out all available titles there too.

To cap it all off, they made it to the Tusk Cup, the rugby league nationals, representing Manawatu. However the fairytale came to a temporary halt (as some club supporters would say) at the hands of the Christchurch club Hornby who dished out a 56 to 10 defeat.

That’s not dampened enthusiasm at all, in fact it’s made the Rebels realise just how big their achievements have been on and off the field.

TU TANGATA went to Foxton to find out how a community of about three thousand people, with a significant number of Maori, can field such a challenge.

Well the first thing that hits you is the infectious enthusiasm, in both players and supporters alike. In fact it’s hard to tell them apart, especially after hearing tales of what experience, or rather, lack of rugby league experience, there is. Nui Kunaiti is acknowledged as the kaumatua, guesstimated as being in his 40’s. As another player Terry Hapi puts it, “When I started playing senior rugby, he had just retired from it.” There would only be a handful with

rugby league experience, the rest were either rugby players with one or two having played soccer or hockey. Coach Mickey Te Rangi says a lot of the players had not played any sport since leaving school, and in his words, “they’re more than I expected.”

That may not sound surprising but for the realisation that Mick himself has no rugby league experience either. He’s been a good keen rugby man all his life, and a good coach at that. In search of someone who has some rugby league experience, chairman of the Foxton Rebels Rugby League Club, Tom Woon was found to be the man. He’d played league for the army in Palmerston North and was instrumental in getting the club off the ground. By this stage of writing, the origins of the club are starting to get lost in clouds of myth but it appears Tom was in on the ground floor.

He’d been on the Foxton Borough Council for six years and was approached in this capacity when grounds for a rugby league club were being considered. He says the Foxton race course was one early option which

was rejected in favour of the present Victoria Park. The mayor too was an early supporter and helped the club get established. Marshall Carrol, former club chairman, was one of the ones who put the proposition to the council about the need for league grounds. He says he was keen on starting a league team at Longburn, but Terry Hapi and Paul Luke told him to forget Longburn and start one in Foxton.

It appears at that time, there had been a fall-out with the local rugby club over some players not getting a regular run with the team, and the general lack of team spirit. Mickey Te Rangi says he’d been a rugby coach for years and had seen ups and downs in fielding rugby teams. He says the formation of the Foxton Rebels caused a further reduction in the ranks and there was some ill feeling between the two codes. Players say this was the meaning of the name Rebels, they were challenging the established clubs. This challenge showed itself in former rugby mates saying, “your league club won’t last, it’s just a flash in the pan.”

That was enough to spur them on but it wasn’t all. Tom Woon says, “We gave the guys a new focus.” All agree the initial idea was for a social rugby league club, where players and families could participate. It seems the idea mushroomed from there.

When the Rebels took the field against a pre-1985 season line-up of Upper Hutt Tigers, they did rather well. This was due largely to the services of Mike Kuiti, a Foxton lad playing in Wellington, who coached the Rebels before in some ball-skill sessions.

Terry Hapi says Mike taught them how to play as a team and what the laws of rugby league were. Terry says the player participation really clinched the league attraction and once they got a taste of the physical part, they were off.

Some club members say as a contact sport, it’s very exciting. The women agree they like to watch because it’s like watching gladiators.

You soon discover that the women play a big part in the Foxton Rebels club, and it surprised me that none are playing as yet. But they have got in there right from the start. In fact there are four committees in the club, the building fund, travel, the main committee and a supporters committee. The building fund committee is fundraising for club premises, the travel committee had its biggest task in finding the cash to support their boys when they went to Christchurch for the Tusk Cup in September last year. Over nine thousand dollars was needed to cover the three bus loads that went, ferry fare and all accommodation included. One

hundred and four Foxton Rebel supporters went like this, as well as those who went under their own steam, like the mayor. After an individual travelling charge was made, four thousand dollars was raised in the month before, from fundraising events that ranged from

‘bidding for the bag’ at the Manawatu Hotel to discos, car-washes, coffee evenings and garage sales. Foxton businesses also gave of their best to ensure the success of the Rebel trip.

Foxton is not a rich town, in terms of big industry and employment. In fact Feltex Carpets are the major employer

in the town. Travel committee secretary, Rea Hapi brings considerable expertise from the Feltex social club where over forty thousand dollars was raised last year. Rongo and Gaye Peta, Winnie Whakatihi and Ken Huff are also travel committee stalwarts. It’s this sort of enthusiasm which infects Edna Whakatihi who has five boys in the Rebels. She also looks after the supporters’ committee which could be seen as the komiti whakatinana. She knows for true that this Rebel army marches on its stomach and so the provision of manaakitanga for visitors and supporters at all games and functions is paramount. Five dollars per member is levied for the supporters club. And just what has all this frenetic activity over the past two years done for the Foxton community. Well before this time, widespread unemployment and boredom combined with under-age drinking had taken its toll on Foxton. Most Rebels had had occasion to come to the attention of the Law. But the formation of the Rebels has certainly changed some opinions in the town. Publican, Pat Bussitun, who was a schoolboy league coach in Taranaki, now re-admits Rebel players who were formerly banned from his pub. This is because the players now respect each other and the hotel premises. That probably sums up what’s happened in the town of Foxton, former troublemakers have found something to live for. Tom Woon says they’ve swapped leather jackets for jerseys, and perhaps Foxton people now see the Maori people with new eyes. Although the faces and names of Rebel players and supporters are overwhelmingly Maori, the more identifiable displays of Maori identity have been lacking. Both knowledge of the

language and haka and waiata are in an infancy state but that’s changing too. Marshall Carrol says he’d like to see an action song being written and performed by the club. He says the boys are now trying.

“Nui (Kuiniti) has got them round to it, two years ago they never could have

sung a Maori song. Fd like to see them get deeper into it.”

By the time this article is read, the Foxton Rebels would have wound up, their very successful second year. One of the speakers at the wind-up hui was Maori Affairs Director of Housing, Robin Hapi, brother of founder member

Terry Hapi. He planned to say to the Rebels, “well you’ve come a long way. Perhaps the time now should be used to see where you are headed as Maori people and build in what has been achieved.” As the Rebels take this on, their cause could well change, but Foxton would agree, it could only be for the better.