The Petone Rugby Football Club was founded in 1885 and has been the Wellington Premier Champion 39 times between 1895 and 2005. In addition, the club has won the Club Championship on 42 occasions between 1922 and 2005. Petone is a constituent club of the

Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named West ...

Location

The Petone Club rooms are at the lower end of the Hutt Valley on a site in Udy Street. The Clubrooms stand immediately adjacent to North Park, a field maintained to the highest standards even though it is only used for training. Other Club facilities include: * Outdoor training - floodlit fields at North Park and on Petone Recreation ground on the other side of Udy Street. * A large indoor

Tiger Turf The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

Stadium capable of use by a full forward pack and backline in training. * Two large and well equipped changing and showering rooms. * A modern and very well equipped weights room. * A large modern fully heated lounge with full bar and kitchen facilities. * Extensive collection of memorabilia from around the World.

Club membership

Club membership in 2013 totalled more than 750, made up of life members, vice presidents, honorary members, open and age grade players and 412 young players in the junior section ranging from 4 and 5 year olds in the nursery grade to 12 year olds. The club fields nine teams in the Wellington Union's 2013 competition grades from Premier to Colts U21. The club funds a coaching coordinator, Darren 'Lardy' Larsen. Lardy is a highly qualified and competent coach. He also runs the Konnect Blue programme that allows juniors leaving for college to stay in touch with the club until they return.

Reputation

The club has produced 30 All Blacks and 16 NZ Maori representatives.

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He play ...

became an All Black in 1997 and played continuously for his country before his retirement in 2006, becoming captain in 2004.

Andy Leslie Andrew Roy Leslie (born 10 November 1944) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A number eight, he represented Wellington domestically and captained the All Black at international level. He was captain during the controversial 1976 New ...

, the current NZ Rugby Union Vice President, was the club's first appointed All Black touring captain to Britain (1974) and South Africa (1976).

Notable players

Allan Hewson Allan Roy Hewson (born 6 June 1954) represented the New Zealand All Blacks in 19 Rugby Union internationals between 1981 and 1984. Hewson played at fullback. Since his retirement from international rugby Hewson has continued to be involved with ...

–

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

* Neemia Tialata – All Black *

– All Black captain *

– All Black captain * Ken Gray – All Black * Hercules Richard Wright –

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

* Daniel Fraser – Kiwi * Edward Tyne – Kiwi * Tom Cross – All Black & Kiwi * Arthur Kelly – Kiwi * Duncan McGregor – All Black & Kiwi * Riki Flutey – England * Mark Nicholls – All Black

History

Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...

had a four-year reign as Premier Champions between 1904 and 1907 and the Club set a memorable record in the 1907 season when it won all championship grades in the Wellington competition. After the 1907 season the club was weakened by inadvertently helping the formation of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

in New Zealand. The club provided six players for the professional 1907-1908 rugby tour of Great Britain including its two

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

at the time, Tom Cross and Duncan McGregor, and the club's captain, Hercules Wright.Petone Rugby played big part in 'All Golds'
''Petone Rugby Club'', Accessed 14 August 2009 The

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

subsequently banned all members of the tour for life. In the 1971 season the Premier team won the Premier competition and

the Jubilee Cup The Jubilee Cup is a rugby trophy. It is the premier club competition trophy of the Wellington Rugby Football Union, and the current holders are Tawa, following their 36-7 defeat of Marist St Pats in the 2021 final. Origins and history The Jubil ...

for the fifth consecutive season and became the first club in the history of Wellington rugby to achieve this feat since the club competition was commenced in 1868. The first three wins in this sequence were achieved under the leadership of Ken Gray widely considered one of the greatest All Black prop forwards in the history of the game. The Ken Gray Academy was established in 1995 in Ken's name to assist in the development of the best young players wishing to find their way through the Club to the highest representative honours. The centennial history records that Te Puni arrived in the Hutt Valley in 1817 and died there in 1870. In the first official match ever played by the Petone Club three descendants of Te Puni were included in the fifteen. Today Petone Rugby is a multi-cultural mix in a family-oriented environment. The club always welcomes visitors to come and share its hospitality. In November 2006, the club hosted The World Golden Oldies Festival and in 2010 the Club celebrated its 125th Anniversary.

Monogram

The Club adopted its familiar monogram on the recommendation of its illustrious Life Member and Maori All Black, Matt Love, as part of its 50th Jubilee celebrations in 1935. The monogram is embellished by the words in Maori "kia kaha kia maia" - broadly translated as "give of your best - be confident in your own ability". This reflects the strength of the partnership with Maori in the Club. The monogram was updated in 2010 to include "Est 1885" and the words "Petone Rugby Club".

References

{{reflist New Zealand rugby union teams 1885 establishments in New Zealand Rugby clubs established in 1885 Sport in Lower Hutt