Poneke Pies Masters Rugby Festival
With the eyes of the rugby world on New Zealand in September and October the Poneke Pies have risen to the occasion. We’ve come up with a mouth-watering recipe boasting all the ingredients for an unforgettable grass-roots rugby experience in the Capital.
Our Poneke Pies Masters Rugby Festival in Kilbirnie, Wellington on 29-30 September offers over-35s teams and individual the opportunity of two days of friendly games, celebration dinners and camaraderie over a few pints at the historic Poneke Rugby clubrooms.
We’re anticipating 12 teams and have already had strong interest expressed from international sides. Former All Black John Leslie has also confirmed a team of “Otago Barbarians” including a number of former All Blacks (fear not, strict rules will apply!). And with New Zealand’s National Election due in November we’re expecting the Parliamentarians XV to take to the field too. See the power of a bipartisan scrum - and look forward to points of order (pints being ordered??) on and off the field!
The Festival is part of the nationwide RWC Real NZ Festival and will be a must-attend event for all local and visiting rugby fans. The Pies will be supported in the delivery of the tournament by the Poneke Football Club, Wellington Rugby Union and Wellington City Council.
Generous sponsorship (thanks Tui Brewery!) has enabled us to keep registration fees down. Team registration fees are $200, with each player also paying a $95 personal registration fee. In return you’ll receive a limited edition tournament T-shirt, all the on-field action you can deal with, a BBQ dinner on the Thursday night and a fully catered Tournament Celebration Dinner on the Friday night, complete with live music and special guests.
Individual players, who are not members of a team, are still encouraged to register, and will be placed in a composite team. The fee for individual players is $110.
Any surplus from the Festival will be offered to the Poneke club to repair the club’s aging bus, which is becoming increasingly less roadworthy. The bus has proven a particularly social and cost-effective way to transport players from all teams and their supporters to games.
One of the Festival highlights will be the attendance of the famed and fabulous Tui Brewery Girls. Every now and then the Tui Girls travel around New Zealand armed with fine amber nectar and other goodies, creating some mischief! And we’re already in their calendar! Look out for them providing sideline liquid support – and maybe even refereeing some of the games!
A roadworthy bus will be a great legacy to leave the Poneke Football club from a successful Poneke Pies Masters Rugby Festival.
Partners, friends, supporters and those simply too senior to consider taking to the field themselves are still welcome to attend the evening functions at a cost of $65 per head.
In keeping with the spirit and tradition of over-35s rugby, the Fetival will be non-competitive (click here to view the full Festival rules http://ponekerugby.com/entitypages/clubhome/default.aspx?pid=177477 .
Each team can expect to play two games of two 20-minute halves each day.
Numbers are filling up fast, so please register your team and pay your team fee to secure your place. The registration form and instructions are here: http://ponekerugby.com/entitypages/clubhome/default.aspx?pid=177477 .
For more information please contact Garry Green (garrygreen@windowslive.com ) or Wayne Goodall (4ward@clear.net).