Gold Coast, here we come
John Hill
LAST season’s losing Lee Brothers Shield finalists Ngatapa will be searching for a new coach following the news that Stu Donnelly is off to Australia.
Donnelly, who led the club to three finals, winning one, leaves for the Gold Coast early in January.
“It’s the right time for the family,” said the former Old Boys, OBM and Poverty Bay player.
“The girls (Brooke, 13, and Rachel, 11) are ready to move to different schools so Jenny and I decided this was the best time to give them the opportunity to sample another lifestyle, a change of scenery.
“At this stage, our intentions are to go for a couple of years . . . see how things pan out. We are renting our house out so it’s possible we will come back to Gisborne.
“We’re all excited about going but also sad to be leaving family and friends.”
Donnelly, who also spent a season playing rugby in Perth and two seasons in Wales, said the first priority was to get the family settled in Australia before “putting feelers out around the rugby clubs”.
“I’ve been playing and coaching for as long as I can remember and always had tremendous support from Jenny.
“It’s only fair the focus is on the family until we’re established.”
An Old Boys and then OBM man — apart from his overseas stints — after leaving Lytton High School, Donnelly became a “countryman” when he moved to Patutahi in 2005.
Donnelly, 41, said that while he enjoyed his 10 years playing for Old Boys and OBM, the past five years coaching Ngatapa had been special.
“Ngatapa are a fantastic club. I’ve had nothing but support from everyone involved with the club and I’m going to miss their support. I’ve been lucky to have coached some great players.”
When pushed to name players who stood out, he plumped for three — backs Ian Logan, now playing in France, Campbell Te Rito, now in Scotland, and lock Will Faulks.
“Logie was a special player. It wasn’t just his all-round ability . . . he was the complete team-man.
“He was a guy who put his hand up, not out. Even when he was injured, he was always there at training helping and being the water-bottle carrier on Saturday.
“I had a hand in bringing Logie down from the Coast. When he mentioned he was thinking about moving, I helped get him a job and Ngatapa got a player who will be hard to replace.
“Campbell was another total clubman. He and Logie were great mates and great guys to have in your team.
“Will helped me tremendously as a coach, especially after I took over as coach of the prems.
“Off the field, you couldn’t go past David McDonald and Rob Cook. They’ve both got fantastic organisational skills and make sure everything runs smoothly.
“David was content to help in any way he could. He never panics, no matter what the state of the game.
“He’s not loud but when he speaks he has the total respect of the players.
“Cookie’s the backbone of the club. Mind you, a lot of others could also fit that description.”
Career highlights?
“Playing-wise, that would be helping OBM win our first Lee Brothers Shield in 1997, a year after the amalgamation of Old Boys and Marist, being in the side that won the Welsh Cup under-23 division, being picked for a Welsh under-21 training camp, and making the Western Australia team when I was in Perth.
The Welsh training camp adventure was short-lived . . . “I had my bags packed and was waiting to get picked up to go to training. When the guy arrived he asked me where I was from and when I said New Zealand, that was the end of that. Still, it was nice to know they thought enough of me to initially select me for the camp.”
Coaching highs?
“That’s easy — winning the Lee Brothers Shield in 2008. Our seniors also won their championship so it was a real double-celebration.
“But I’ve also enjoyed coaching the Ngatapa juniors and the Poverty Bay under-23 side for the past two seasons. This district has some very talented young players — such as Willie Brown, Tamati Wilkie and James Kissling — who could push for places in the Heartland Championship squad next season.
“One of the joys of coaching is you get to see these young guys coming through and know you’ve helped them along the way.”
Donnelly said he could not have played so long or been involved in coaching without the support of his wife Jenny.
“There’s a lot of time taken up with rugby, playing and coaching. You’re training two nights a week, more if you’re involved with the rep side. When I was coaching, I was out at Patutahi at 6pm and never home before 9pm
“You’re away all Saturday afternoon, never mind the phone-calls during the week sorting things out. When you add in your day job, that’s a lot of time away from the family.
“Jenny’s been great and now it’s time to spend more quality time with them.”