Every year, Michigan Rugby sends a few select players to travel to Wellington, New Zealand for the summer and have the opportunity to learn and play with the local club, Poneke FC. Kiyan Jacobs, Noah Alvarez, Regan Plank, and Sam Glusker are currently there and documenting their experiences. This entry concerns June 20th through June 29th.
Week 6: Scenic and Societal Discoveries
These past ten days have been particularly eventful. Beginning last Friday, the four of us went on a long walk, which quickly turned into a hike at Te Ahumairangi Hill. After descending off the hill back into the city, we went down to the harbor to check out the festivities for Matariki, the Maori New Year. We walked around some interactive exhibits, heard some live music, and got some food before calling it a night, eager for game day the next day.
While Regan was at Kilbirnie with the Colts, Noah, Sam and I went up to a different park, set in the hills of Wellington, to play in the Ruffnuts game. The three of us, along with some of our colts teammates who were also playing with the Ruffnuts this week, were needed to fill in for OBU, the team the Ruffnuts were playing. It was fun to experience the different culture brought by the OBU team as we talked to some of our new teammates. The game was a particularly muddy one, but the three of us all played the entire time, with Sam and I even linking up for a try in the closing minutes. It was the first try any of us had scored so far in New Zealand, so I was thrilled to see Sam touch the ball down. After the game, muddy, tired, and sore, we took the rest of the evening easy.
On Sunday, the four of us got up early and headed back to the Red Rocks Reserve on the south coast, this time to check out the longer, more inland trail. At high elevations, lining mountaintop ridges and overlooking the shore, this was definitely the coolest and most scenic hike we had done so far. We returned to our apartment after the sun had already set and decided to relax and get to bed pretty early, as Regan and I would be working again this week.
Unlike our last temporary job, Regan and I quickly realized upon getting to our new site on Monday morning that this job would be much quieter. We were to spend the week primarily helping to renovate an office by ripping up carpet. Through this task, along with other side responsibilities that our bosses Jimmy and Lockie had us doing, Regan and I got to talk to even more Kiwis and learn their stories. It’s always interesting to be able to see so many different sides of one society, especially in an area as foreign as New Zealand.
Regan and I ended up helping at this site from Monday through Thursday, and didn’t really do much outside of work during the week other than practice. With universities on winter break this week, our numbers were stretched a little thin. While Tuesday practice was similar to business as usual, with lighter attendance, fields were closed on Thursday due to rain. This allowed for a fitness-based partner circuit, followed by team runs in the indoor facility. We had also found out that Regan and I would be starting for the Colts this week in their final regular season game, and Noah and Sam would be coming off the bench. This was a big week for the team. We learned that Poneke had not beaten our upcoming opponents, Hutt Old Boys Marist, in a long time, and the team had lost 81-0 in the year prior. With our captain on holiday this week, along with a couple of other usual starters, my fellow Americans and I were eager to make an impression. This was even more so for me, as I would be playing in front of my family, who arrive Friday morning to come visit. I had the chance to show them around my new home of Wellington, even going with them to revisit the National Museum, Te Papa.
Saturday was the real eventful day, though. The entire Colts team met at the clubrooms in the morning and took a bus up north to HOBM’s facilities. Everyone was focused and eager to leave their all on the muddy, slippery, puddle-littered field in the pouring rain. From the first minute of the game itself, it was clear that we were outsized. However, we all just took this to mean we had to be more physical, which fit the narrative brought by the muddy conditions perfectly. While we ended up losing the game, our entire team put up a great fight. Regan and I played a full 80 minutes while Noah and Sam both came in in the second half. The game also brought my second straight week with a try assist.
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While I had expected to introduce my family to the team after the game, word had apparently already gotten out, as our head coach concluded our post-game huddle by announcing that my family was in attendance, and proposed we all get a picture. I was so happy and appreciative to have everyone be so excited that my family was here, and be so eager to share their culture and love for rugby with them. After showering twice and unwinding back at the apartment post-game, my family, my roommates and I headed to an album release party for a local hip-hop group, Solar Daze. It was really interesting to see this side of local New Zealand music, both socially and culturally.
On Sunday, the four of us sought even more active recovery by taking a train route about an hour north to the Kapiti Coast on the west side of the island, where we traversed cliffs and crossed suspension bridges among grazing sheep along a 9-kilometer trail overlooking the ocean. We then got dinner at a local Thai restaurant with my parents.
While this past week and a half was particularly busy, it was a huge leap in cultural discovery, some crazy scenic discovery, and the opportunity to play some competitive, fun, muddy rugby. With only a few weeks left in Wellington, I hope to continue to come across these niches and continue to get as full and rich an experience as possible.
