Wellington club rugby team profile: Tawa Titans

Wellington's club rugby competitions continue until the end of August. There are four weekends left to run in the Paul Potiki Shield U85 kg Division 1 competition and the action is set to heat up somewhat in this weekend's penultimate round with the semi-final contenders jostling for position. The Tawa Titans are in the thick it. They were beaten finalists last year, finished second to the MSP Blues in the first round and lost to the Blues 18-19 just a fortnight ago. This weekend they play another leading side, Waikanae, in a key clash. ?

Club:??Tawa Rugby Football Club

Team name:??Tawa Titans??

Competition currently playing:??U85 kg Restricted Division 1 (Paul Potiki Shield)

Social Media:??https://www.facebook.com/TawaTitans?fref=ts

Home ground: Lyndhurst Park, Tawa.

Team origins:?The originally named?Tawa Blue team?(as the club also had a Division 2 side named Tawa Red which has since disbanded) was founded by?original player/coach and 80/80 legend Graeme Ross. His retirement and that of many of the original players led to the re-naming?and new identity of the Tawa Titans. A culture has since?developed in the Titans based around enjoying the social aspects of being part of a team off the field yet maintaining the high standards set on the field by the early founders of the Tawa Blue side.

Biggest rivals:?MSP Blues. The two juggernauts of division 1 U85 kg rugby have always had a fearsome rivalry. MSP have set the benchmark for a number of years now and up until last year had not lost a game in 3-4 years.

Magic moments: There's been many magic moments with the Titans, most of them off the pitch. The best that springs to mind is a game in Wainuiomata five or so years ago. Our winger at the time had beaten his man on the outside but was soon taken out by the covering fullback - Nek Minit - the winger who was beaten came sprinting in, assumed the Bruce Lee fly kick position and nailed our winger square in the ribs. Sensational.

The final round-robin game of the second?round 2013?saw the unbeaten, arrogant MSP Blues travel to Lyndhurst with the winner claiming home-field advantage through the semi's and final. We managed to tip them in the last two minutes with a penalty goal to win by two.

Lastly, seeing our coach dress up as Little Red Riding Hood for our court session will go down in history as one of the most hilarious things one would see in their lifetime.

Team rituals and traditions:??Much like every other team going around there are two court sessions each player MUST attend. One at the end of round 1 and the second at the end of the season. These are generally held at the Tawa Clubrooms as things often get way out of hand.

The team's experienced players:??

Dave Tye - Captain. Sam Butters. Gene Johnston

The team's personalities: Where to begin?

Chris "Kahui" Hopkins - The lady killer. ?Bernard Dodds - One of the founding members of the notorious ‘Warlock Hunters'. ?Jonny Budge - ?Everybody knows Jonny Budge. Sam Butters - The old bull. Moans the most and cries like a girl but he will never leave the TitansGraeme Horo - Easy laughs boys *queue chair throw*. ?Wilson - Loud, proud and often inappropriate. ?Joseph Denyer - I run fast and kick goals, that's what I do. David Fa'atafa - Coach/physio/manager/bus driver. Daniel White - a.k.a Mr Never In The Wrong. Rhys Martin - Apparently well known for being no.1 guy on ‘Hot or Not'. We just know him as the guy that eats.

The team's famous players: A couple of players need be named;

Gene Johnston - Titans first five-eighth; previously played for the Premiers and was last year named in the representative Wellington 80/80 team. Mr Consistent.

Tony Natoli - Titans second five-eighth; played alongside Geno in the Wellington rep team and was named in the NZ Barbarian team at the tournament. You won't tackle him.

Jonny Budge - Titans no.7; best flanker in the division. His work rate is second to none. Excel would have a hard time calculating his game stats.

On player retention and rejuvenation:??The Titans bring in two-three new players each year but generally you'll find it's the same boys from years past turning up to put their bodies on the line. We've been together for 10+ years now and the commitment shown at trainings and on match days is the same now as it was back then.

The last word:??"Titans on 3 - 3, 2, 1 TITANS!" - shot Fats.

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