Metuarau and Ories hoping to take Jubilee Cup opportunities

Above: Captain Tuakana Metuarau (right, headgear) and Oriental-Rongotai await their opposition on to the Polo Ground in a recent Swindale Shield match. PHOTO: Hugh Pretorius. 

Another year, another Jubilee Cup for Oriental-Rongotai

But only just.

News travels fast via the Saturday Rugby Club express, and a huge cheer erupted amongst the travelling band of Ories supporters stationed sideline at Helston Park just before fulltime on Saturday.

Ories had already secured the bonus point win they needed against Johnsonville to qualify in the event of Petone missing out for the Jubilee Cup, and Petone had just conceded a penalty try to go 5-19 down with several minutes to play to fall out of bonus point territory that they needed to be in.

Did the 15 Ories players on the field at the time know about this?

“We found out right after the game, all we knew during was that we needed a bonus point win and the rest was out of our hands, “said captain and openside flanker Tuakana Metuarau.”

“There were some concerned supporters on the sideline, I could see some of our people on the sideline frantically calling Nairnville to get a score update!”

The upshot is that this will be the 11th straight year that Ories will be contesting the Jubilee Cup.

Metuarau was quick to admit that his team left it late in qualifying.

“It was a slow start to the season for us, but we had our backs to the wall and did what we needed to do and a few things fell in our favour. It could have easily gone the other way and we’d be picking ourselves up and Petone would be celebrating.”

After losing consecutive games to the Upper Hutt Rams and Poneke, Ories won four of their next five matches, a run that started with a 25-17 win over Petone that ultimately decided their fate and also included a 41-32 win last week over MSP whom they meet in this coming week’s Jubilee Cup opener.

“Marist was probably the most complete performance we have had all year, and it was against a side who were playing really well at the time.”

How good is it to see loose forward teammate Luca Rees at the top of the try-scoring list, with 17 tries?

“I’ve known Luca since high school at Rongotai College and he has always had a knack for crossing over the tryline than the rest of us. He’s clearly perfected that talent. He’s playing really well, and the forwards are setting a good platform that allows him to do that.”

Metuarau picked out veteran Whetu Henry and Poasa Poasa, coming out of coaching the Colts to play, as two key players at the moment. “But this year’s predominantly been about a group of younger guys coming through to join the Premiers.”

Being only mid 20s himself, if not a veteran Metuarau is certainly one of his side’s senior players. He made his Premier debut back in 2012 in his first year out of Rongotai and has played about 70 matches now. This includes a few stints injured on the sideline, so would be up over 100 games if fully fit.

Ories were defending Jubilee Cup champions when he first started, and in his time with the squad they have made the final twice (2012 – losing to MSP 8-14 and 2013 – losing to Tawa 21-26), and the semi-finals three times (2014 – losing to HOBM 26-43), 2015 (losing to OBU 18-20) and 2017 (losing to MSP 3-24).

What does it take to go all the way in the Jubilee Cup?

“The bye this year will change things up a bit because some guys will get to have a bit of a break, others might get a clean start. But from my experience it is about momentum, getting that first win and keeping it going. Because the season is so short that any losses will have a big outcome.”

He also pointed to the conditions. “With the weather and conditions this time of year, the scores get a bit tight and it is just seeing who can guts it out in the end.”

Metuarau has been playing mostly at openside flanker this year, to fill a role but he has played Premier matches for Ories wearing everything from 4 to 8 on his back.

He started captaining Ories at the start of the last year, but injury put him out for most of the second round so Whetu Henry took over the reins.

Captaincy came suddenly. “Last year I got told right before kick-off that I was going to be captaining – that was a great way to do it! When you have played Premier rugby for a while captaining is not too difficult, it just means you have got to talk to the referee a bit more.”

Having played for six seasons, what is a club rugby highlight for Metuarau?

“One of my most memorable games was in my first year and I was put into starting lock against Norths. At the time they were at the tail-end of their [previous] strong period. That was a big, fast team and Alapati Leiua played in that game and ran through me twice. We were at home and protecting a small lead and they had us pinned on our line. I remember being absolutely shattered at the end of that game.”

Ories won that match 22-16 in round 8 of the 2012 Swindale Shield, which was also a replay of the previous year’s Jubilee Cup final which Ories won.

The year before he was playing First XV rugby for Rongotai College, alongside Ardie Savea.

“In our last year I was No. 8 and Ardie shifted out to the backs. But we had been the 7-8 combination for the previous two years. It was a sudden jump into the backline that year.”

Most of their Rongotai College teammates that year didn’t go on to Ories. “One of the notable names in that team would be Joe Tapine who is in the NRL now playing for the Raiders. He was the reserve first five-eighth and mostly playing rugby league then.”

Chucky Koroi (now in Otago) who won the 2013 and 2016 Jubilee Cup with Tawa was also in that First XV. Luca Rees was in the 2010 side.

“A lot of the guys in the Ories Premiers from Rongotai at the moment went through Rongotai after I had left.”

Outside of rugby, Metuarau has been working as a lecturer at Victoria University teaching video games and digital animation and design. He did some design for Ardie’s clothing that started about a year ago.

No designs on furthering his rugby career? “I did when I was younger, because I went into the WRFU Academy, but I also had a few injuries. A lot of my focus goes into my career at the moment; I just play for the club.”

From a well-known sporting family, Tuakana’s younger sister Tiana, who is still at school at Wellington East Girls’ College, is a shooter in the Pulse netball squad.

“Interestingly enough, I was at their training in Kilbirnie recently giving some lineout tips to the Pulse defenders. They are trying out a few defensive things with the defensive circle, and I got asked if I could give a hand, about jumping and landing. That was fun!”

It must be helping in some way, the Pulse are unbeaten after six competition games and have had consecutive big wins over the Steel and Mystics.

Jubilee Cup Round One: Oriental-Rongotai v Marist St Pat’s, Saturday 2.45pm at the Polo Ground