Henry Smith enjoying being back after two-year break

Henry Smith hitting the ball up for Wainuiomata last weekend against Avalon, with his teamates closing in support. Photo by Hugh Pretorius.

In an increasingly younger competition, the value of older, experienced players has become more apparent in recent years.

The Player of the Match in last year’s Jubilee Cup final was Junior Togia, who ended his 250-match Wellington Premier career with two tries that helped Tawa lift their second championship title.

In last week’s season opener MSP’s 9-10 axis of Peter Sciascia and Fa’ataonu Fili was hugely instrumental in their 31-13 win over Tawa in the replay of that final.

On the next door field, Wainuiomata fielded two props who over a decade ago whilst playing for different clubs were locking horns against other, Justin Va’a (formerly of Upper Hutt) and Henry Smith (formerly of Northern United).

Va’a has returned in 2017 with the aim of notching up 150 Premier appearances for Wainuiomata in a few weeks (plus some 70 caps for Upper Hutt), while former 162-match Northern United former Jubilee Cup winning captain Smith returned on Saturday for his first match of any kind in two and a half years.

Smith’s last match for Norths was the 2014 Hardham Cup final, afterwards telling media on the field “that’s it I’m done, I’m out of here,” as he proudly walked off the park for the last time in a career that saw him be part of Norths championship winning 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Swindale Shield teams and 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Jubilee Cup sides.

Now living in Wainuiomata, Smith explained his return last weekend in Wainuiomata’s 14-13 win over Avalon.

“After I retired in 2014 I wasn’t really planning on playing again, I was just in relax mode and would rather just go and watch the games and eat chicken and chips on the sideline. I kept away from the scene because I didn’t want to get itchy feet.

“All the while, JV [Va’a] had been trying to get me to play for Wainuiomata and so this year I said I’ll come back and play for the Premier Reserves. Then a few of the boys started getting injured at our recent trainings and JV said we might need you to start in the first match, and I was saying this wasn’t the plan!"

He admitted he really enjoyed his first match back – except of course for the yellow card he was given.

“That was for using no arms in the tackle, my second yellow card ever! I didn’t know where to go. They said go stand down there, and I was like okay then. I was asking the referee about it and he said it part of the new rules, just trying to keep everything safer.”

He is taking his comeback tentatively though.

“I tweaked my hamstring in our recent pre-season match against Ories and with my job as a courier driver I can’t really afford to get injured. Plus I’ve just had a newborn on Christmas Eve, so I’m busy outside rugby.”

Smith played the majority of his top rugby for Norths at hooker, but he’s experienced at prop as well.

“Back at Bishop Viard College I was playing all positions in the front row and I started getting used to it, but as I played more for Norths I was playing at hooker. I don’t mind playing prop, it’s quite different though. Especially when you go up against another specialist prop like Donal McNamara from Ories.”

Smith is a contemporary of John Schwalger and Anthony Perenise, who went on to play international rugby for New Zealand and Samoa respectively. “When we left college at Viard we started playing for the Colts together and then moved up to the Premiers.”

Smith was the last Jubilee Cup winning captain to hold the championship aloft at Westpac Stadium in 2010.

“Faifili Levave was our captain for the first round but then he got injured or was away on representative duties, so I took over from him. This was on our Old Timers’ Day, and I don’t really like talking in front of people but I took in my stride.”

Marist St Pat’s were also one of Smith’s greatest adversaries in Smith’s decade at the top for Norths, meeting them in many blockbuster clashes, including the famous 10-10 Jubilee Cup final in 2008 and scoring a hat-trick against them in a win in the 2010 Jubilee Cup round-robin.

Wainuiomata plays MSP in round 4 at Evans Bay Park and Norths in round 8 at Jerry Collins Stadium. If he’s fit, expect Henry Smith’s name to be in the mix on both those afternoons.