100 games for Aiden Cains good reward for Norths stalwart

In his first two seasons in Wellington club rugby, Northern United captain Aiden Cains won the Jubilee Cup once and the Swindale Shield twice. Something he sometimes reminds his current teammates.

“I was pretty lucky to win those titles when I first started playing for Norths,” he said. “I say to some of the young guys that if I knew that was the only Jubilee Cup that I would win I would’ve partied for a bit longer that I did!”

Last Saturday he played his 100th Premier match for Norths, the club he won those titles with in 2010 and 2011, and where has been back with since 2013 after one other full season playing for Petone.

The label utility player is usually given to backs, but the tag can be equally true of Cains who can be counted on to always give it his all at hooker, flanker or lock, where he has made 12 of his 14 starts to date this season.

Hooker is the position he has played much of his senior rugby. “When I was at college I was a prop/No. 8, but I started moving into hooker more frequently in senior teams. As time has passed I have played anywhere where I’m needed and if I wasn’t flexible I probably wouldn’t be at the 100-game mark.”

Cains, who grew up in Paraparaumu and attended Kapiti College, also played three seasons in Dunedin and one in Tasman before moving home to pursue rugby. He explained his rugby journey.

“After finishing school I moved down to Dunedin and played for the Alhambra Union club and played some Otago age grade rugby. I started studying down there but soon began my bricklaying apprenticeship [his current occupation]. I then moved to Nelson for a year and played for the Riwaka club.”

He moved home in 2009 and played for Paraparaumu and spent that representative season playing Heartland Championship rugby with Horowhenua Kapiti.

He was fortunate enough to join a Norths team at the peak of their Wellington club rugby powers in 2010, providing him with a couple of high points of his career.

“I definitely remember my first game for Norths. That was against Marist St Pat’s at Porirua Park, and I had watched both of the teams playing each other in the previous year’s Jubilee Cup final and I remember thinking then that this is what I want to part of.

“We had an awesome team that year, we beat them convincingly [54-26] and that was a step up from any club game I had played in before."

The two Jubilee Cup finals he played in were also special, beating Poneke 24-5 in the last final played at Westpac Stadium and then missing out to Ories 18-40 at the Petone Rec the following year.

“As much as it hurts to lose, you’d rather lose a Jubilee Cup final than not be there. Plus Ories that day were outstanding and would’ve beaten anyone in that final.”

He nominated Poneke as a team that always gives him a tough game. “When I first joined Norths they were one of the teams that were up there, and also while we’ve been the Hardham Cup they have too. I think that is the game I have generally enjoyed the most.”

Cains moved to Petone for a season in 2012, along with then Norths coaches Frank Rees and Tom Martin, the pair providing a positive influence on his career.

Since returning to Norths, the Porirua club has now failed to make the Jubilee Cup three years in a row.

“When we are good we are good, but the difference between our good games and our bad games is massive – I can’t really put my finger on why. We can beat anyone on our day and we are there or thereabouts but when we are not playing well it’s disappointing."

Norths were right in the hunt to make the top 8 this year, but missed out in the final afternoon.

They lost to Tawa, and if they had won that and both the Upper Hutt Rams hadn’t of beaten Petone at the death and Poneke hadn’t of earned any bonus points from their last round defeat to MSP they were through.

Cains said the team was naturally disappointed to miss the big show again this time around.

“In all fairness to Petone and Hutt Old Boys Marist they knew they were probably playing in the Hardham Cup for the last three or four weeks of Swindale. Everything we sort of needed to happen went completely against us. So once the results had come through on the last afternoon of the Swindale Shield the boys were devastated.”

Cains said the focus is now on the Hardham Cup. Norths had a 41-0 first up win last weekend over Paremata-Plimmerton. This Saturday they play Old Boys University B.