Sharpening the Axemen backs - Te Raina Richards-Coxhead

Te Raina Richards-Coxhead gets a pass away last Thursday night. Photo: Dave Brownlie.

Te Raina Richards-Coxhead teaches physical education and commerce at Wellington College. In 2013 he was a member of the Hamilton Boys' High School First XV who won the National Top Four. What can Richards-Coxhead teach the Wellington Football Club about success?
 
"That's a tough question, but I guess the thing Hamilton Boys' taught me is balance and discipline is important. It wasn't good enough to be a rugby player at Hamilton, you had to front in the classroom too," Richards-Coxhead responds.
 
Richards-Coxhead is hoping to sharpen the balance of the Axemen backs. The utility is presently playing first-five. He missed the first eight weeks with concussion, but has since started in two consecutive wins. Richards-Coxhead kicked a last play conversion in Wellington's 49-47 over the Upper Hutt Rams last Thursday night - the last of seven goals he slotted.
 
"It was a pretty crazy game. It was good to win the way we did, but I guess defence was voluntary," Richards-Coxhead laughs.
 
Defence has been a major issue - Wellington leaking 482 points in 13 games.
 
Wellington achieved all four of their Swindale Shield wins in the first round of this season against Hardham Cup opposition. The Axemen also finished within ten points of Old Boys University and Marist St Pat’s.
 
"We've been unlucky with injuries. We've had at least three key guys missing every game and last week I think we had four debutants," Richards-Coxhead complains.
 
Richards-Coxhead is a former Waikato Under-19 representative and Academy member. He played for University before switching to Melville, making the premier semi-finals in each season.

Axemen teammate and inside back Jonnie TeRuki-Chambers also played for Melville with Richards-Coxhead. Melville won the Waikato club championship a couple of years ago, as well as the national club sevens tournament. The two are also flatmates. 
 
"Every week is a tough game in Wellington. The depth in Wellington is greater than the Waikato where there tends to be a big gap between the leading contenders and the rest,” Richards-Coxhead observes.
 
In 2013 there was apparently a huge gap between St Kentigern College and any other school in New Zealand. St Kent’s headed into the National Top Four final unbeaten in their last 52 matches. How did Hamilton stop the St Kent’s juggernaut?
 
“That was a pretty memorable day. I guess we prepared really well and had some pretty useful players like Bryn Gatland and Isaac Te Tamaki,” Richards-Coxhead observes.
 
“The support in Hamilton that day was unbelievable too,” Richards-Coxhead continued.
 
Wellington travels to Fraser Park this Saturday to tackle Avalon in the first round of the Hardham Cup. Wellington rallied from a double-digit lead to topple the Wolves 28-19 in the Swindale Shield. Avalon also won four matches in the Swindale Shield.
 
“It’ll be a tough game. Avalon has big forwards and they’ll be out to pay us back. We’ll have to be quick and accurate at set-piece and try and move them around a bit,” Richards-Coxhead predicts.

The Richards-Coxhead family originally hails from Rotorua where Te Raina’s father Craig is a judge and in 1985 a former winner of the National Top Four himself with St Stephen’s School.
 
It’s been a good fortnight at Hataitai Park. In addition to wins over Wainuiomata (27-24) and Upper Hutt, Alex Dalzell and Ollie Sapsford have been selected in the Wellington Lions training squad. The later scored four tries in the Wellington XV’s pre-season 78-14 victory over Horowhenua Kapiti in Levin on Monday.

Hardham Cup Round One: Avalon Wolves v Wellington Axemen, Fraser Park, kick-off 2.45pm.