rugby and netball for MPs in Hawke’s Bay
The Parliamentary rugby team, which also calls on staff to help get the numbers, has a long tradition of combining sport, cross-party camaraderie and fundraising.It celebrated a 25th anniversary in 2020, and is thought to have last played in Hawke’s Bay in 2018, at Farndon Park, Clive.It was almost a year after the 2017 election and among those in the team were new Labour Party Government MPs Stuart Nash, since multiple red-carded, and Kieran McAnulty, who recalls being on the wing - left or right, it didn’t matter.He won’t be lacing up this time, being now in training for an election just 79 days later, followed by Parliament cricket in the summer, if still on the 11.Former All Black captain Taine Randell, who as a New Zealand First candidate will stand against Wedd in the election, has also announced he won’t be available.He captained the Russell Penguins in the north in June but told Hawke’s Bay Today: “I need a rest period of about a year.”The Parly Ferns share similar traditions, regularly travelling around New Zealand for fundraising matches, and, like, the rugby team, has also represented the House in international competition, including their transtasmnan rivalry for the Diggeress Cup.The HHSOG Masters were chosen as opposition because of their history – marked by a centennial this year as New Zealand’s oldest netball club.HHSOG Club Captain Te Ana Kingston insists there’s no unfair advantage, and it “hasn’t stacked the team too much”.Cranford Hospice’s Carol-Ann Stubbs, said the event is a great example of how community partnerships can make a difference.“We’re delighted to welcome the Parliamentary Rugby Team and Parly Ferns to Hawke’s Bay and see our community come together around sport and a cause that matters to so many people,” she said.Entry to the event is with a gold coin donation. A bouncy castle, with no promises of any back-flips, and a tug-o-war, to test the political extremes, are also among the events of the day.
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