Great Golden Oldies tournament

By Frank Neill

WAGS held a very successful Golden Oldies Rugby Tournament at William Jones Park on 6 August.

Players in the tournament came from as far north as Levin and Masterton and as far south as Wellington.

There were no winners or losers in the tournament. In fact the scores of each game were not recorded.

The tournament is all about fun, friendship and fraternity. The players and supporters come together to talk, play and focus on Rugby.

“Golden Oldies rugby shows us that there is life after retirement and there’s no hanging up your boots,” says Penney Roley of WAGS. WAGS stands for Wainuiomata Ale Guzzlers Society. It began when a group of former Wainuiomata rugby players decided to set up a fraternity and came up with the name.

This year’s Wainuiomata event was cohosted by WAGS and the Stokes Valley Gangsters. It was game number five in the Wellington Regional Golden Oldies Mini Tournament for 2023.

As well as the WAGS and Gangsters, the Evergreens and Crusaders from Levin, Millhillians from Masterton, the K piti, Upper Hutt’s Yellow Bellie Rams, Wellington’s Antiques, the Jugglers from ParemataPlimmerton and the Avonanothers from Avalon all provided players.

Players from these clubs made up three teams, who each played two 20 minute games.

They then went to the Wainuiomata Ruby Club’s clubrooms for a meal, tall tales, a few drinks which made the tales even taller before everyone made their way home.

“It was a great day had by one and all with the referee helping the teams out with the tackling,” Penney says.

“I would like to take this time to thank the Wainuiomata RFC Club Patron, Life Member and Founding WAGS member Graham Bartlett (Bart), our Life Members and Founding Members (too many to name), Alan Sharman (Chairman WRFU GO Rugby) who were in attendance and can agree that the games were played in the spirit of GO Rugby and the laughs and banter were on point.