Ratana – pride of the Pa
By Jared Smith
It is the most anticipated clash of the Tasman Tanning Senior season so far, but for Harvey Round Motors Ratana, it might only be one more step on their way back to a larger stage.
Undefeated on the field for the last one-and-a-half seasons, although officially with one loss on their record after the regrettable situation of fielding a transferring player a little early, Ratana hope to go top of the table again when they defend the Pa against perennial Senior favourites Kelso Hunterville on Saturday.
Despite playing at the ‘B’ level after they self-relegated out of Premier following a continuous cycle of bottom-table campaigns, the optics for Ratana are now much more positive for their prideful community, who still revere their championship three-peat of the early 2000’s.
“That was our plan last year – was to rebuild, targeted for two seasons, not just the team but the culture, and bringing back the supporters,” said assistant coach Charlie Mete.
“It’s going as planned.”
Whether or not they repeat as Senior champions, Ratana will then reassess if it is time they returned to a Premier competition that has shrunk to just six teams – a place they definitely want to be by their 100th anniversary in 2024.
Mete said that unlike some other one-team clubs, they do not want to get too comfortable being a big fish in the smaller pond.
“We want to increase the [Premier] numbers to make Whanganui rugby strong, not just Ratana rugby.”
He pointed out otherwise good players will always have to leave home if there’s a chance of higher honours by being with a Premier club, as prop Shade Tuaine-Whanau and midfielder Jamie Robertson departed with good wishes to join Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist this season.
Others to leave were former Steelform Whanganui representatives Kane Tamou and Cody Hemi, who honoured their old club by returning to play last season from outside the region because there was no Heartland Championship.
“But we’ve got a few inclusions that more than make up for those losses,” Mete said.
Among those are their talisman coach and another former Whanganui champion in Leon Mason, who has returned to the active roster, while a former young prospect in Neihana Christian has returned a veteran from his years in Australia.
“The backline is more than capable of replacing [the departed],” said Mete.
It sets the table for the big clash with Hunterville, who have rebuilt themselves after the new-look squad came fifth in 2020.
“Hunterville have set the standard for the past few years of Senior. People say, ‘they should go up’, but it is their decision,” said Mete.
Ratana took a little time to find their groove at the start of the campaign, as a first home win over Ali Arc Logistics-DNA Kennels Marist Celtic (30-3) was bookended by successive trips to Memorial Park where they just held off Bennett’s Taihape (29-22) and Utiku Old Boys (19-12).
The 47-22 win over Ruapehu was overturned for the ineligible player debuting during his stand-down period, which also cost Ratana the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield.
Since then, they have been on a tear, running through Border (64-0), Black Bull Liquor Pirates (59-7), Marist Buffalo’s (52-5) and Speirs Food Marton (64-14).
The Senior draw is
June 18, 1pm kickoffs (times subject to change): Counties vs Border, McNab Domain; Pirates vs Buffalos, Racecourse 1; Celtic vs Kaierau, Spriggens Park; Ratana vs Hunterville, Ratana Pa; Utiku OB vs Marton, Memorial Park 1; Ruapehu vs Taihape, Ohakune.
