Jackson Willison’s target is to go one better,
Jacob Carmichael. Photo: Matt Gould
Hautapu lost the Waikato club premier rugby final to last year to Hamilton Marist. Their coach, Jackson Willison, says their aim is to go one better this year and win the Premiership.
Jackson has a personal stake in this – 2024 was his first year as coach of the premier team he had previously played for – and celebrated winning the premiership with.
Hautapu will find out early how they rate. Their opening game when the competition starts on April 5 a repeat of last year’s final against Hamilton Marist.
The Chief’s Super rugby team started their season the same way with a repeat of last year’s final away against the Blues – and won. Jackson is hoping that Hautapu gets their season off to a similar start.
Riley O’Dwyer. Photo: Matt Gould
Hautapu has been given a tough start to the 2025 season with their first three games being against the three other semi-finalists from 2024 and two of those games being away. Hauapu’s first home game of the season isn’t until 19 April when they play Hamilton Old Boys in Cambridge. In the last 20 years, Hautapu have been the most successful team in the Waikato men’s Premiership. They have won five titles, and they have been in seven of the last nine finals – and have won three of them.
Jackson thought Hamilton Marist would again be the team to beat this year, though the University club was also returning to its previous strength.
His team has lost a few players from last season to other regions and two to Australia. But this has been matched by players arriving, including players that played Super rugby last year for the Fijian Drua and the Highlanders. They also have four new players from overseas. These overseas players come to New Zealand on their own initiative and at their own expense, though often there is a link between where they play overseas and Hautapu Sports Club.
Jackson said, for example, that two of the players have come from a club in England that he played for. Hautapu helps these players find accommodation and settle into Cambridge whilst providing them with a great New Zealand rugby experience.
Dave Simes
Hautapu club president David Simes said Hautapu is much more than a rugby club these days. The club’s name is now the Hautapu Sports Club, and they field women’s, men’s and junior teams in netball, hockey and touch rugby in addition to rugby. In total they have around 1600 registered participants, including over 1000 juniors. These are remarkable figures that make the club a very active part of the Cambridge community.
They will be fielding four rugby teams this year – premier, development, colts and a senior women’s team. Their women’s team started in the Championship Division last year. But this year it will step up to the premiership division along with teams from Hamilton Old Boys, Melville, Ōtorohanga, University and Kihikihi. This will provide a much needed pathway for players being developed by Cambridge’s St Peters and Cambridge High School women’s rugby programmes.
Hautapu coach Jono Armstrong. Photo: Matt Gould
The club has four senior hockey teams, two women’s and two men’s. But the largest number of participants is in touch rugby. The club has around 50 junior touch teams and 24 senior teams. Simes said that they have even more people wanting to participate but the constraint is space – there aren’t enough fields.
The club involves itself in the community in many ways. One is through arrangements with the IHC and Interlock Disabilities. They give these groups use of their facilities for free and assist them in many other ways. Simes said the club gets wonderful support from the Cambridge business community. Many business sponsors have been supporting the club for years. But the club relies on and is run by more than 100 volunteers – coaches, managers, grounds staff, clubroom staff and administrators.
Carrying the ball at training is Henry Brown. Photo: Matt Gould
