So?oialo, Flutey set to headline youthful Petone squad this year

Rodney So'oialo (in a coaching capacity) and Riki Flutey (playing and coaching) are two big names that Petone will call upon this year in an otherwise largely fresh-faced Premier squad, that takes the field for the first time this season next Saturday against old rivals the Wellington Axemen.?

So'oialo, along with former Petone and founding Hurricanes wing Alex Telea, is helping with the Premier team's assistant coaching duties, while Flutey has returned home from several years abroad to play when fit and help out on the coaching front as well.

Former Wests Roosters No. 8 and local resident So'oialo played 62 tests for the All Blacks between 2002 to 2009, including five as captain, represented the Hurricanes 101 times from 2001-2010 and played 64 times for the Wellington Lions.

Flutey, aged 34, has recently returned to his home club from a two-year playing stint in Japan. Prior to that the former Wellington Lion and Hurricane spent several years playing in Europe for English clubs London Irish and London Wasps and for French set-up Brive. He played 14 Tests for England between 2008-2011 and one for the British and Irish Lions against South Africa in 2009.

Both will add significant value to the Petone Premiers this year says Head Coach Peter Green, himself a veteran of over 100 games for the Villagers.

"At the moment Riki's got a few injuries [knee] that he's working on and then he should be available to play. Riki's also going to be working with us in a coaching capacity," Green told Club Rugby this week.

So'oialo joined the team at the end of last year, and his influence has been hugely beneficial so far.

"Rodney's had a calming influence on the squad so far. He's a very quiet, unassuming guy, and his feet are firmly on the ground. The guy's listen to him because he has been there and done that, and he brings confidence to the young players and an understanding that they can achieve things in rugby if they do the work."

Putting in the work and reaping the rewards is a key theme of Petone's as they look to build their young squad to become a force in the future.

?"We've got a very young team this year. For example, it's looking like two of our locks in our team will be 18 and 19; two of our likely midfielders are 18 and 22 respectively. Similarly we have got an 18 year old wing and a 19 year old fullback.

One of these teenagers set to make a splash is last year's New Zealand Secondary Schools' fullback Sam McNicol, who has moved down to Wellington and Petone from the Hawke's Bay.

Another player to watch is New Zealand Secondary Schools Barbarians wing Willie Tufui out of last year's Naenae College First XV that made the semi-finals of the Wellington Premier 1 competition.

"We've recruited well; we have gone out and tried to sell the club as a place to come to get coached well and to move forward in your rugby career.? We have no money here at Petone, like some clubs do in Wellington, and so we have painted a picture for young guys that the opportunities are here if they want to work hard then reap the rewards."

"What we are trying to do is get back to the ethos that we used to have; we were a very good side with hard working players. So if we can bring that influence back through young guys then I think we'll see the benefit in two or three years' time."

Petone last won the Jubilee Cup in 2005.? They haven't won a Jubilee Cup match since 2011.

Green, returning as Head Coach after teaming up with John Cleland last year, conceded that in recent years Petone has held on to some of their players for too long - but that's been primarily out of necessity.

That's not to say some wise heads are still there.

Hooker Eugene Smith was one of the heroes of the 2005 campaign and is vastly experienced, prop Adrian Barone was in the Hawke's Bay's ITM Cup squad last year and wing Belgium Tuatagaloa, who is on the comeback from injury, is a recent All Blacks Sevens player and is returning from a stint in Canterbury. Hayden Cripps has returned to Petone from the Tasman Makos and Jared Kahu is back on deck shoring a potentially electric halfback-first five-eighth unit.

Green said that a key mantra of Petone is to return the team to the style of "give it a go" rugby that characterised some of the great teams of the past.

The Petone team from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s is regarded as the greatest club side in Wellington's history, and as one of the most dominant ever in New Zealand.

This team, captained by Ken Gray and later Andy Leslie, won five consecutive Jubilee Cups from 1967-71 and again in 1973, 1974 and 1976, a total of eight wins in 10 years.

Petone was again dominant in the 1980s, producing several All Blacks. Fullback Allan Hewson was a points scoring machine; wing Mike Clamp scored 26 tries alone in the 1981 season.

All up, Petone has been the Wellington Premier Champions 38 times between 1895 and 2005. In addition it has won the Club Championship on no fewer than 42 occasions between 1922 and 2006.

Green explained that the competition will be strong this year.

"The Premier competition now is incredibly tough.

"Every team is going to be tough to bowl over. They all have different strengths and weakneses but I see it as a very level playing field. It's going to be teams on the day. For example, you see Upper Hutt combining with Rimutaka - that's going to strengthen them. You see the recruiting that Murray Mexted's done at Wellington and that is going to make them hard to beat as well in their first year back up in the Swindale Shield."

"So every game's a Test match - you really have to be on to it mentally right from game one and it I think it's going to? create incredible competition here and make it really good for [Wellington Lions coach] Chris Boyd to look at this year."

The influx of youth at Petone extends down throughout the club, with the Ken Gray Academy going strong.

Ken Gray Academy Chairman Dion Ross further explained the club's ethos in this area:

"We want to keep young players in the game, too many young guys drop out of rugby when they leave school and are lost to the game.

"We've reached out to the Petone Rugby community all around the North Island and said to them that any good young players who they know of who want move to Wellington then they're welcome to play for Petone.

?"We've worked hard to help them on and off the field with employment or study and accommodation.

"As well as a lot of players from outside the area, we have also got a lot of juniors returning and our ambition is to get as many young guys playing the game as we can in a safe and healthy environment and enjoying it. We've also chosen guys who want to train hard.

"We had a core group with our young guys from the club last year and said what is it that you want going forward? Do you want a trip to Australia to fundraise for, do you want flash gear or do you want coaching and training? And they said the latter.

"We were lucky enough to get Rodney to commit to coaching, and Riki's arrived back and wants to be a coach as well."

The Petone Colts recently took out their section of the Hawke's Bay Club Sevens tournament.? Former Wellington College First XV captain and Head Prefect? James Blackwell is Petone's WRFU Academy player this year.

?

Petone's Record In Jubilee Cup Winning? Seasons

Number	Year	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against
1	1930	15	12	3	0	272	170
2	1935	16	11	3	2	208	144
3	1938	16	12	3	1	170	101
4	1942	10	9	0	1	139	58
5	1949	16	11	3	2	220	145
6	1956	15	14	1	0	291	86
7	1957	15	12	3	0	194	119
8	1959	16	12	4	0	241	163
9	1961	15	12	2	1	245	131
10	1967	16	14	1	1	350	98
11	1968	16	13	2	1	320	122
12	1969	18	17	1	0	452	163
13	1970	18	17	1	0	462	136
14	1971	18	16	2	0	353	150
15	1973	18	18	0	0	620	106
16	1974	18	16	1	1	451	113
17	1976	20	19	1	0	560	133
18	1980	20	18	1	1	464	195
19	1982	20	15	4	1	267	92
20	1986	20	19	1	0	537	176
21	1989	19	11	6	2	372	298
22	1990	20	16	4	0	483	243
23	1992	21	20	1	0	657	242
24	1993	21	18	3	0	863	299
25	2000	20	19	1	0	666	261
26	2005	20	14	6	0	487	367