Wellington Presence Strong on Historic U85kgs tour

Pasia Asiata makes a break for the New Zealand U85kg side against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Photo credit: Sri Lanka Rugby Facebook 

• By Adam Julian

In 2001, Matthew Treeby visited Sri Lanka with his family to help build facilities for struggling children. More than two decades later the Tawa hooker is helping Sri Lanka strengthen its rugby.

The two-time Jubilee Cup winner is a member of the historic New Zealand Under-85kg team touring Sri Lanka to compete for the inaugural Sir Graham Henry Cup against the Tuskers, Sri Lanka’s national side.

The Nittawela Rugby Stadium in Kandy was packed to the rafters, all 25,000 seats occupied for the first of two internationals won 50-10 by New Zealand on Sunday.

Treeby retired from Premier club rugby in 2022. In 2023 he became a coach then player for the Tawa Ducks 85kg side. In 2024 Tawa won the Paul Potiki Shield and national duties beckoned.

“It’s pretty crazy here. The friendliness is overwhelming and engaging with the locals is special. We have 20 staff form a cordon to greet us every time we leave the hotel. Police escorts to the ground are something I’ve never experienced before. The food and culture are amazing,” Treeby said.

“From a rugby perspective, things have gelled quickly. We have a good group of boys from all walks of life who are taking it seriously but know how to have fun.”

Pasia Asiata had plenty of fun on Sunday. The Pōneke No.8 scored two of New Zealand’s eight tries, including its first five-pointer.

“This tour is special for me. When I came to New Zealand from Samoa, I wasn’t sure where to go or how I would go. To wear a black jersey is one of the biggest honours of my life,” Asiata said.

“My first try was from a lineout. The maul split, which left a hole on the short side. I called to the halfback, and he saw the space.”

“Francis Morrison set up my second try. He got two tries too and played a massive game. I wouldn’t want to be the one tackling him.”

Morrison scored the winning try for the Pakuranga Panthers in their 2024 National Club Knockout final win against High School Old Boys at Wellington Stadium.

Meanwhile, Treeby saw the last 25 minutes of action in Kandy.

“Sri Lanka tried to use their size to bully us, which wasn’t surprising. By the end, we were dominating the scrums and lineouts, which is pleasing. I’m guessing Sri Lanka might throw something different at us in Colombo on Saturday.”

Little will surprise Treeby. The Tawa senior centurion debuted way back in 2006. His brother Shaun Treeby played 71 games for Wellington and 50 games for the Highlanders, winning a Super Rugby title in 2015. Treeby is not the only Tawa presence in the New Zealand team. Adam Preston, brother of Wellington Lions and Crusaders halfback Kyle Preston, is also a member of the squad.

Pōneke has a formidable history in 85kg rugby. Between 2003 and 2008, the ‘Dogs of War’ won six JC Bowls and five Paul Potiki Shields  iced with a 42-game win streak.

Former Hurricanes Poua coach Ngati Walker is New Zealand’s head coach. The second match will be held at the Race Course Grounds, Colombo, Saturday, May 10, 6.30pm SLT (Sunday, 11 May, 1am NZT). The match is live on Sky Sport and NZR+.

‘All Blacks’ First Contact in Sri Lanka?

In an odd quirk, Sri Lanka’s first ever international match was against a team marketed at the time as the ‘All Blacks’ in 1907 – who were actually the precursors to the Kiwis rugby league side but playing under union rules. On September 12, 1907, the ‘All Blacks beat Sri Lanka 33-6 in Colombo en route to Great Britain. George Smith, Duncan McGregor and Massa Johnston were among the official All Blacks on the tour that saw 26 wins achieved in 46 games.

The Birth of ‘Pinetree’

The first official contact between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was in 1955 when the first New Zealand Colts (Under-21) team toured Australia and Ceylon. The team won three matches in Australia and then swept five games in Ceylon (Sri Lanka from 1972 ) from October 10 to October 23, 1955. The scores were.

10/09/1955: Colombo Clubs, 35-5, Colombo

14/09/1955: Up Country, 24-3, Kandy

17/09/1955: Ceylon, 35-0, Radella

20/9/1955: Ceylon Barbarians, 33-0, Colombo

23/9/1955: Ceylon, 34-0, Colombo

The tour was most notable for the emergence of arguably the greatest All Black of them all, Sir Colin Meads (133 games, 28 tries, 114 wins). Meads played in all eight fixtures and scored three tries, recognised by the Rugby Almanack as one of the 1955 season’s most promising players.

Longtime All Blacks captain Sir Wilson Whineray also toured, as did hooker Roger Boon, who played in six wins on the All Blacks 1960 tour of Australia and South Africa despite a vertebra problem. Boon played 47 games for Taranaki, winning the Ranfurly Shield in 1957 against Otago, the last time Otago had it for 56 years. Most famously, Boon gave Meads his immortal nickname, ‘Pinetree.’ Boon related after Meads died in 2017 that he and fellow Taranaki All Black Ross Brown knew a ‘’very and straight tall man’’ who they used to call Whistling Pinetree. “And it just came out one day when we were looking at Meads.’’

Boon later coached the Waverley club, winners of the senior championship in 1977, 1980, and 1981, and was the Whanganui representative selector and coach from 1982 to 1984 (21 wins in 42 games). The farmer passed away in 2023, aged 88. Boon is survived by his wife Jenny and his three sons. His daughter, Robyn, predeceased him.

The captain of the New Zealand Colts team was farmer and loose forward Ack Soper. Southland’s first centurion played in eight wins for the All Blacks on the 1957 tour of Australia. After retirement Soper continued to work hard for the game as an administrator and coach at club and subunion levels. In 1985 he was president of the Southland union and was made a life member of the Union. He came from a family with the strongest of rugby traditions. The first Soper family team took the field in 1925 and they continued to field teams, sometimes against the Boyle family, until well into the 1970s.

The only Wellington member of the 22-strong touring party was 18-year-old Taitā loose forward Edmund Wheeler, who represented the province a dozen times and scored three tries.

George Simpkin (22 May 1943 – 7 May 2020) 

George Simpkin was a legendary New Zealand-born coach with a long association with rugby in Sri Lanka. He arrived in the former Ceylon in the late 90s. After three seasons of coaching Kandy SC, Simpkin undertook a coaching-development assignment with Sri Lanka Rugby. At a time when there were no rugby educators in Sri Lanka, coaches and players flocked around him.

He soon became a father figure in the Sri Lankan Rugby scene, emphasising fitness, increased size, and defence. He coached the national First XV side to their first-ever victory against Kazakhstan in unfamiliarly cold conditions and boosted Sri Lanka’s world ranking from 68th to 43rd. In 2008, he coached the Sri Lanka Sevens team, which scored two tries against Australia in the 2008 Hong Kong Sevens.

Before arriving in Sri Lanka, Simpkin initially fashioned a formidable reputation at Matamata College. He won 109 out of 134 matches as First XV coach, including 56 wins in a row and a 1973 victory over Auckland 1A champions Mount Albert Grammar School at Eden Park.

Between 1976 and 1984, Simpkin coached Waikato to 95 wins in 152 games. In 1979, Waikato beat France (who would go on to beat the All Blacks in Auckland). In 1980, Waikato won Division II North and the Ranfurly Shield, beating Auckland 7-3 at Eden Park. All Blacks centre Arthur Stone snatched a late intercept for the Mooloos.

Simpkin coached the Fijian Sevens side between 1984 and 1990, winning the Hong Kong Sevens in 1984 and 1990. It is believed that Simpkin was the first to spot World Rugby Hall of Fame superstar Waisale Serevi. In 1987, he coached Fiji to a quarter-final appearance at the First Rugby World Cup.

In 1988–1999, Simpkin worked permanently for the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, developing rugby in China and organising the first matches among the PLA military personnel in Hong Kong after the British transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997. During this time, Simpkin manufactured the world’s first kicking tee, which replaced the need for players to dig mounds or use sand to place the ball before taking a shot at goal.

He was married to Pip and had two daughters, Leigh and Greer, two grandsons, Carter and Curtis, and a granddaughter, Holly. Simpkin died of cancer in Hamilton on 7 May 2020.

Hurricanes Connection

Former All Blacks captain and Hurricanes centurion Rodney So’oialo (62 Tests, 52 wins, 6 Tries) was briefly the Director of Rugby at Trinity College in Kandy from 2019-2020. Trinity College and Royal College annually contest the Bradby Shield, one of the oldest secondary school fixtures in Sri Lanka. By the end of 2024, the schools had played 182 times, with Trinity winning 94 games and Royal 77. Trinity leads the Bradby Shield series itself 40-36 with two draws. So’oialo won two matches in the series 27-19 and 34-17.