Hrstich primed for McBain Shield match in his 100th game

Jarrod Hrstich running freely for Petone against Paremata-Plimmerton last weekend. This Saturday he raises the century for Petone against HOBM in their McBain Shield match. Photo: Stewart Baird.

• By Adam Julian 

Jarrod Hrstich is poised to raise a century for Petone in a McBain Shield against Hutt Old Boys Marist this coming Saturday.

He’s endured dislocated shoulders, multiple concussions, positional changes, indifference towards summer training, and time away from the game, only to return like a boomerang each time to finally reach a mighty milestone. The whole-hearted flanker, almost salivating at the lips, can’t wait to get stuck into the Eagles on Saturday.

“Hundred games. It’s massive for me,” the usually chipper Hrstich reflected with a pause.

“I grew up at Petone. After HIBS, I came back and worked my way up through the grades, and I’ve been here ever since. It’s such a privilege to wear this jersey alongside my best mates. I’d run through a brick wall for these guys.

“McBain. I’ve played a few and they’re always the same. The intensity is on another level. We hate losing. We hate losing to Hutt more.”

Hrstich played his first of four McBain Shield matches in 2016, achieving a 27-23 victory on a Sunday at Hutt Rec, where Tongan international winger Viliami Fine scored three tries. In 2019, he suffered a 46-26 drubbing. The following year, Petone triumphed 32-24, with captain Jacob Gooch playing part of the match with a broken arm. Remarkably, he returned to the clubhouse several hours later, still in uniform with a morphine-induced smirk, for some hearty celebrations.

“Goochy. What a man. That was a brutal game against a huge pack. In 2023, we won 51-32, which was the most points we’ve scored since 1992, and that’s special.

“On Saturday, we’re going to have to move them around a bit. It will always be physical, but they’ve got a beast pack, and we know what to expect.”

Hrstich and the Petone team that won the McBain Shield in 2020 with a 32-24 win.

Both teams have an 8-4 record, with one round remaining in the Swindale Shield. Both lost their respective matches last Saturday – Hutt to Upper Hutt, 20-5, and Petone to Paremata-Plimmerton, 27-25, where their scrum was decimated.

“We need to work on our scrum because Hutt is strong there, but I have faith in the boys. We’re a tight-knit group, and sometimes in rugby, when things go wrong, they go completely wrong. We know we’re better than that. We nearly won the game without a scrum.”

When Hrstich debuted for Petone in a 45-14 win against Tawa in 2015, he played as a hooker. With no obvious replacement for veteran Eugene Smith, Hirstich was placed in a role he wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

“I felt sorry for him, to be honest,” Hrstich laughed. “They tried to convert me into a hooker, but that was never going to work. I couldn’t throw the ball into the lineout. I was always a flanker and tried to play like one, even as a hooker.”

Hrstich credits the arrival of Jamie ‘Yappa’ Ferreira as coach in 2019 for his development into a more settled and consistent player.

“I liked his approach – direct and simple. I became more committed during the pre-season, which I’ve always struggled with, but when you put in the work over the summer, it starts to pay off.”

“I’m not the biggest or strongest, but I’ll tackle all day. I love it.”

A multiple winner of the Ed Chaney Cup, Hrstich has beaten every senior club at least once. In 2018, he won a Hardham Cup, and in 2022, he claimed a Swindale Shield.

With nicknames like ‘Jaz,’ ‘Crazy,’ and ‘The Old Master,’ he’s a lively presence in the clubhouse. He has two daughters, Gia and Nala, and runs a small building business, King Prawn Developments Limited. His father owned the iconic dive bar on Jackson Street, the Horse and Hound.

Hrstich on the side of Petone’s scrum against first round champions Ories earlier in the round – a big forwards battle looms in the McBain this Saturday against HOBM. Photo: Andy McArthur.

*Legendary All Black Billy Wallace described Alexander McBain as “the grandfather of school rugby.” McBain was born in Scotland in 1868 and migrated to New Zealand in 1892. He was a schoolteacher for 45 years, culminating in being headmaster of Eastern Hutt School from 1915-1931. A leading referee, coach, and rugby advocate, he was the President of the Hutt Club and Vice-President of the Wellington Rugby Football Union. In 1933, he died. A year later, Hector McBain (Alexander’s son) and Thomas Bevan presented a Shield to the Hutt and Petone clubs to “foster good fellowship.” The McBain Shield has been a highly anticipated fixture since. The first McBain was won by Hutt 6-5 in a match described as a “Homeric struggle.” Between 1953 and 1984, Petone won the Jubilee Cup 14 times and never relinquished the McBain. Petone was so dominant that even their third side often played and defeated Hutt. Since 2000, Hutt has claimed half of their 20 McBain wins. Petone has won the game 64 times, with the last of five draws in 1987.