Tawa and Nigel Hunt calling on experience in upcoming Jubilee Cup round

Nigel Hunt in headgear celebrates Tawa’s 26-23 win over Paremata-Plimmerton on Saturday. Other evergreen Tawa players in shot include Tito Ioane, Hemi Fermanis and Randall Bishop. Photo: Stewart Baird.

• By Steven White

Experience counts for a lot at this time of the club rugby season.

The Jubilee Cup –  and in particular knockout rugby – brings an extra level of intensity, and players that have experience under their hood are huge assets to their teams.

Tawa centre Nigel Hunt and several of his current teammates are such players who know all about the shift in style and commitment required to go all the way to the final.

Although he was away plying his trade in Grenoble in France in each of Tawa’s 2013, 2016 and 2021 Jubilee Cup wins, Hunt’s involvement with Tawa goes back over 20 years.

Take the last round of the 2005 Swindale Shield on 11 June 2005. Hunt is Tawa’s 22-year old halfback. Tawa must upset second placed Northern United away at Porirua Park to clinch the eighth and final spot for the upcoming Jubilee Cup round.

They do just that. Outside back Junior Togia scores two tries, centre Willie Lafaele and No. 8 Iona Fuatai get 3 and 2 Best & Fairest points respectively and halfback Nigel Hunt scores a key try up the blindside in the 35-22 win.

Tawa will go on to win just two of seven Jubilee Cup round-robin games, but Hunt picks up several Best & Fairest points in the second round and goes on to be selected for the Wellington Lions.

Fast-forward two decades and Hunt is an influential player in Tawa’s 26-23 win over Paremata-Plimmerton on 28 June 2025 – helping to set up and scoring the winning try on fulltime.

The try is scored from a scrum inside the 22, and instead of attacking with ball in hand, first five James So’oialo puts boot to ball for midfielders Hunt and Kalim Kelemete to chase up.

Was this spontaneous or planned?

“It was planned,” said Hunt. “I could see the way it was set up at the back, it was the last scrum of the game, so they are looking to come up hard on us, so I suggested to James to do a little chip kick.”

Halfback Esi Komaisavai slipped covering the kick, second five Kelemete overshot it but Hunt was the next player there to force it down and score the winning try.

Nigel Hunt scores the winning try. Photo: Stewart Baird.

This means that Tawa and Paremata-Plimmerton meet again this weekend, but also that Tawa are back at home at Lyndhurst Park.

“Playing at home this weekend will be big for us, we enjoy being back at home and we know our supporters will be there helping out,” said Hunt.

“It is also good for us to play the same team again this weekend, we know exactly what is in front of us, and it is also good to finish in that top four because it means you get another life.”

Hunt is one of several evergreen players in the Tawa line-up, others including but not limited to lock Chris Middleton, who was playing for Norths in 2006, Tito Ioane, Hemi Fermanis, Randall Bishop and James So’oialo.

Hunt has returned to New Zealand after spending almost a decade and a half living in and playing for much of that time for local club Grenoble.

“It is awesome to be home, and coming back to Tawa where it all started for me – it is just good to be back to help the team on and off the field.

“With the young guys as well, I always look to encourage them and chat to them, because when you are young you are often quiet and can be shy around the older ones.”

Welcome back to Wellington club rugby. Hunt in the headgear, Randall Bishop and Cullen Dexter celebrate fullback Jacob Denyer’s try against Old Boys University in the opening round. Photo: Andy McArthur. 

Hunt might still be in France, but one of his two daughters, Ofeira, was keen to return to New Zealand and experience her last year of college here and give rugby a go here.

She is at St Mary’s College and is also a midfielder and scored two tries for them when they recently travelled to Palmerston North to play Manukura. Father Nigel is the team’s backs coach this year, with former Northern United and Hurricanes flanker Serge Lilo the forwards coach. Manukura won 34-19, but their rivalry will likely resume later in the season when they should both appear again in the Hurricanes region final for the Rex Kerr Cup.

Nigel Hunt’s local rugby career started at Porirua College, before joining Tawa as a school leaver.

He also played rugby league. “Back in those days I was playing rugby for Tawa on Saturdays and Bartercard Cup rugby league for Wellington on Sundays.

“I gave rugby league a big crack for one season and made the Kiwis A team to tour England in 2003-04.

“I then went to the Canberra Raiders [at the end of 2004] for a trial. They wanted me to go home and get my stuff and go back after Christmas but when I came home, I decided to stay home because I wanted to play for the Wellington Lions.”

Rugby union won out, and through the encouragement of Tawa’s Chris Boyd who was the Wellington Lions coach alongside John Plumtree, he made the 2005 Wellington NPC squad.

He didn’t play much at halfback that year, with himself, Piri Weepu, Jason Spice and Riki Flutey being in that squad. Wellington were also coming off a great season in 2004 that saw them top the NPC points table and earn a home final, only to be sunk in the decider by Canterbury and another halfback, Justin Marshall.

Then there was sevens rugby. Hunt made the New Zealand Sevens team in early 2006 and made his tournament debut in the Wellington sevens that February. Fiji knocked New Zealand out in the semi-finals and went on to win the 2005/06 World Sevens Series.

Hunt was in the New Zealand team in March 2006 that won the gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth games. They beat England 29-21 in the final and his teammates included Upper Hutt’s Cory Jane and Northern United’s Tamati Ellison, plus others such as Liam Messam and Lote Raikabula.

He would be part of New Zealand squads that won the sevens world circuit in 2006 and 2007.

Later that year he moved to the midfield for the first time and played most of the season for Tawa. He was in the Wellington Lions squad for the next two seasons, starting some games on the wing as well as playing halfback and centre.

He moved to Bay of Plenty in 2008 and played 21 of his 28 matches for them over the next two seasons in the midfield, ahead of his move to France in 2010 after playing nine games for Tawa that season, including starting at centre in a 42-35 win over Pōneke that is famous for being one of the biggest comebacks in Wellington club rugby history.

The then Dominion Post report of that game states:

Pōneke appeared to be heading for a big win over Tawa after leading 35-7 with only 20 minutes to play as they looked to celebrate inspirational captain Misipalauni Moananu’s 200th Premier game.

Tawa, however, looked a different team after Nigel Hunt moved to halfback and during that times they scored five converted tries to win 42-35.

Hunt playing for Tawa against Norths in 2010. Photo: Chainsaw Photos.

He joined Grenoble and played nine seasons and made over 150 appearances for Grenoble who were in the Pro D2 league when he got there but then moved up to the Top 14 for a few seasons.

A highlight was one of his early seasons when they earned promotion in 2011-12. “We were undefeated at home that year. We also played against Toulon and their team was full of ex-All Blacks and ex-Springboks [famously beating the Toop 14 champions 28-26 at home the following year in their top division match]. Hunt was also Grenoble’s Player of the Season in his second year at the club.

He finished playing for Grenoble in 2018 but kept playing and spent the remainder of his time in France playing for Valence Romans Drome Rugby, just down the road from his home at Grenoble.

Returning home late last year there was no chance that we was going to hang up his boots, so naturally he joined Tawa during pre-season training. In April he made his return to Wellington club rugby 15 years after his last match in Round 1 of the 2010 Hardham Cup and played most of the just completed Swindale Shield.

Hunt playing for Tawa against HOBM earlier this season. Photo: Stewart Baird.

As well as the main Jubilee Cup match this Saturday at Lyndhurst Park, another match to follow is the Colts curtain-raiser between the Tawa and Upper Hutt Colts.

This is the last round of the Paris Memorial Trophy and Tawa and the Rams are equal on 44 points, so it is a virtual final. Unless it is a low scoring draw, then the defending champions the HOBM Eagles who are on 42 points can beat MSP with a bonus point and win.

The Tawa team is coached by Nigel’s cousin Cliff Hunt Senior, with Cliff’s sons and Nigel’s nephews Anthony and Cliff Hunt Junior in that squad.

The last time Tawa Colts won the Paris Memorial Trophy was in 1993 – a decade or more before the current group of players were born.

The reward for the winner of opening round Jubilee Cup match that follows between the Tawa and Paremata-Plimmerton Premiers is the next week off. The loser gets a second life and will play at home the following weekend for a place in the semi-finals.