Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 114: Tom Katene

One of the original ‘pocket battleship’ wings.

The years 1955 and 1956 were heady ones for in Petone, Wellington and New Zealand rugby. Petone were runners-up and then won the Jubilee Cup in these two seasons, Wellington won back the Ranfurly Shield and the country hosted the Springboks.

Tom Katene was in the thick of It as a leading player in both these seasons. In 1955 he was a an All Black, a Māori All Black and a North Island and Wellington representative. In 1956 he played for the rest of New Zealand and returned for Wellington.

The following season Katene was gone, back to his home province King Country where he saw out the remainder of his career, making the New Zealand Māori side again in 1957.

Ron Jarden is widely accepted as the best attacking wing in Wellington and New Zealand rugby in the 1950s.

It has also been written that he also had defensive frailties and there were a handful of players whom he always struggled marking whenever he came up against them.

Top of that list in local rugby was Petone, Wellington, New Zealand Māori and All Black wing Katene.

Katene was a powerful wing who was acquainted with the other side of the tryline almost as much as Jarden at his peak, and with a contrasting style.

One of Katene’s main attributes was the ‘bump’. Like some accomplished wingers that followed him in later years such as Va’aiga Tuigamala and Jonah Lomu, Katene used his power and strength to beat opponents and have crowds on their feet when he was in full flight.

In his book, Jarden wrote that Katene “appeared to have hips all the way down to his ankles and was quite impossible to tackle unless standing still. Even so, he could give you a nasty reminder of his strength…. he was the perfect example of speed and strength in the delicate art of reducing an opponent to a pulp.”

Katene was 5 foot 9 or 175cm and 14 stone or 89kg, which was heavy for a wing in those days. In comparison, Jarden was 173cm and 81kg.

Thomas Katene was born in Okaiawa, just north of Hawera in South Taranaki, on 14 August 1929.

He was educated at nearby Matapu School and made his debut for the King Country in 1947.

He played 30 first-class games for the King Country for several seasons up to 1954, out of the Karioi and Hikurangi clubs and in 1950 he was selected for the Maori All Blacks for the first time, and he played for the combined Waikato, King County, Thames Valley selection against the touring British Lions.

The British Lions starved the home team of possession and Katene got few if any chances on a heavy field in a 30-0 loss,  while Katene didn’t play for the Māori in their match against the tourists.

At the start of the 1955 season, Katene moved to Petone and his career immediately took off. With Katene on the right wing and Ron Jarden on the left, Wellington had the most dangerous three-quarter line in the country.

The Petone club history True Blue had this to say about Katene about his two years at the club:

“A stocky, hard-running winger who could use the hip bump with effective results. Also, a good goal kicker. Stood 5’ 9” and weighed 14 stone.

“Katene’s sole appearance for New Zealand was against Australia in the second test of the 1955 series when he came on for the injured Ross Smith on the right wing.”

Katene’s one test saw the All Blacks win 8-0 in Dunedin, and he never got another shot as the All Blacks made changes for the second test in Auckland.

He played 10 matches for Wellington in 1955. In the 1955 season Katene scored 17 tries in first-class rugby, a tally exceeded only by Jarden.

In 1956 Katene played well for Wellington against the Springboks in a 8-6 loss, one of eight further matches for Wellington.

After missing out to first time champions Onslow by a single point in the deciding match in 1955, Petone won the Jubilee Cup in 1956.

In 1956, Katene was the only player in Wellington club rugby to pass 100 points, despite playing fewer games than any of his rivals. His biggest haul was on 12 May when he scored 21 points in Petone’s 53-0 win over Wellington College Old Boys.

On 7 July, Katene scored a hat-trick and was one of the leading players for Petone alongside veteran fullback Bob Scott and captain and flanker Don McIntosh in a runaway 22-3 win over Marist Old Boys.

In the deciding match of the season against University, Katene scored a try and was part of a dangerous back three that included Scott and fellow Maori wing Kara Puketapu on the other wing as Petone won by the same score, 22-3.

On 29 September 1956, Katene teamed up with the retiring Jarden for the final time in Wellington’s 9-6 Ranfurly Shield defence against Auckland.

The previous Saturday, he has been Wellington’s team that beat Canterbury 8-0 to bring the Ranfurly Shield back to Wellington for the first time in three years.

Lindsay Knight, in his All Blacks website profile of Katene, rounded out his rugby story:

“Having played in 18 matches for Wellington in 1955-56, Katene returned to the King Country for the 1957-58 seasons but played only briefly at representative season and spent the latter part of his playing days in league.”

Katene’s rugby career ended with him having played 74 first-class matches, scoring 56 tries and 285 points.

Katene passed away in Auckland on 6 June 1992, aged 62.

REFERENCES

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016
• Griffin, Don and Gallagher, Peter. True Blue. The First 100 Years of the Petone Rugby Football Club Incorporated. Apex Print, Petone 1985.
• Jarden, Ron. Rugby on Attack. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd, Wellington, 1961.
• Knight, Lindsay, All Blacks profile – https://stats.allblacks.com/all-players/profile/Thomas-Katene-AB-571
• Mulholland, Malcolm. Beneath the Māori Moon. An illustrated history of Māori Rugby. Huia Publishers, Wellington 2009.
• Rugby Weekly – various editions mid-1950s
• Veysey, Alex and Fox, Bob. Wellington’s Rugby History 1951-1979, Part 2. Tolan Printing Co, 1979.