Lifetime Contribution Award for Denys Latham at WRFU Awards

Coach Denys Latham and the Porirua College First XV in 1973, after winning the Wellington secondary schools First Grade competition. 

• By Steven White

Denys Latham has been involved in rugby in Wellington as a player, coach and administrator almost continuously since he moved south from Taranaki to become a founding teacher of Porirua College in 1968.

Latham joined then third division club Tawa and started his simultaneous involvement as a player at Tawa Rugby Football Club and the first rugby coach at Porirua College the year its doors opened.

“After playing for seven years at the Eltham club in Taranaki alongside All Black prop Jazz Muller [14 tests between 1967-71] I made the move south,” Latham said this week following Monday night’s WRFU awards where he was presented with a Lifetime Contribution Award. “I got married that year too and Graham Mexted was Tawa’s coach and he found us a flat nearby to live in.”

“In the first year at Porirua College we had third formers and because white jerseys and white shorts were easy to procure, we outfitted our boys in an all-white uniform. Our first game was against Hutt Valley High School who also turned up in white. And the referee also turned up in white, so we had a complete snowstorm!”

Latham cites an example of a player he coached in those early days helped shape his philosophy for the next four decades  – which included stints coaching senior club teams Porirua, Wellington College Old Boys and Harlequins (now Old Boys University) as well as several other roles including as Paremata-Plimmerton’s coaching co-ordinator from 2001-09.

“This was Bruce Allen, a brilliant first-five and also a good cricketer. His father Barry Allen had played on the wing for Wellington a generation previously.

“Bruce played at 10 for us and in 1974 the Centurions club established an invitation team with players such as Joe Karam and Grant Batty in the backs. Bruce was in the New Zealand Schools U18s at that stage. They played an evening game at the Hutt Rec against Colin Meads’ Goldfields team and he played well.

“Wellington coach Ray Dellabarca put him in the Wellington team the following year and he played in a Ranfurly Shield at Eden Park against Auckland. We were winning and Bruce was playing well, then he was injured and he went off and we lost [19-14].

Allen played 10 games for a Wellington that year as a teenager and Latham thought he could have been Porirua College’s first All Black.

“But he walked away from it after that one season. He said to me, you know Denys, no-one ever asked me what I wanted to do.

“That to me brought a whole new area into coaching young people. It was communicating and understanding what they wanted to do. He didn’t want to do it anymore and he walked away from all competitive sport. I will never forget that, it shaped my philosophy around coaching.”

Later whilst at Paremata-Plimmerton he gained satisfaction helping the junior game.

“When I was CCO at Paremata-Plimmerton my job was to build a bridge between club and college.

“But I mainly concentrated my efforts with dads who were coaching their juniors. They may not have known much about rugby so I offered my services to them and helped them along and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

“Part of my job was to go into primary schools in the area and teach rippa rugby to them and also introduce ball skills and drills to the teaching staff that they could work with their students on.”

It was during this time that he spent a few years as a New Zealand Rugby talent identification spotter. “We went around the country as a group and looked at all the U16 youth tournaments that were being held by provincial unions. Over those three or four years we looked at different players such as Wellington’s Brad Shields.”

“When I was CCO at Paremata-Plimmerton we had a lot to do with the Wellington U16s as well, who were selected from Williment Week. Most of our homegrown Wellington Lions and All Blacks came through that pathway.”

Like it did in Wellington at Porirua College and Tawa, Latham’s senior playing and coaching career had started at the same time whilst starting out in Taranaki.

“I graduated as a teacher in 1960 and my first job as a teacher was at Eltham Primary School and I started coaching kids there.

His first taste of Senior rugby was with the Eltham Rugby Football Club, playing alongside All Black Jazz Muller for seven years. “He was a character and I recall quite clearly in some matches in rucks and get over the top of me and say Denys it’s okay boy I have got you covered!”

He coached at Porirua College from 1968-75 and played for Tawa until 1971.

He became Porirua RFC’s coach and coached the Senior A team from 1976-81.

“It took Porirua until 1980 to reach Jubilee Cup standard, so we were a regular Hardham Cup side.

“My biggest memory of that time was when we beat a star-studded Petone 12-10 at Petone in 1981.

“We had a flanker named Ma Koko and he turned and caught [future All Black wing] Mike Clamp from behind to stop him scoring the winning try.”

“There was a big crowd that day, and even bigger one the next week with 3000-4000 there at Porirua Park when we lost to Marist St Pat’s 9-6.”

Next up was joining Wellington College Old Boys in 1983 as head coach for two years. “We had Hamish and Bert Vance, Fraser Mexted and Peter Barlow in that side.”

Plus, an All Black captain.

“Stu Wilson played the test match against the British Lions in Christchurch on the Saturday, then flew back home and played for us against Petone on the Queen’s Birthday Monday.

“We beat Petone 19-15, the first time that WCOB had beaten Petone at Petone.”

The third Senior A team he coached at was Harlequins (now Old Boys University) for two years, alongside head coach Hamish Vance.

He also coached the Wellington Colts in 1987, and that year Wellington held a tournament in Upper Hutt.

“Auckland were one of the unions that came down, and they were coached by Graham Henry and they had Robin Brooke, Pat Lam, Craig Innes, Inga Tuigamala and Willie Lo’se. We played them first game up and lost 17-3.

“Some our players included current Hurricanes manager Tony Ward at fullback, James Johnston who is now a judge, Scott Keith, Matt Calvert, Ritchie Stokes, Eugene Sharrock, Nigel Geany and Glenn Tapara.”

Following all these club and high-performance teams, Latham went back to coaching school rugby for several years at Aotea College. A hiatus followed, before his return to club rugby at Paremata-Plimmerton from the early 2000s.

Latham was later President of Paremata-Plimmerton until 2016 and was President of the Centurions and he was their WRFU delegate until the start of this year.

In 2013 he was WRFU President, a season that coincided with the club he started at in Wellington, Tawa, winning the Swindale Shield-Jubilee Cup double. “Having played for them and then being able to present them with the Jubilee Cup was a great moment for me.”

“My biggest disappointment that year as WRFU President was presenting the NPC cup to Canterbury when they beat the Wellington Lions at the Stadium in the final.”

Now retired from direct involvement he still watches and follows avidly.

“I have become a critic of the game. I think laws need to be a lot clearer. Coaches seem to be more prescriptive, and we need more creativity, such as use of the blindside, tap penalties and kicking with more purpose.”

“Rugby is still the same game, but it has all changed, and young people have so many options these days so there are lots of challenges for coaches and administrators.”