Walton-Sexton putting overseas, domestic and Heartland experience to good use at OBU

Sam Walton-Sexton has quickly become a key member of the OBU Goats Premier squad and has played in all eight matches so far this season.

This coming Saturday they play Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngati Toa Domain in a key match for the Swindale Shield fortunes of both clubs.

The halfback will have one ear on proceedings over the hill at his most recent club prior to joining OBU and the Wellington competition, Greytown RFC, who are having their 150th anniversary celebrations this weekend.

Watch this week’s interview with Walton-Sexton on the Huddy Hui below:

Walton-Sexton, 25, has played club rugby in Hawke’s Bay, where he was born and raised (Hastings), Northland and the Wairarapa and said the Wellington competition is tough and competitive and just how he likes it to grow his game.

He has enjoyed his first two months at Old Boys University, in particular the club’s culture which brings players together from all over the country. “It’s a unique environment and very young – we have got a few 18-year-olds in the team and I have been getting called uncle which is a bit crazy,” he said.

He moved over the hill from Greytown to follow his partner who works in marketing for the Hurricanes. “I thought I better follow her over here. I have done some OEs playing rugby, in Spain, Vancouver and Perth, and I landed playing in the Wairarapa again before coming to Wellington.”

Why OBU? “Jamie Williams was our head coach at Wairarapa-Bush, Paddy Gough was the assistant coach and Hayden Smith was the manager and they have all got ties to OBU so there was only one direction I was going and that was there!”

Walton-Sexton discusses his style as being a running halfback, but he wanted to work on his passing and kicking. “I have probably doubled my kicking in the first eight rounds than I did over the whole of last year. I have been working with Tomasi Palu around those skills and decision making and game control.”

He has developed a partnership with Jake Lawson, whose background is also as a halfback, and he says their combination is starting to gel.

Walton-Sexton started playing Colts club rugby whilst a student at Karamu High School for the Hastings club and then moved to Havelock North where he played sevens and briefly played Premiers when he was 19. “My two brothers still play for the Hastings Premiers and my dad is a coach there and my granddad is a life member. I made the jump over to Havelock North and some family members aren’t too happy with that! ”

He has played 25 Heartland Championship battles for Wairarapa-Bush – playing his blazer game in last year’s Meads Cup semi-finals.

He said the Heartland Championship is a great competition to play in.

“You have got to play rugby for the love of the game and a lot of those boys travel a long way and sacrifice their time to get to training and to play and that is what makes it unique. Some weekends you are gone Friday to Sunday but that is what makes it a and a great competition.”

It’s also close and many games go down to the wire. Last year there were several teams in the mix chasing semi-final places at the business end of the season.

Their last three games last season were a case in point, with Horowhenua-Kapiti beating Wai-Bush 22-21  (see highlights of that game below), followed by them beating Poverty Bay 29-24 away and then missing out to Mid Canterbury 2-19 in their semi-final.

He made the Heartland XV tour at the end of the year. “We went to Samoa and played two games at Apia Park. The long trainings in that heat were tough, the boys were melting away. It was fun with a good bunch of lads and good reward for those who went over after a long season.”

The door is open if he makes any higher representative teams, but for now he is enjoying his rugby in the Swindale Shield and the team is preparing for this coming weekend’s ninth round fixture against Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngati Toa Domain.