the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership resumes this Saturday with three crunch Round 4 encounters at Wainoni Park Riccarton Knights take their huge showdown with Linwood Keas to Papanui Domain – in support of the club’s Premier Reserves affiliate Papanui Tigers – and will put up the Thacker Shield after lifting it with a 16-14 away win over Hornby Panthers in Round 3 with the Keas swamping Eastern Eagles 60-0 in their last outing The Eagles are looking to regroup and bank their first win of 2025 as they welcome Halswell Hornets to Wainoni Park The Hornets got off the mark in Round 3 with a thrilling late surge to beat Greymouth Greyhounds 32-28 The Greyhounds make their second straight trip over Arthur’s Pass to face a Panthers side smarting from their defeat to the Knights The Panthers and Greyhounds both won their first two games and will be eager to get back into the winner’s circle following their last-start losses All three CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership matches kick off at 2.45pm The corresponding CRL ISC Canterbury Cup games all kick off at 1pm including Papanui Tigers clash with undefeated Linwood Keas at Papanui Domain Riccarton Knights host front-running Celebration Lions at Papanui Domain Northern Bulldogs take on Eastern Eagles at Murphy Park Halswell Hornets meet Shirley Hawks at Halswell Domain and Burnham Chevaliers welcome Addington Magpies to Coronation Park .fb-comments,.fb-comments span,.fb-comments span iframe[style]{min-width:100%!important;width:100%!important} Take the hassle out of trying to find a car park and take the bus Approximately 600 Metro buses go directly past Christchurch Hospital every day picking up and dropping off passengers at bus stops located directly outside the hospital Additionally, approximately 1,000 buses per day go to the central city Bus Interchange where you can get on a bus to the hospital only a few minutes away from the interchange Take a look at the following map (click to enlarge or download PDF file 2.2 MB) to see the connecting bus routes Another option is to leave your car near a bus stop convenient to you and take the bus to the hospital Two Metro buses stop at the main entrance to Burwood Hospital 7 Queenspark - Halswell: This core route runs around every 15 minutes until 7pm 135 The Palms - New Brighton: The 135 services the local area around Burwood Hospital and connects at The Palms with onwards services towards the city centre 27 Northwood/Huntsbury: This service stops on Colombo Street Southern Cross is a short walk across Caledonian Road Several other buses travel nearby, requiring a 10-15 minute walk. Plan your journey 1 Cashmere - Belfast & Rangiora: This frequent direct route reaches the northern and southern city limits and stops right outside St George's Hospital 100 Halswell & Wigram - the Palms: Choose to either use the stop on Papanui Road or on Heaton Street next to the St George's carpark entrance Route 100 runs frequently throughout the day 95 Waikuku & Pegasus - City: The 95 stops right outside St George's Hospital It links our northern towns with Northlands Mall Buses heading north or west stop right outside Forte Health on Kilmore Street If you are travelling in the other direction Routes servicing Forte Health Hospital are: requiring a 10-15 minute walk from the bus stop to the hospital A bus stop is located outside the main entrance of PMH between entrances 2 and 3 Plan your journey You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image Traffic lights are being installed at the intersection of Greers and Langdons Rds while the railway crossings on Harewood and Langdons Rds are being upgraded Christchurch City Council planning and delivery transport manager Jacob Bradbury said the project will cause a lot of disruption in Papanui and Bishopdale from now until mid-December “We’re staging the works and co-ordinating traffic management across the projects to minimise the impact on the wider area,” Bradbury said KiwiRail's work at the Harewood Rd crossing will include the replacement of the train tracks and foundations “These works will ensure the long-term resilience of the railway crossing so it can withstand the high volumes of traffic that use it," Bradbury said “The Northern Line cycleway also runs along the rail corridor so the signalised crossings will make it safer and easier for pedestrians and cyclists there will be 24-hour and night closures at the Langdons Rd crossing and both crossings will have periods of stop/go traffic management construction is under way on the Langdons and Greers Rds intersection upgrade and a one-way system is in place on part of Langdons Rd “There are now almost 30,000 people travelling through here each day so having lights will make it safer and easier for turning traffic we want to thank residents and businesses for their understanding,” he said A crossing upgrade on Sawyers Arms Rd is planned to get under way in early 2025 The new signalised pedestrian crossings will be commissioned after all three railway crossings are complete Outdoor clothing and equipment brand Macpac has opened a store in Northlink Shopping Centre marking the brand’s 100th store in the country it offers increased display space showcasing an expanded lineup of outdoor apparel and adventure gear provides an extended space and upgraded fitting rooms furnished with a care and repair station The opening will also showcase several outdoor national brands such as Allbirds Its highlights include cooking demonstrations “Opening our 100th store in Otautahi Christchurch is a significant milestone for Macpac and it’s incredibly special to celebrate our continued growth and ongoing success in our hometown,” said Cathy Seaholme “We hope Cantabrians enjoy this new space as much as we have enjoyed creating it.” By continuing, you agree to Octomedia Terms And Conditions and Privacy Policy Police were called to a serious incident in Papanui Emergency services are responding to a serious accident in Christchurch this afternoon Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Hato Hone St John were called to a Papanui address shortly before 1.20pm Hato Hone St John said they were called to an “incident” at 1.18pm They sent one ambulance and an operations manager they referred all other inquiries to New Zealand Police who said they would release more information when they were able to do so The only high-reach ladder truck in Auckland broke down last night Riccarton Knights and Papanui Tigers have entered a Memorandum of Understanding for the 2025 Canterbury Rugby League season Clubs competing in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership are required to also field a team in the CRL Canterbury Cup This MoU allows the Tigers to retain a presence in the second-tier competition as the Knights’ premier reserves affiliate Papanui made the Canterbury Cup semi-finals in 2024 after partnering with Greymouth Greyhounds who made their premiership debut last season but will field teams in the top two grades this year Riccarton is set to enter teams in the premiership and the third-tier Division One competition in 2025 Tigers players will be available for the Knights’ premiers team to call upon “CRL congratulates Riccarton Knights and Papanui Tigers on this MoU,” Canterbury Rugby League CEO Malcolm Humm says “We recognise that there will be times when clubs can’t secure the numbers required to field two men’s senior teams Often this may only be for one season whilst their youth grades progress through to senior status “With the requirement of clubs who play in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership to have a premier reserves team we don’t want to see clubs removed from the top grade because they don’t have a reserve grade team “The agreement between Riccarton and Papanui remedies this potential situation whilst also providing a stepping stone for the Tigers to get back to full men’s premiers status.” Riccarton’s depth has been encumbered with players unavailable this season for a variety of reasons Knights president Shane Tamatea says taking up the option to field teams in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership and Division One – instead of the Canterbury Cup – makes sense on multiple fronts “Our numbers have been pretty light at training we went back and thought about it [and decided] it could only be beneficial for both clubs,” Tamatea explains “It’s keeps Papanui in premier footy and gives their players with the ambition an opportunity to play at a higher level [in the premiership] with Riccarton “We’ve still got a good core of premier players of our own but there’s definitely an opportunity for those Papanui boys to push for a position we have to field that Div One side for any overflow of players “Papanui have been with the Greyhounds and two years ago we were with Burnham – logistically [neither arrangement] really fit in with players having to travel long distances to training “We’ve already started training together – a few of their boys have come over to us – and we’ve sorted that we’ll be training at alternate venues during the season I think that’s the only way to do it to make it work and once the boys bond together it can only add to that.” Tigers president Kanei Johnson echoes his Knights counterpart’s sentiments emphasising that it is a partnership between the clubs in every sense Johnson also reiterates that this arrangement is a vital stage of the process for Papanui ultimately regaining full premier status for the first time since 2022 “We’re excited and we’re looking forward to the season ahead,” he enthuses “[Riccarton] are pretty much our neighbours and the playing groups know each other “Being able to train together as a core group then splitting off together on a Thursday into our separate teams is exciting – unfortunately we weren’t able to do that last year with the Greyhounds being out of town “Having this MoU gives us a chance to rebuild the club and our main goal is to have our own premiers and premier reserves teams again We’re working hard to get back to that stage and the support of Riccarton “We’re treating it as very much as one large team – so if you’ve got the Riccarton Knights jersey or the Papanui Tigers jersey on “That’s been the key driver getting this over the line work our butts off and no matter what club you align to as a home club we’re going to support each other through the season and through the journey “Whether than means you go up (a grade) and play or come down (a grade) It’s going to be exciting to see some of our young talented players get a shot at premiers footy and also to show CRL that we have got the calibre in our ranks.” The 2025 CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas and Canterbury Cup competitions get underway on March 29 When the call went out to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the Papanui TocH Athletic Club’s badly vandalised track the former club president and life member sprang into action The 88-year-old painstakingly went through club records and newspaper clippings to track down club members he had been involved with over the decades to ask for donations to get TocH back on track Buzz’s efforts saw about $10,000 raised towards the $400,000 newly resurfaced track at Papanui High School The club has also fundraised through quiz nights Getting it across the line were pokie machine grants - $120,000 from Kiwi Gaming Foundation $50,000 each from Pub Charity and New Zealand Community Trust and $20,000 from Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust - plus $95,000 from Christchurch City Council’s capital endowment fund “It is actually magnificent because it was a bit disheartening at one stage,” Buzz said He says each time he drives by the recently completed track not only the athletes but the coaches too,” he said “The club itself is going really well and the track will be beneficial to schools in the northwest area,” Buzz said The Buzz Jones All Weather Track opened in February 2011 three of the six lanes of the track were vandalised with about 20sq m ripped up Parent Tim Macioce said he got tired of seeing the track in its state “People used to complain about the track but no one really did much about it so I took it upon myself and I started to reach out to people that would want to fund the project,” he said who said he asked for the committee’s blessing before canvassing former members and athletes “I went through my records to find addresses and then old newspapers with results of that person and included it in the letter.” the “gimmick” was owning a square metre of the track “I had some come back with $200 and one person even sent $500.” Club president Vanessa Buchan said it was a surreal feeling to have the track completed particularly in the current economic climate “We wanted to believe because it is an asset for the community.” She was still in disbelief to be at the finish line I still can’t believe it – just pretty stoked.” As Eastern Eagles attempt to catapult themselves into the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership finals with a win at Halswell Domain tomorrow Flashback Friday recalls one of the great grand final performances from Eastern Suburbs Papanui won four straight grand finals from 1971-74 and would take out another three in succession from 1976-78 the club winning its first title since changing its name from Christchurch in 1968 Eastern Suburbs’ 27-2 victory to break Papanui’s stranglehold on the Pat Smith Trophy remained the biggest margin in a grand final until Aaron Whittaker and the Riccarton Knights rewrote the CRL record books in 2002 In a repeat of the major semi-final two weeks earlier Eastern Suburbs rocketed out of the blocks in front of a 4,000-strong Addington Showgrounds crowd Brief respite came for Papanui in the form of a Kevin Williams penalty goal midway through the first half but Eastern Suburbs resumed its dominance to lead 11-2 at halftime and finish the decider with seven tries Future Kiwi Alan Rushton’s dominance in the scrums and a rampaging forward-pack effort led by Kip Winika and Terry Gillman who went on to represent New Zealand XIII in 1976 were credited by The Press’ John Coffey for underpinning the emphatic result and Bruce Dickison and Bruce Murphy were untouchable out wide making a break to set up a half-field try in the first half and sprinting 80 metres to complete his double in the second stanza whose brace gave him a competition-high 27 tries for the season was subsequently chosen to debut for the Kiwis during the second half of the World Championship Series The result was a personal triumph for former New Zealand Test half and Eastern Suburbs player-coach Graeme Cooksley who played the last of a then-record 47 games for Canterbury in 1975 while Papanui’s best on a tough afternoon were future Kiwis Mark Broadhurst and David Field Eastern Suburbs went on to lose the 1976-77 grand finals to Papanui before putting together a treble of premiership victories from 1979-81 – the club’s last before the advent of Aranui Eagles in 2006 Aranui adopted the Eastern name again in 2018 1975 CANTERBURY RUGBY LEAGUE PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL Barry Edkins goals) defeated Papanui 2 (Kevin Williams goal) A police spokesperson said three people with weapons allegedly entered Night 'n Day Papanui on Main North Rd about 10.40pm on Monday They demanded the shop worker hand over any cash and fled the scene The three suspects made a quick exit and were gone by the time police arrived shortly after the incident The spokesperson said a scene examination has been completed Police are now working to identify the offenders A resident told chrislynchmedia.com there was a large police presence in the area after the robbery The resident saw police photographers outside the store on Tuesday morning Emergency services have rushed to an "incident" which is understood to involve the sudden death of an elderly person at a Christchurch property Police said they are responding to the incident at an address on Grassmere St in Papanui Stuff has reported it understands the incident involves the sudden death of an elderly person at the property A reporter at the scene saw several uniformed officers travel down the driveway at the address Hato Hone St John said they were called to the address at 1.18pm on Thursday They said one ambulance and an operations manager responded Police said further information will be released when they were in a position to do so As the Covid-19 pandemic brings the world into uncharted waters Star Media journalists and photographers continue to report local stories that matter everyday - yours For more than 152 years our journalists have provided Cantabrians with local news that can be trusted It’s more important now than ever to keep Cantabrians connected As our advertising has fallen during the pandemic You can help us continue to provide local news you can trust simply by becoming a supporter Police said they are responding to an incident at an address on Grassmere Street Hato Hone St John said they were called to the address at 1.15pm on Thursday They said one ambulance and one operations manager responded Police said they would release further information when they were in a position to do so One of the three schools which had students evacuated from near a large fire last week says it has not been contacted as part of the investigation into the cause has burnt through nearly 1000 hectares of land Fire and Emergency's Canterbury District manager Dave Stackhouse said on Monday investigators have identified where the fire started He said three school groups were evacuated from the area during the fire and the investigation team would speak to anyone in the vicinity as a potential witness Students from Papanui High School and Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School were two of the schools evacuated from the area Follow live updates on RNZ's blog Papanui High School principal Robert Gilbert said the the investigators had not been in touch with him He said there had been no suggestion that any Papanui students were involved in starting the fire Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School principal Paul Kennedy said it was up to FENZ to determine the cause of the fire and it would be inappropriate to speculate "We are focusing on supporting our students and staff who were obviously affected by the evacuation process and our thoughts are with the hardworking firefighters." A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said fire investigators and police were conducting a joint investigation into the fire They said fire investigators have spoken to three school groups in the area at the time FENZ would not confirm how many schools were in the area at the time nor if there were more schools in the area than the three identified as having been evacuated A police spokesperson said officers were speaking with a number of parties as their inquiries progressed About 50 firefighters have been tackling the blaze overnight with reinforcements expected on scene at first light Strong winds at a massive fire in the Canterbury high country have not caused any breakouts today Winds in the Canterbury high country are expected to get to gale force overnight making the job of battling a massive fire in the Canterbury high country more challenging for firefighters It means parks could close if the danger gets too high New Zealand RSS Follow RNZ News Halswell Hornets have earned their first grand final berth since 2014 – and for the first time in 10 years the Pat Smith Trophy Challenge will not feature Linwood Keas – after an unforgettable CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership preliminary final on Saturday The third-placed Hornets overcame an early 12-point deficit at Linwood Park and withstood a late rally from the home side to close out a 26-18 victory winning their way through to a showdown with neighbouring archrivals Hornby Panthers on CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day next Sunday The Keas – champions in seven of the past eight seasons – raced to a 12-0 lead through tries to Matthew Logopati and Sakiusa Lomanikaya but the Hornets fought back to level before halftime as Antonio Lemalu and Ken Tofilau crossed Halswell hit the front of the first time 10 minutes after the break with a try Dylan Geddis and went eight points clear as centre Nick Evans powered over Linwood set up a grandstand finish with Pui’ai Patu-Vaega’au’s try trimming the gap to just two but Evans sealed a historic win – and ended the Keas’ record-breaking grand final streak – when he notched his second try in the dying stages who interrupted Linwood’s run of premierships in 2021 but lost deciders in 2016-19 and 2022-23 The ledger currently stands 7-4 in Hornby’s favour Eastern Eagles will receive a CRL ISC Sport Canterbury Cup grand final rematch with their major semi conquerors after overwhelming Papanui Tigers 28-12 in the Premier Reserves preliminary final The Eagles got off to a flyer at Wainoni Park with a Tyrone Stowers try in the opening stage while Jenyn Kahu scored either side of halftime to put the hosts well in control Eastern built a 28-0 lead before Papanui responded with two late tries CRL Division One’s standout teams of 2024 will contest the grand final after Northern Bulldogs and Ashburton Barbarians both carved out emphatic semi-final wins on Saturday The Bulldogs outlasted Papanui Tigers 30-10 at Murphy Park with Matthew Clough and Nathaniel Tirikatene both scoring doubles Nathan Robinson racked up 22 points as the Barbarians blazed to a 60-20 victory over Woolston Rams at Robilliard Park Sydenham Swans and Hornby Panthers will square off in the 2024 CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership grand final following dominant semi-final performances defeated Burnham Chevaliers 44-14 at Macfarlane Park with Theresa MacPherson scoring an early double and the prolific Kaylee Tavendale chalking up 20 points from two tries and six goals overcame two-time defending champs Linwood Keas 26-10 The visitors scored the only three tries of the first half – two of them going to Iokapeta Fetu – and took an unassailable lead in the second stanza with three more tries in a 10-minute burst All four grades’ deciders will unfold on CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day at Ngā Puna Wai next Sunday CRL WHITHEAD PLUMBING & GAS MEN’S PREMIERSHIP – FINALS WEEK 2 RESULTS Preliminary final: Halswell Hornets 26 defeated Linwood Keas 18 at Linwood Park CRL ISC SPORT CANTERBURY CUP PREMIER RESERVES – FINALS WEEK 2 RESULTS Preliminary final: Eastern Eagles 28 defeated Papanui Tigers 12 at Wainoni Park Image credit: Abraham Atherton Photography A group of para athletes from Papanui High School have seen huge success at the New Zealand secondary schools cross country championships at QEII Park The T20 classification is for athletes with an intellectual disability and T38 is for those with co-ordination problems such as cerebral palsy Papanui High sports coordinator Sarah Lamb said giving disabled athletes a platform to shine has been a focus for the school in recent years “We always enter our athletes into the para events,” she said “We go to all the Canterbury secondary school events that offer the para events “The attitude of the staff is that just because they have a disability it doesn’t mean they can’t run or they can’t play basketball and that’s what I love about the Kimi Ora unit that we have and the events that all our para athletes do.” Of the eight chosen to represent Canterbury in the para relays across the junior and senior teams Both the junior and senior Canterbury para teams won their relay And the benefits go beyond simply sporting success “What these students get from that isn’t just about the running or whatever it is they’re competing in it’s all the other stuff that they’ve learned giving them confidence that they’re learning life skills,” Lamb said “They get that feeling of being included as a team because often students with disabilities don’t get the opportunity to feel like they are part of a team and they are included in things that other children their age are doing Papanui High were awarded the most inclusive school award at the cross country championships Lamb said it was down to the level of inclusiveness promoted at the school our para athletes are included in the mainstream school as much as possible while he was running his own race,’’ Lamb said keep going’ and a couple of the para athletes came back so we went,’ so it’s just really nice to see that relationship.” People have lost their lives in recent history while fishing here while others have been washed off by unexpected waves Fishing from rocks at Papanui Point is extremely dangerous and not worth the risk Although search and rescue teams have been able to eventually recover some bodies were not retrieved We strongly discourage people from going down onto the rocks to catch fish at Papanui Point follow the guidelines below – but they do not guarantee your safety You need to be ready to survive and get help if you end up in the water If you end up in the water at Papanui Point Papanui Point is on the western side of Karioi near Raglan It’s a rocky and rugged outcrop surrounded by swirling and unpredictable seas the sea can be rough and wild with multiple cross currents People have lost their lives while fishing here The track down to the rocks is narrow and dangerous Papanui Point has a long history in tribal narratives It is one of a series of large pā that dotted the coastline from Karioi to Aotea West coast iwi and hapū maintain their customary interests along this coast Papanui is a shared boundary marker (pou whenua) between Tainui hapū of Raglan and Ngāti Whakamarurangi of Ruapuke to Aotea tribal protocol requires that the waters that flow along this coastal area be temporarily restricted from public access and that seafood gathering cease until further notice Such a restriction (rāhui) gives solace to the bereaved and enables the natural equilibrium between people and place to be restored.  When a rāhui has been invoked please follow the restrictions outlined above It is a collective tribal decision as to when the rāhui will end (lifted) Three fire crews attended the blaze on Grassmere St in Papanui Three fire crews have extinguished a house fire in the Christchurch suburb of Papanui overnight Two crews were initially sent to the fire on Grassmere St when it was first reported around 2am An extra truck was called in en route due to the number of calls received Southern Fire and Emergency shift manager Amanda Ensor said On arrival they found the single-storey house Nobody was reported to be inside the building The fire has now been extinguished but a day crew will return to check on the scene Canterbury Rugby League’s club competitions take a break over Easter which provides a deserving spotlight for Papanui Tigers Rugby League Club to belated celebrate a momentous landmark Papanui became only the sixth CRL club to bring up 100 years in existence – but uncertainty around travel due to COVID saw the club postpone centenary celebrations the wait will prove worthwhile as the Tigers mark the milestone with a series of events and matches The festivities get underway with a conversational supper at the Papanui Tigers’ clubrooms on Friday night there’s 11 matches scheduled at Papanui Domain: eight junior matches from 7s through to 18s (getting underway at 9.30am) and culminating in two Presidents fixtures from 1pm and Papanui Tigers’ Canterbury Cup fixture against Halswell Hornets at 2.45pm The coveted Kevin Williams Memorial Trophy goes on the line between the Tigers and the Hornets in a match that doubles as the only competition game being played this Easter The party rolls on into Saturday night via a bash at the Papanui Club a lot of us have been around the club for a long time,” Papanui Tigers president Grant Bond says “I played for the Tigers from when I was eight missed a few years and kept playing until I was 40 Among the Tigers revellers will be former club stalwarts from as far afield as Western Australia as well as black-and-gold royalty in the form of 90-year-old John Bond a seven-Test Kiwi and Papanui mainstay in the 1950s “There’s others here that have played and volunteered over the years and the club has become a second home – you come down here and spend half your life at the club,” Bond the nephew of Papanui legend and Kiwis five-eighth and captain Jim Bond It will be a great opportunity for a lot of people who haven’t seen each other for a while to catch up and reminisce about the old days – and for those of us that are still here featuring famed dual international Billy Mitchell as player-coach club officials made the call to adopt the name Papanui to identify more closely with their surrounds (Papanui only officially became a suburb of Christchurch city in 1923) John Bond was among the Papanui ‘originals’ Papanui made its CRL championship breakthrough in 1957 – with New Zealand Test halfback Keith Roberts as captain-coach – and collected further titles in 1959 and ’60 (sharing the latter with Linwood) The advent of a grand final system in the Canterbury competition from 1967 gave rise to arguably the club’s greatest era After losing the second premiership decider in 1968 the Tigers won seven grand finals in eight years between 1971 and ’78 – only Eastern Suburbs’ defeat of Papanui in ’75 decider interrupted their unprecedented supremacy Ex-Kiwi halfback Gary Clarke was player-coach of the 1971-72 triumphs Trevor Bisman took over as coach for the 1973-74 wins and Rodney Walker was player-coach for the 1976-78 three-peat Papanui’s inaugural grand final-winning line-up of 1971 Following a 14-year absence from the grand final stage Papanui enjoyed another fruitful period during the 1990s winning premierships in 1992 and ’94 under Lex Clarke’s coaching and ’98 with Brent Ringdahl at the helm after losing the previous year’s decider There was grand final heartache in 2000 and ’08 before the Tigers snapped their longest title drought since becoming Papanui with an epic extra-time triumph over Linwood in the 2015 grand final – the club’s 14th championship overall and 11th since the grand final system was put in place Papanui Tigers women’s team – spearheaded by recent Kiwi Ferns reps Bunty Kuruwaka-Crowe and Corrina Whiley – won consecutive premierships in 2016-17 before being edged out in the following year’s decider by Linwood Keas in an absolute classic in the last CRL Grand Final Day at Rugby League Park Rodney Walker – have represented the Kiwis while at the club as well as Kiwi Ferns quintet Kuruwaka-Crowe Other luminaries such as Mark Broadhurst won premierships with the Tigers before earning Test call-ups from other clubs The club’s history was marvellously encapsulated by a book written by revered Canterbury-based journalist Papanui Tigers’ centenary celebrations coincide with a unique and challenging juncture for the proud and decorated club it does not have a presence in the premier grade When Celebration Lions’ withdrawal from the 2023 CRL Men’s Premiership left the competition with seven teams Papanui Tigers – on the back of three arduous Massetti Cup campaigns – made the difficult but forward-thinking decision to request for their senior team to play in the Premier Reserves this year The focus is on rebuilding a squad in the comparatively less daunting Canterbury Cup competition and pushing for reinstatement to the top grade as a more competitive unit we’ve been fighting to stay in the premier division for the last three years and the results have been showing that we’re struggling,” Bond confirms “But the change in the (promotion/relegation) structure where we have got an opportunity to make our way back into the premiers we’re taking the better road of rebuilding getting our players playing good football and winning “The players have been really positive about it.” Certainly the early indications are encouraging the Tigers winning their Canterbury Cup season opener against Shirley Hawks 56-10 before having the Round 2 bye last weekend Saturday’s clash with the Hornets shapes as a key opportunity to keep their momentum going – as well as marking the club’s special day in a fitting way With Papanui’s ISC Canterbury Cup clash against Halswell on Saturday a centrepiece of the Tigers’ centenary celebrations this Easter weekend Flashback Friday revisits the most eventful period of a keen rivalry between the clubs Papanui and Halswell are intrinsically linked playing annually for the Kevin Williams Memorial Trophy named in honour of the Canterbury fullback who featured in six straight grand finals for the Tigers during the 1970s before playing for the fledgling Hornets and coaching them to their first premiership in 1985 while holidaying in the Chatham Islands – just months after the two clubs he served so memorably had faced one another in the CRL grand final for the third time in seven seasons PAPANUI TIGERS’ 101 REASONS TO CELEBRATE Papanui ended a 14-year title drought in 1992 with a 28-12 defeat of Sydenham in the grand final while Halswell edged Hornby for the 1993 crown 8-6 in the decider The clubs finished first and second in the 1994 Massetti Cup – though the Tigers were 11 points clear of the Hornets navigating the challenges of absentees during the inaugural Lion Red Cup better than any side A thrilling major semi-final between the rivals – with Papanui surging late to a 42-26 win after the scores were locked 26-all with 16 minutes left – set the scene for a fascinating grand final two weeks later The decider was a less free-flowing affair with the Lex Clarke-coached Tigers carving out a 14-4 triumph after captain Blair Harding scored a late was as pivotal as his decision to opt out of Canterbury Country Cardinals’ Lion Red Cup campaign Shane Endacott had earlier scored 10 tries in the Tigers’ first eight games before joining the Cardinals while the Hornets had valiantly reached another grand final despite retaining just two members of premiership-winning squad from 12 months earlier 1994 CRL GRAND FINAL: Papanui Tigers 14 (S Butler T Kalauta tries; P Campbell goal) defeated Halswell Hornets 4 (G Jackson try) Halswell responded with a heart-stopping capture of the Pat Smith Trophy in 1995 pipping Linwood 20-19 in a grand final thriller Hornby Panthers then went back-to-back with grand final victories over the Hornets (22-16 in 1996) and Tigers (20-12 in 1997) The 1998 season saw the second-placed Tigers and third-placed Hornets send the Massetti Cup-winning Panthers out the back door of the playoffs in straight sets – and the clubs subsequently produced one of the great grand final spectacles Halswell shot out to an 18-4 lead before Brent Ringdah’s Papanui outfit produced a CRL grand final record comeback to ultimately prevail 27-22 Powerhouse Kreskin David was the catalyst for the turnaround He barged over for a crucial try before halftime produced a barnstorming run in the lead-up to Chris Walker’s four-pointer and made the break to send centre partner and skipper Harding away for the go-ahead try just two of the avalanche of tries was converted in a horror day for goalkickers Harding and halfback Grant Downing were the survivors of the Tigers’ 1992 and ’94 successes while prop Rudy David had played in the ’92 grand final Their experience was crucial to toppling a Phil Prescott-coached Hornets side that had former Kiwis half Aaron Whittaker as its linchpin in a match that set a new record for the most points in a Canterbury grand final 1998 CRL GRAND FINAL: Papanui Tigers 27 (K David 3 J Kelly tries; Harding goal; G Downing field goal) defeated Halswell Hornets 22 (B Taylor 2 Again bouncing back from a grand final loss to Papanui Halswell won the 1999 title with a dominant 30-12 win over Hornby in the decider the Hornets and Tigers met on Canterbury Rugby League’s biggest stage once again the Hornets fielded 14 survivors from their previous two premiership wins while just two Tigers – winger Duane Peterson and interchange Kyle Reuben – remained from the ’98 triumph Table-topping Halswell was the hot favourite but had to dig deep to lift the Pat Smith Trophy The scores were locked 20-all midway through the second half when Whittaker’s missed field goal attempt proved a turning point taking an unkind bounce for the Tigers and handing possession back to the Hornets Chris Baxter-coached Halswell broke the deadlock with a try after three consecutive sets in possession and crossed twice more in the latter stages to clinch a 38-20 victory a scoreline that did not give a true indication of a gripping grand final battle 2000 CRL GRAND FINAL: Halswell Hornets 38 (R Rhodes J Manning tries; A Whittaker 7 goals) Papanui Tigers 20 (A Curd 2 Halswell’s threepeat quest was foiled in the 2001 grand final by Hornby It would not be until 2002 that the first grand final since 1990 that did not feature the Tigers or Hornets eventuated – ironically with Whittaker scoring five tries and 32 points in Riccarton Knights’ 54-14 defeat of Linwood Keas Halswell went on to claim further premierships in 2003 2011 and 2014 – the latter after losing a pair of nail-biting grand finals to Hornby in 2012-13 Papanui’s next grand final appearance was in 2008 before the Tigers turned the tables on the Keas in a 2015 extra-time classic to snap the club’s longest post-World War II premiership drought Eddie Kerrigan jovially puts the record straight these days admitting he played under an alias when two Kiwis contributed to a rugby league premiership-winning side in North Queensland Kerrigan and Bruce Dickison left Christchurch for Australia in 1979 then a launching pad for cheap air travel further afield Instead the New Zealand internationals ended up on the opposite coast up in Cairns where they parked up their Volkswagen Kombi van and decided to try and have a run in the local comp Brothers appealed because they had clubrooms and solid work on Queensland Rail Their first grade rivals for the Foxwood Cup and Camel Filters Shield basically operated out of pubs Because Papanui stalwart Kerrigan played three tests against Great Britain in 1974 and Dickison was a World Cup squad member in 1975 the duo were subject to a New Zealand Rugby League-imposed transfer fee We were still on their (NZRL) books and at the time they were losing quite a few players to Australia They put the fees on as a deterrent,” said former wing Kerrigan who works as gym manager at The Papanui B Dixon was listed among the absentees in the photo the centre returned to Christchurch before the 28-0 win over Babinda to continue a club career with Eastern Suburbs that yielded 125 tries Dickison toured Great Britain and France with the Kiwis in 1980 where he played the last of his seven tests in Toulouse Ultimately Dickison’s mid-season departure exposed the flaw in their cunning plan - the bank accounts for wages and $60 per win payments could not be accessed because they had no identification for the names “Kerridge” and “Dixon” who played in six of Papanui’s seven grand-final triumphs during their golden era in the 1970s said a Brothers connection at the bank freed up the funds who was fortunate to survive a heart attack and an abdominal aorta aneurysm in 2013 told Coffey: “He knew Bruce and I came from Christchurch and he somehow found his way to the Papanui pub No one there knew an Eddie Kerridge but Tubby Wilson showed him some Papanui team photos on the wall We caught up and I told him the whole story.” they thought we were just a couple of New Zealand boys who came over for a game We started off in third grade and they said: ‘My God “The next week we were on the premiers bench a week later we were starting,” he told The Star There was another twist to the tale when Kerrigan’s daughter Anita joined the police in Cairns and ended up in the same command as her father’s former halfback the now retired Senior Constable Glenn Schwartz “She has many of my mannerisms and he (Schwartz) took one look at her and said: ‘I know you from somewhere’,” Kerrigan told Coffey “Next day he brought in the Brothers 1979 team photo with the 124-page publication replete with the club’s high and low points from its formation as Waimairi following a gathering of nine people in a billiards saloon The club was promoted to the senior grade in 1927 where they were runners-up to powerhouse Hornby and rebranded as Papanui in 1947 – 24 years after the area was granted suburb status Papanui celebrated their first premiership in 1957 with a squad that featured then teenager Jim Bond a stand-off who played 14 tests for the Kiwis from 1961 Tiger Tales highlights the club’s provincial and international representatives including four-time Kiwis tourist Keith Roberts (1955-60) and scrumhalf Gary Clarke (1966-68) who captained and coached the premiership-winning sides in 1971-72 The gifted back rower was limited to just three cameos in tests after debuting as a 19-year-old against the Kangaroos in 1969 He was replaced at halftime in the series opener at Carlaw Park and then played Great Britain twice as a replacement in 1970 Walker had been chosen for the 1970 World Cup in Great Britain but he broke an ankle playing for The Rest XIII against New Zealand we just had to expect the passes,” Kerrigan told The Star Papanui players selected after they left Papanui Domain are headed by redoubtable prop Mark Broadhurst (1979-83) who bookended his career at the Tigers either side of professional stints in Australia and the UK Former players who have died are also remembered Fullback Kevin ‘Herm’ Williams played in six consecutive grand finals during the 1970s before sparring with Olympic silver medal-winning boxer Kevin Barry and coaching cricket and league Williams died while holidaying on the Chatham Islands in 2001 =Another valuable player from the club’s most successful era when the Pyne Gould Guinness building collapsed during the February 22 To obtain a copy of Tiger Tales, email former Papanui Tigers player and club administrator Mike Godinet at mikegodinet@xtra.co.nz who played 287 premier grade games for the Tigers including six grand final victories sold cosmetics and hair care products to city pharmacies and salons to set him apart from his freezing worker teammates “My job was a far cry from the blood and guts of the slaughterhouse,” said Godinet who admits the Tigers 2022 campaign is also grim they are on track to match the 2021 squad record of losing all 14 regular season matches and had to default for the second time this campaign last weekend After seven rounds the Tigers have scored 24 points and conceded 420 “From an old member’s perspective it’s pretty tough to take those sorts of results when you think about the history of the club,” said Godinet who is a member of club’s centenary committee Hopefully the people there at the moment .. Once he joined a crack side in the early 1970s he missed just one grand final – the decider Papanui lost to Eastern Suburbs in 1975 “In the semi-final (against Linwood) there was a big punch up on the sideline and I suppose someone had to get blamed for it ...” Papanui planned to hold their centenary celebrations at Easter weekend though Covid-19 has pushed back the events 12 months A cornerstone of the Waimairi forward pack who also played rugby for Canterbury joined the army at Burnham and two years later he received the Military Cross for gallantry during the failed bid to repel Germany’s invasion of Crete in 1941 King’s bravery was recognised after he led a counter-attack at Galatas as noted in Ron Palenski’s 2013 book Men of Valour had tossed a coin to decide who would lead the counter-attack at Galatas nor did it matter for both went hell for leather at the Germans anyway “It was the last fight of the war for Rex King he was taken to hospital then to a prisoner of war camp in Germany.” Lieutenant Colonel Doug Leckie wrote to King’s wife: “By his fearlessness – he did not know the word fear – bravery initiative and leadership he saved many casualties and endeared himself to us all King learned he has been awarded the Military Cross in December 1941 while in Germany “A master’s graduate from Canterbury,” Palenski said of King: “His forte was academic essays and once he wrote about industrial design won a Royal Society of Arts prize in 1943.” a 6260sq m supermarket on the corner of Northcote and Main North Rds Foodstuffs South Island chief executive Mary Devine said the store will provide new 100 jobs She said 210 staff members were brought over from the former Pak’nSave Northlands store which closed its doors for the final time at 6pm on Saturday "Pak’nSave Papanui offers a great shopping experience and shows our commitment to sustainability and the growing community of Papanui,” said Devine "There’s lots of natural light coming into the store enhancing the fresh food offerings in produce "There are also 22 self-service checkouts and 90 SHOP’nGO scanners to save customers time and money as they can scan and pack their groceries as they shop.” cycle parking and a dedicated Click and Collect area It is also equipped to trade continuously for three days in an emergency or natural disaster with water storage and an on-site generator Owner-operators Bryan Walker and Lucy Boock also contacted food rescue partner Kairos Food Rescue to allow them to repurpose anything they need from the Northlands store Boock is the third generation of grocers in her family She started packing groceries at her parents’ store Walker has been in the supermarket industry for 26 years He left school at 16 to work at New World Mosgiel as a grocery assistant and worked his way up through Foodstuffs South Island Police and three fire crews from the Redwood Ilam and Christchurch City stations were called to the blaze on Grassmere St Fire and Emergency NZ told the New Zealand Herald the crews arrived to find the single-storey house was “totally involved in fire” It took over two and a half hours to bring the blaze under control A Fenz crew will continue to monitor the scene today Our first Flashback Friday of 2024 marks a milestone anniversary of one of the greatest West Coast Rugby League club achievements of the 1990s At Saturday’s historic CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership season-opening clash at Wingham Park between Greymouth Greyhounds and Halswell Hornets the 1994 Waro-Rakau Hornets will assemble to celebrate 30 years since their stunning Thacker Shield victory over Papanui Tigers Waro-Rakau powered to a second straight premiership in the West Coast competition in 1994 Papanui regained Canterbury Rugby League supremacy via a 14-4 grand final defeat of Halswell the victorious outfits met to contest the Thacker Shield which had remained in Canterbury since Hornby snapped Runanga’s three-year reign in 1982 Though the Lion Red Cup had diluted Canterbury’s clubs’ player strength few saw a result like Waro-Rakau’s 40-4 rout of a rejigged Papanui line-up coming The triumph was especially memorable for the Mahuika family Lester Mahuika had led Waro-Rakau to its previous Thacker Shield win Two sons and a nephew featured in the Hornets’ 1994 victory: Craig skippered the side and scored a try Dean crossed for a double and Jason – a three-try star a week earlier in the grand final – booted six goals Winning Waro-Rakau player-coach Craig Hiha (left) 1978 captain Lester Mahuika (centre) and 1994 skipper Craig Mahuika (right) veteran prop Kevin Kilkelly and back-rower Ritchie Banks were also prominent for the Hornets scored a late consolation try for the Tigers from his uncustomary spot in the second-row As John Coffey recounted in Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994 Gibson Sawmills Ltd – a major employer of Waro-Rakau players at Ngahere – declared the next day a holiday while the Railway Hotel in Greymouth supplied free beer The Hornets’ victory was the biggest by a West Coast club in a Thacker Shield showdown since Blackball humbled Sydenham 53-13 in 1950 It was a memorable chapter in a vintage year for West Coast Rugby League The representative side defeated Canterbury XIII to kick off an unbeaten campaign that culminated in the Transvasin Provincial Championship title Waro-Rakau would retain the Thacker Shield in 1995 with a similarly emphatic 48-16 victory over Halswell in a clash of the Hornets Papanui (the Greyhounds’ Premier Reserves affiliate) and Halswell will face off in Greymouth in tomorrow’s ISC Canterbury Cup curtain-raiser Cobden-Kohinoor Keas were the last West Coast club to carry off the Thacker Shield under the traditional format A West Coast Chargers combination rolled Linwood Keas in 2017 The prize was revived as a challenge shield last year – with the Greyhounds claiming it via a win over the Tigers and defending it successfully throughout the season by winning their remaining ISC Canterbury Cup regular-season games at Wingham Park THACKER SHIELD RETURNS FOR GREYMOUTH CLASH Although the club has lost some top fighters overseas and to injury the event is a chance for Papanui to showcase their club and the region’s talent in the 19 bouts Event organiser and five-time New Zealand champion Sam Watt said the smaller clubs in Canterbury have grown and impacted on the level of competition “The Canterbury boxing scene is growing from strength to strength,” he said Riverside boxing have dominated throughout the mid-2000s to mid-2010s and lately the traditional strong clubs Woolston “These clubs have now been joined by Rangiora boxing and Champ Nation also having strong stables This has meant the local scene is really competitive and a great camaraderie has been built.” Watt said he has only been in a boxing gym since February last year “But (he) has racked up a number of wins with his great footwork and fierce body punching,” he said Riley was the most scientific junior boxer at both the Canterbury championships and South Island Golden Gloves this year The ages of boxers will range from 14 to 36 at the event Welterweight and multiple South Island champion Christian Tikao will also feature The night will finish with a bout between Papanui’s William Vuidreketi and Champ Nation’s Jacob Hermens Vuidreketi is the current South Island Golden Gloves champion and has won his last four fights Four-time New Zealand champion Azeez Ghazizada won’t be on the card after his opponent Ryley Sutherland (Woolston) withdrew earlier this week Ghazizada won a silver medal at the Oceania championships in May losing his final by a split decision to Australian Redhu Diyanshu • The first fight starts at 6pm at Christchurch Rugby Club on Westminster St. Entry is $20 for adults and $10 for under-18s on the door (cash only). For more information go to Papanui Boxing Club’s Facebook page