26 Provincial Unions, 26 Kicks at Goal

In 1996 rugby went professional around the world. I went from being the Rosslyn Park Under 21 head coach to the forward coach of London Welsh in the England Championship competition.

The result was disastrous - but a journey began.

Over the next 20 years I continued my coaching being involved in 375 games. In that time I had only one player suffer a broken leg and one serious shoulder injury. It was not until I became the Chief Executive of Wairarapa Bush in 2013 that I became aware of the NZ Rugby Foundation.

The NZ Rugby Foundations role is pivotal in ensuring support for players who suffer serious injury as a result of playing our game. If you want to know more about the great work they do,

You can check out the link here: https://www.rugbyfoundation.com/

2025 now marks 30 years of my involvement in professional rugby and I have therefore made the decision to walk the length of Aotearoa/New Zealand in the hopes of capturing a snippet of the rich but short history of professional rugby over the 30 years.

My walk will not be solo; along the way I will be inviting personalities from each Union to join me on 10km stints who will be interviewed in a mini podcast series to share stories and histories of their Union with you, the audience.

The walk will take around 5 to 6 months and does not follow the main highways or routes. It is a cross-country journey linking each of the 26 Unions’ home grounds amassing a distance of some 3,600km.

At each of the pit stops at the provincial rugby unions I will be kicking a goal (no, I haven’t been practising and yes, I cannot leave the ground until I kick one). The reason I am doing this is because:

A) No-one has undertaken such an attempt before in New Zealand and;

B) All 26 rugby balls will be auctioned off (as one completed set) with all proceeds going to

the NZ Rugby Foundation along with all direct donations through our webpage - the direct link can be found by clicking the NZ Rugby Foundation logo.

It has always been my intention to finish my rugby career by walking the length of New Zealand and to give something back to rugby in recognition of what it has given me. The NZ Rugby Foundation is an amazing charity and continuously supports the rugby community of Aotearoa.

It is my great hope that this walk will help raise further support and interest in our rugby community in a way that has not happened before.

Enough from me. Come and join the movement! Follow us on social media and see where I am!

Feel free to join the walk at any stage and we will see you there, boots on the ground.

Big T