Year by Year , Our History ~ 2015 ~

We hope you enjoy this look back as we look forward to many more years of recording the history of Thames Valley Rugby Union.We acknowledge all the information from the NZ “Rugby Almanack” Series from the season’s 1934 through to 2016 and appreciate their hard and dedicated work in providing this detailed history. – Web Admin

Thames Valley finished ninth in the round robin for the second year in a row. The three wins achieved were all against the teams that finished below them in the championship.

Chance Bunce, son of All Black Frank, captained the side from fullback and always looked to counter attack. The speedy wingers Lance Easton and Tyrone Keith both earned selection in the New Zealand Heartland team, Keith being the best debutant of the season and top try scorer including three against East Coast in just his third match. Fijian Nemani Talemaitoga was playing well at centre until injury ended his season. Moss Doran arrived from Poverty Bay and retained his position in the New Zealand Heartland team. Regular midfielder of past seasons Joe Murray found it hard to get a start until Talemaitoga’s injury. At first five-eighth loan player John Te Ruki-Chambers impressed and was the pick of the backline. David Harrison became the union’s ninth centurion. Debuting in 2004 he has made starting appearances in every backline position except halfback. He also added 26 more points to his record tally for Thames Valley and retired at the end of the season. Beau Hamilton and new rep Matthew Fisher both shared the halfback position.

The best of the forwards was Hayden Anderson at number eight. New Zealand born, he arrived during the season from Perth having earlier made the Australian Under 20 team. His five matches were enough to gain selection in the New Zealand Heartland team. In his second season Pedro Scardapane made a big advancement on last year. At lock Kent McFarlane played every game as did Hayden Wisnewski at hooker. Injuries to props had assistant coach Alan McLean coming out of representative retirement to play three matches at the age of 43, his experience being invaluable in the tight.

Of the 31 players who took the field, 16 were in their debut season. Missing from last year were Josh Turner, Richard Judd (both Counties Manukau), Matthew Hema (overseas), Blake Hill (Auckland), Brett Ranga (Bay of Plenty) and centurion Aaron McDonald (retired). With four players in the New Zealand Heartland team, Thames Valley had their best-ever representation.

Higher honours went to:

New Zealand Heartland: Lance Easton, Tyrone Keith, Moss Doran, Hayden Anderson