23 February, 2026

A relaxed Waitangi Day, from karakia to kick-off

Stars and crowd turn out for warm-up

Takapuna Rugby Club supplied the ball boys for the Blues’ pre-season warm-up game against the Crusaders at Onewa Domain on Waitangi Day. Among them were (rear, from left) Alexander Clark, Jack Swanton, Swann Marshall and Lincoln Aitcheson, who with Jacob Nonu (front right) are all aged 12 and J1 Gold team players. Harrison Clark (front left) is Alexander’s 10-year-old brother and turns out for J2 Gold. The boys were looking forward to a promised post-match reward of chicken nuggets.

Pulling up a beach chair to watch the rugby seems wrong, but it was certainly comfy for some among the few thousand spectators at Onewa Domain on Waitangi Day.
Kids clustered around the edge of the athletics track, adults spread picnic rugs on the bank or, if they were early, grabbed a pew on the bench seats. Hundreds who found it tricky to locate a park were still queueing after kick-off.
The game was a largely meaningless warm-up before the start of Super Rugby proper last weekend, but fans were drawn by the chance to see Blues and Crusaders stars up close.
Little could be read into the match, beyond the Blues playing with some crash and dash and Crusader combinations clearly being tested. Autograph hunters were satisfied after the game and no doubt the Takapuna Rugby Club tills benefited on a sweltering day.
Sun, rugby and a national holiday – turned out to be a Shore thing.

Festival rugby… A relaxed crowd watched from the sidelines as the Blues outscored the Crusaders 44-24 in a hit-up that rotated different squad lineups for each half. This revealed little about true strengths or favoured combinations, but the home side showed plenty of crash and dash.

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