Play hard, stay humble
Taupō Marist Premiers celebrate after their win in the Meads Shield on Saturday.
Taupō’s newest rugby club has gone from relative easy beats to an unstoppable force in just seven years.
By Dan Hutchinson
Taupō Marist Rugby Club’s premier team won the 2025 KCRU Waitomo Group Meads Shield on Saturday.
It was an all-Taupō final, with Marist prevailing over Taupō Sports 36–17 at Owen Delany Park to finish the season undefeated.
Founded in 2019, the club endured some heavy losses in its early years before working its way up through the King Country Rugby Union (KCRU) Premier Competition.
Club manager Vannessa Jacobs says the title means a great deal, particularly given how new the club is relative to its competition.
"There's a lot of clubs out there that we're competing against have been going for, you know, 70, 90 years.”
After winning the Division 1 Finals in 2023, the club finished runner-up in the Meads Shield in both 2024 and 2025 before finally taking the top prize this season.
"We took the heavy defeats in the first two years, and we finally took it out this year. It's a massive accomplishment for a young team."
The Meads Shield wasn't the only trophy on the shelf this season. The club also claimed the Riley Sutherland Memorial, the Bronson Rakatau Singh Memorial, the Garret Shield, the Hetet Shield, and the Ron Bryers Trophy.
Nine players have earned selection for the King Country Rams and 10 for the KCRU Bighorns, with a further three missing out through injury.
Vannessa puts the club's success down to developing players from a young age and keeping a core group together over time.
Her husband Mike coaches the team and the couple have been involved from the start.
"A lot of those guys — we've had them since they were in intermediate, and it's just bringing them through, keeping them together. There's probably about maybe 11 core boys that we've kept together from day dot."
She says team commitment and family commitment is behind the success.
“Like everyone that has supported us basically from day one — that's what's got us there."
The club fields five junior teams, a combined Colts team, a 7s team, and a Women's team. Players and sponsors interested in getting involved can register through the Taupō Marist Facebook page.
Marist Clubs have a background in Marist Catholic traditions. Vannessa says in addition to those strong values the Taupō club has a motto of ‘Stay Humble, Stay Honest, and Play Hard’.