A family of rugby legends

Media Release

11 April 2011

A family of rugby legends

Ngongotaha’s Hika Reid has recently been named as a Rugby Legend, as part of the Living Legends project. This honours Hika’s tremendous rugby career, following on from the legacy of his own grandfather, J Hikatarewa, who represented New Zealand Maori in Australia and New Zealand in 1913. But it doesn’t stop there, Hika says his whole extended family were involved in rugby in some way.

Rugby has been a lifelong passion for Hika, his earliest memories of playing on a dirt field at the local marae, at about five years old. At that early age, Hika wasn’t to know that his greatest dream would come true - to pull on the All Black jersey 17 years later.
Hika was born and bred in Rotorua, attending Ngongotaha Primary School, Kaitao Intermediate and Western Heights High School where he was part of the 1st XV from 1973-77 alongside another of Living Legends named Rugby Legends, Buck Shelford. He then entered the Bay of Plenty representative side as a 20-year old in 1978 and until the 1987 season played 85 games for the union.

Hika was selected to tour Australia with the All Blacks as an unknown 22-year old in 1980, owing his selection in part to the unavailability of the then test incumbent, Andy Dalton. Reid proved a major success.
Though Dalton returned for the Wales tour later in 1980, Hika had by then proved his worth and was also named in the touring party, going on to be the preferred choice for the one-off international. From 1981 through to 1985 Hika served as Dalton's understudy in test series against South Africa, Australia, the British Lions and England at home and on the tours of France (1981) and again to Australia in 1984. He was also in the first Seven's team to Hong Kong in 1983, playing alongside the now Seven's guru Gordon Tietjens.

However, Dalton's unavailability for the 1983 tour of Scotland and England and also for Argentina in 1985 meant Reid received his test chances then. He also replaced Sean Fitzpatrick for the last two tests of the 1986 series against the Wallabies.

In all Hika played 40 matches for the All Blacks including nine tests. His last involvement with a national side was with New Zealand Maori on the 1987-88 tour of Europe and Argentina.

Hika was twice a winner of the Tom French Cup for the season's outstanding Maori player, in 1980 and 1983. His other national honours came with the New Zealand Colts in 1979, for the North Island in 1983-84 and in five All Blacks trials in 1981-82-83-85-87.

In later years Hika Reid spent many seasons playing and coaching overseas, including in Ireland. In 2003 he took up an appointment as rugby development officer for the Bay of Plenty Union.

Hika is excited about being named a Rugby Legend and hopes to “see New Zealand cement our standing as the world’s number ranked rugby nation” during Rugby World Cup 2011. Let’s hope we can live up to his challenge.

About Living Legends

Living Legends is a community conservation project that is coordinating 17 native tree planting projects throughout New Zealand during Rugby World Cup 2011.

Each planting is being run in conjunction with provincial rugby unions and will be dedicated to a regional ‘Rugby Legend’ who has been selected by the union.

These Rugby Legends are people who have made a significant contribution to rugby in New Zealand.

Living Legends will plant almost 80,000 trees nationwide in 2011, and is making a five year investment to plant a total of 150,000 trees by the end of the project in 2015.

The plantings all take place on public conservation land, and will encourage New Zealanders and overseas visitors to participate in the events.

Plantings will be held in Northland, North Harbour, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taupo, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Wellington, Tasman, Buller/West Coast, Mid Canterbury, Christchurch, Otago and Southland.

Living Legends is a joint venture of Project Crimson, an environmental charity with 20 years experience in community-based native restoration projects and the Tindall Foundation. We are thrilled to have the support of our major sponsors the Department of Conservation and Meridian Energy.

About the Bay of Plenty Living Legends planting project
Living Legends are holding two events in the Bay of Plenty area, one in Rotorua and one in Tauranga.

Rotorua

The Hamurana Springs Recreation Reserve is famous for its beautiful crystal clear fresh water springs, that emanate from the ground and flows downstream into Lake Rotorua. The surrounding wildlife sanctuary plays host to many species of birds including black teal, scaup, herons and the endangered dabchick.

On 11 September 2011, volunteers will plant 2530 additional native trees at this site as part of Living Legends programme of work.
Hamurana residents and members of the wider Rotorua community have a long association with the reserve. In 2004, management of the reserve reverted to the Department of Conservation who has been undertaking weed control and revegetation works since. The local community and tangata whenua have been involved in community working days. However, a great deal of work remains to be done. Living Legends will plant around the high profile stream edge area which is in urgent need of revegetation.

Tauranga

The Kaituna wetland is a very significant conservation initiative in the Bay of Plenty with wide community support. It’s a wonderful reminder of how things once were. Cabbage trees and flaxes are flourishing, pukeko prowl through the raupo, numerous ducks, shags and pied stilts forage for food in the waterways. The inclusion of this important wetland in the Living Legends projects recognises the threatened nature of these ecosystems. Local schools and the wider community have been involved in planting of defined areas and a kayak trail has been established.

On 2 October 2011, volunteers will plant 3000 additional native trees at this site as part of Living Legends programme of work.

ENDS

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