TEAM MANAGEMENT

Our teams are consistently placed in the top-tier of both the Premier and Development competitions.  Skill, attitude, loyalty and performance are key attributes that are the hallmarks of the ‘ Pirate-style’ of rugby.

The appointment of successful and highly skilled coaches and managers has been fundamental to consistently strong performances and has underpinned our competition successes.

Even more importantly, the club has been a nursery for players to achieve BOP Steamers, Super 15 and even All Black success.

We urge you to refer to the ‘success stories’ section of this web-site to appreciate the level of quality and commitment delivered by our club.  You will note that quality coaching and management has Te Puke Sports players as high-achievers year in – year out!

SENIOR RUGBY

MARTIN ASH – Premier Head Coach

Kia Ora,

I am proud and excited to be named the premier head coach for 2025. I was born and raised in Rotorua but played my senior rugby in the Waikato before moving to Auckland to pursue my teaching career.

I started coaching at the secondary school level at Tangaroa College, taking the side to a national co-education title in 2013, three years after taking up the role. I moved back to the Waikato in 2015, where I coached multiple Waikato age group representative sides. After moving to the Thames Valley in 2018, I was appointed head coach of Paeroa Sports Premier side. I coached this side for three years, recently finishing runner-up in the Thames Valley competition, losing to Waihi in the final this year. I moved to Papamoa at the start of 2024 to take up a position as Director of Sport at Te Puke High School.

I have been a Level Three Advanced Coach since 2014. My coaching is based around dominating the contact and collision area and winning or defending two second ball from the breakdown. I love coaching defence and I am massive on forcing opposition mistakes through defensive pressure. High-level, consistent team attacking and defensive pressure will always win games and championships.

My goals for the club are to consistently dominate the Bay Wide Premier competition. I aspire to lead the club to multiple back-to-back Bay Wide titles, securing our spot as the premier club in the Bay of Plenty. I want to build a culture of “good buggers” at the club who give back to our community by playing top-quality rugby and demonstrating club values off the field.

Mark Hollinshead – Manager Premier Team

Originating from Te Awamutu, Waikato I started playing rugby when I was 5 years old. Initially at a small country school called Pokuru Primary. In 1975 I moved to Te Awamutu Old Boys (now called Te Awamutu Sports) and then onto Te Awamutu College where I played College rugby from ‘77 to ‘79.  I ventured over the ‘hill’ to Te Puke in late 1980 and soon after started playing for United Pirates, where the club was based out of King St, Te Puke. I played Colts rugby for a couple of seasons then moved into Premier grade with the same club.

In 1985 I moved to Pyes Pa, Tauranga and played a season for Greerton Prems before moving to Pukekohe, South Auckland in 1986. Playing premier rugby there until I moved back to Papamoa  in 1993. It was then that a small group of ‘locals’ set up the Papamoa Rugby Club based out of the recreation centre at the Gordon Spratt reserve. I played Senior rugby there for a couple of seasons until moving to Te Puke and reuniting with Te Puke Sports. At this stage with a couple of young boys playing this great game at 7 and 4 years old, I started coaching the younger grades right up to 1st XV level at Te Puke High school. I kind of think that this was for 10 odd years or so. At this time I was also refereeing at junior level up to U21’s and over a period of 10 years,  this progressed to Premier level and I still to this day help out with the whistle at the lower levels (when short).

Coaching became more important to me of late with the last 4 years (excluding 2021) being part of a very successful Development quad. Winning the competition for 2 years in a row and in the top four the following year. With our third son now playing an active role in premier level rugby at Te Puke Sports, its great to have been given an opportunity to take on the role of the Premier manager along with Flexi’s help with the Prem team.

For me It’s all about giving  back to a game that I’m pretty passionate about.

Jason Kahika – Head Coach Development Team

Jason grew up in the eastern BOP township of Opotiki before shifting to Shannon in the Horowhenua. From there the family moved to Gisborne where he attended Kiati Primary and Gisborne Boys High.  Having re-located to Opotiki and become an enthusiastic club player, Jason put his mind to coaching.  His first experience of senior level coaching came with his appointment to Counties Māori team and a position as Counties B operations-manager.  Jason was responsible for taking these teams through to competition winners over a period of 3 seasons.  During this period he played for Karaka, a Counties premier division club in South Auckland.

Moving to Raglan as player-coach of the Development side, Jason lifted the team through to Premier Division where it remains.

Moving to the Sunshine Coast in Australia he coached the University team at both colts and senior level – at times simultaneously!  During this period Jason coached both Premier men’s and women’s sides with outstanding success.

More recently Jason has coached locally at Papamoa and Te Puke.  He coached Papamoa college 1st XV and lifted Papamoa seniors to 1st Division championship winners.

Te Puke Sports members will remember with great pride the Development team win over Tauranga Sports to take the 2020 WBORU championship.  Look at these statistics………..

  • 2nd Baywide round of 12
  • Top qualifier Baywide round of 8
  • Baywide champions beating Tauranga Sports 10 – 8 in the final.
  • 4th Baywide win in 8 years
  • Won  16  games lost 2 Drew 1
  • Points for  591  against  249

 Jason Kahika, an outstanding coach.