Corey Kennett: Horowhenua Kapiti CEO on their Heartland Championship match going ahead at Eden Park

Horowhenua Kapiti will take its round six Heartland Championship rugby match against South Canterbury to Auckland's Eden Park. 

Union CEO Corey Kennett joined Adam Cooper to explain the reason for the shift, and the hard work involved in getting the match across the line. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
From Grassroots to gold Bells. It's the All Sport break
Best with rutherv and Bon Toyota and Ben Toyota on
NEWSGSB NEWSGSB on the All Sport Breakfast seven away from
eight Well Heartland Championship Rugby. Now hot A Fenoa Carpety,
you have decided that in three weeks time, instead of
their home game against South Canterbury at Levindo, Maine, they're
going to move it up to Auckland's Eden Park. All

(00:23):
about giving players the experience of running out onto the
Fort tresne Zelands National Stadium. Let's head to hot A
Fenomic Company now there, CEO Corey Kennett is with us.
Morning to you, Corey. How did this all come to be?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, good morning mate. So we've been working on this
for several years now and for someone like this, for
a game like this to occur, you do need many
stars to align scheduling from multiple positions, divisions, time timings
and so forth. We've played quite a few games and

(00:58):
large venues in the past and the whole driver for
it is to provide experiences for our community, a rugby community.
I'm sure the players it's experiences that they won't be
able to replicate, but it's also for their coaching staff,
the wider community. The supporters absolutely love it and we've

(01:19):
played north Otarget at Forsyth Bar, Why Bush it at
sky Stonemy a few times. In fact, the last big
one was South Canterbury at sky Stadium, so that's the
reason behind it. And Eden Park, well, it's just amazing,
isn't it. It's the most iconic ragby ground in New
Zealand and as an athlete, if you're ever able to

(01:42):
play on there as a rugby player, I think you've
for specially for someone in the heartland level, you're going
to be pretty hard to beat that as a life
high experience.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, and quite an interesting history hot of Fedo a
company has had at Aden Park, hasn't it. There's been
shield challenges and all sorts.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Not too much history in the w column, but yes,
and I can tell you I kept up with some
of those people who have been lucky enough to be
involved in those games and that was part of the
bearing on trying to make this happen because as we
said previously, it was a career high for them just

(02:23):
to be able to do that. So year, the fourth
time twenty four years since since the last time, so yeah,
so quite amazing to be going back. I spoke to
the team last night and told them just before we
send out the press release, and they were absolutely cockerhood.
They're just rapped with the opportunity. Look at till the

(02:45):
Heartline Competition game, and our goal was obviously stilled to
win the game, as it would be if we hear,
but it's just given an extra spring and an extra
motivation springing the step and motivation for the boys.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Just in general. You know, we're a couple of route
rounds into twenty twenty four Cory the health of the
competition and the Union Holo Finild companty in particular. We're
seeing more games televised now in this competition. We're the
things that a stand from your standpoint, having been involved
in the wider rugby scene for for many years in the.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Area, look good good in general the Heartland Competition. If
I start with ourselves, you know what I love about
this competition is every year you have a new back
to debutants. We've had eight new debutants this year and
three returning. That means guys that haven't played for a
few years. You know, when you see the debutants take

(03:38):
the field and you see the pride they have and
achieving that, but also the pride in the jersey. That's
pretty special and that's great to be part of a
young person's start. I'm now seeing guys come to the
end that are getting up to seventy eighty games who
I saw as a debutant. So great to be part
of that heartland competition. Wider, Yeah, well, it's always good.

(04:04):
The fact that we incorporate all of the smaller venues
in New Zealand make the hilland competition quite amazing and
quite unique when you when you know you plan in
places like Westport or we've got a game and against
Team's Valley this year and fits younger. That's pretty cool.
That's that's a unique experience. We've got our challenges. We're

(04:26):
an amateur competition, so we're fighting some unions are deciding
to fund their players where they shouldn't and so we
just got to keep bringing people into line to keep
the integrity of our competition strong and pure and as
long as we stay in our lane. When we're talking
about the wider ecosystem, there is obviously sustainability, the issues

(04:49):
and the divisions above. But as long as Heartland stays
amateur and isn't isn't sucked into that payment of players,
then we'll we'll be here forever. Heart will survive because
of the.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Grounding that it is awesome, Corey, absolutely, and you do
a wonderful job keeping that in tact to Corey Kennet,
the CEO of Hot offinow a company they play West
Coast down in Graymouth Today. For more from News Talk
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