Going the Distance to Support Matatā Rugby

Matatā Rugby and Sports Club inc senior men's coach will run from Rotorua to Matatā this Friday to raise funds for the club.

Coach George Playle decided mid-February, he would be running from Rotorua to Matatā on Good Friday. 

After running the 50km Tawera Ultra-Trail earlier this year, Playle knew he could he could run further and saw an opportunity to fundraise for the Matatā Rugby and Sports Club (MRSC). 

"I've never run this far before, although this run has been in the back of my mind for a while," he said. 

"Some people are actually like, 'What the hell are you doing that for?' but I suppose, asking for donations, I didn't want to do something small."

As a small club, MRSC relies on donations to provide new gear. 

"Usually we struggle most seasons and it's usually just one or two of the same people helping us out every season."

"Not because they can, but just because if they don't, we pretty much won't have anything," he said.

With the donations from his run, Playle hopes to replace the 20-year-old tackle bags, reduce financial pressure on players and whānau, and reinvest in the club.  

"We've managed to get a team every week, but we struggle for numbers and I suppose that's another reason I've done this fundraiser."

"It's hard for us to get players when we don't have much resources to offer to people who want to come along and play."

He hopes the new gear will bring in new players, and help strengthen the team in the coming years.

Matatā Rugby Club Senior Men's Coach George Playle will be running 72.5km on Good Friday

The support for the cause has been overwhelmingly positive, Playle said. 

"As soon as I put it out there, I think within a couple of minutes, I started getting messages just to say it's an awesome cause and people straight away came to help us out."

He said the run has brought the whole community together. 

"I've had people, who live in Marata, who live in Australia, and elsewhere reach out and just say it's cool what we're doing and they're keen to support the club."

It feels like the community "believes in us again," he said.

With less than six weeks to prepare, Playle has been trying to run 30km each week between work and a busy home life.  

On Friday, he will be supported by a number of people throughout his run. 

Running the full distance beside him will be Keegan Mitchell from the Rotorua Good Day Run Club. 

The pair will be followed the full distance by close whānau, before the senior men's rugby team and the Matatā netball team join the run for the last 10 to 20km. 

Playle and Matatā Rugby Club will be posting updates on Facebook. 

He encourages anyone who wants to donate to get in touch via the Matatā Rugby and Sports Club Inc Facebook page.