Whetu Henry still going strong at 150 Premier games

"As long as I can run straight I will keep on playing," Whetu Henry enthuses ahead of his 150th game for Oriental Rongotai on Saturday. The captain of the Magpies laughs, "I gave away the side step five years ago and it's improved my running game."

Tighthead prop Henry's first game was a disaster!

"It was against MSP in 2007 I think. I marked Arden David-Perrot who was a really good prop. He played for Wellington and gave me a hiding," Henry laments.

Unfortunately losing was a common habit in Henry's early days at Ories. In 2007 Ories was demoted to the Hardham Cup and they didn't crack the Jubilee Cup semi-finals until 2011.

"Ories has always been a family club. In 2010 we had 14 Rongotai College players in the team. In 2010 Phil Proctor became the coach and he started to attract talent from other schools. We got James Proctor from St. Pats Town and Hunter Prescott from Scots College. We are in the Eastern Suburbs where Poneke, Wellington and MSP are all competing for the same talent. Once we started to attract talent from other schools we improved," Henry explains.

Henry himself is an old boy of Rongotai College and his two seasons in the First XV in 2003 and 2004 had a profound impact on his rugby. In 2003 Rongotai College won the Premier One championship beating Wellington College 25-23 in the final. His cousin Jimmy Taikato ("Jimmy T") would prove to be a precursor to Alex Fidow.

"Jimmy was huge and could run. We would give him the ball off lineouts and he would bowl people over and score. In the final he scored two tries and bowled over Michael Hobbs (Highlanders) for the winning try. My favourite bump off was the one he did on Faifili Levave (Hurricanes, Chiefs and Samoa) against St. Pats Town."

"I remember he scored a try in one game in his socks. The defenders went low for the grass cutting tackle and ended up removing Jimmy's boots. Another time against St. Pat's Silverstream there was a break in play and he went over to the BBQ on the sideline ate a sausage and rejoined the scrum," Henry laughs.

"Jimmy T" would have his rugby ambitions curtailed by a knee injury while Henry would rapture an ACL at school forcing him to think about a contingency plan.

"All I wanted to be at Rongotai was a professional rugby player. When I had the ACL injury my Mum told me in no uncertain terms that I needed a back-up plan."

Henry is a Maori and social studies teacher at St Catherine's College.

"I don't think a lot about milestones, but what they show the boy is if I can do it they can. I don't talk a lot at training, but on the field I change. I want them to know I have their backs."

What about the referees?

"Contrary to popular belief I get on well with the referees. I am polite to them, but they all know who I am. I think they give me a little leeway now because I am an old fella," Henry laughs.

The Mana Henry carries has been acknowledged by the Wellington selectors. He has played 12 games for the Lions and though immensely proud to represent his province professional rugby is no long the sole focus.

"My highlight of playing for Wellington was my first game against Taranaki when I played alongside Dane Coles and Neemia Tialata and we won. It was special to help anchor the scrum alongside two All Blacks. I enjoyed my time with the Lions, but I found rugby as a job challenging. I enjoy rugby for rugby," Henry says.

Ories won the Jubilee Cup in 2011 and have been semi-finalists for the last four years. Henry played every game except the final of the meritorious 2011 campaign.

"I was gutted to miss the final because of a pectoral injury. However it was a great team to be a part of. We were a very tight-knit unit and nobody was expecting us to do anything, a bit similar to now. North's was a dynasty back then so to break their run of championships was awesome."

Henry laughs watching a player wake up in the sawdust pit in a pile of tackle bags was even better. However his biggest highlight at Ories was playing alongside his brother Jarred Henry.

"Ories is a family club. I remember in one game we had seven pairs of family in the team. The Proctor's father and grandfather played for Ories. My great mentor Lui Aukuso is the uncle of Paulo Aukuso. We have had the Reddish's pass through and Ardie and Julian Savea's father played for the prems so for my family to graduate to the top was really special," Henry says.

Henry identifies Upper Hutt's Apa Heemi as the toughest opponent he has marked in club rugby. The prison officer at Rimutaka shares his mutual respect.

"Whetu is a good man and a tough opponent. He is smart and very quick to indentify weakness. He doesn't talk much at the start of the game, but he soon dominants conversation. I first played with Whetu for the Wellington Maori. We became good friends", Hemi acclaims.

In his spare time Henry enjoys coaching rugby, playing basketball and touch. He is involved in Kapa Haka and is a capable guitar player.

His former high school coach and long-time Ories stalwart Dave Meaclem was keen to share some thoughts.

"Whetu is a leader in every sense of the word. There are captains who are the best player in the team or good rugby leaders, but Whetu leads on and off the field and that makes him stand out from his peers. I remember Grant Dearns came to a First XV practice at Rongotai College one time. Dearns is a wrestler who later became the strength and conditioning coach for Hawke's Bay. He challenged the boys to a wrestle and Whetu gave him a hiding. Whenever I would touch base with Grant he would always ask if Whetu was keen to come and play for the Magpies. Whetu is a strong, awesome bloke and the one of the great characters of our club and Wellington rugby."