There have been a lot of changes at the Mt Wellington Rugby Football Club in recent years. 

They merged with Te Papapa Onehunga. That merger dissolved. One thing is certain however, the club is here, and here to stay.

Mt Wellington Rugby Football Club is this week’s Nestle Club of the Week.

Operations Manager Jeff Mcintyre said that when the split from Te Papapa Onehunga was finalised the club had to refocus.

“We did a complete review of what we wanted and where we want to go. 

“One major thing came out was that we had disconnected from our community and stakeholders,” said Mcintyre.

The club has become increasingly more active in their local community since that time.

“Our plan started with rebranding the club and connecting back with our community. We brought in an RDO who has developed programmes within primary schools and we now have six schools playing in our inter-school rippa, touch and tag tournaments during the year,” said Mcintyre.

Premier coach Doug Sanft has also been busy at secondary school level.

“We have developed links to six secondary schools as part of the strategic plan to develop all grades along with recruitment plans to see us complete our goals. Our focus is in building to the future and to become a strength in Auckland Rugby," said Mcintyre.

The club has recently sold their clubrooms at Hamlin Park and are currently in the process of working with the council to move to the other facility situated at the Hamlin Park grounds.

Mcintyre said the sale helps with their financial position and gives them confidence to focus on the rugby.

He hopes to see the club add an Under 20 and First grade team to their club in 2018.

“Contrary to popular belief we are still here and aim to be here for a long time to come.”