Rugby: Success sweet for village kinsmen | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

To many of the spectators at the Hawke's Bay Colts rugby final a fortnight ago it may not have been a big deal.

But when SportToday saw 2009 All Black Bryn Evans and two of his Havelock North premier team clubmates Luke Ottley and Davis Norman running the water bottles out in pouring rain and muddy conditions for their colts who upset Hastings Rugby and Sports 6-0 it summed up the villagers' "family" approach to the season.

It's an approach that was the key to Havelock North's winning the Black and White Shield for Hawke's Bay's top club for the second consecutive year. It's an approach that led to the club's premiers winning the Maddison Trophy 53-10 over Taradale in the final, the biggest winning margin for a final. The approach also saw the club's development and Colts sides win their competitions and the division three side reach the semifinals.

Club co-ordinator Paul McCarthy recalled his chat with premier team captain Norman after the Colts final. "Davis commented the word family is often used lightly, but in reality is hard to back-up - we can as a club have no problems in calling ourselves family."

McCarthy pointed out the Havelock Colts coach Tom Blake had asked Norman and Ottley to help out and Evans "just turned up". "Bryn epitomises the Havelock family. He is a former All Black and still a Super player and a Magpie, but every spare moment Bryn has he will be helping out at the club ... you saw him in his No1s on Maddison Trophy final day helping out the prems," said McCarthy.

While its the first time Havelock have won back-to-back Black and White Shield titles it may also be the first time a club has won three Bay competitions and reached the semifinals in another in one season.

The Mike Sisam-captained development grade side has scored back-to-back wins in their Hawke's Bay competition during the last two seasons winning four trophies and losing just one game.

Co-club captain Tony Waites coaches the development side. Both he and Blake were made life members of the club at the recent prize-giving. Waites' father Ken is the club patron and his son Chris clocked up 50 games for the prems during the season.

McCarthy pointed out the success of the club has been based on a "work in progress" plan.

The club has been increasing performance levels based on targets set three years.

These levels include on-field and off-field strategies and since those targets were set Havelock North have won seven of the 12 competitions entered.

While there's no doubt the club boasts plenty of talented players there's no shortage of depth among the administrators or the various coaching teams.

Blake, Waites, McCarthy, premier team manager Conrad Waitoa and club chairman Mark Harris can all be proud of what they do behind the scenes.

Although head coach of the premiers, Joe Snee, won't be available his assistants Simon "Cowboy" Halford and Murdoch Paewai will be.

"Even if All Blacks coach Graham Henry applied he would miss out to those two," said McCarthy.

Contrary to a common belief in the Hawke's Bay rugby fraternity Havelock North don't pay their premier players.

"We believe our attitude has been partly responsible for the on-going success of the club over the past 15 years.

"Our attitude is all players will be treated equal and if a player wants to progress to the next level he will earn an income at that level.

"At the same time money will not buy knowledge - learning from the right people will," said McCarthy.

SportToday couldn't let McCarthy go without asking the question. Is a three-peat of Black and White Shield titles possible?

"If we miss out it won't be through a lack of trying," he replied.

If the shield doesn't return to the club's trophy cabinet next year it's bound to do so again in the not-so-distant future. The club's junior convenor Gary Revell and his band of helpers were responsible for 480 registered players this year ... the Havelock North club's "family" continues to grow.