New look Premier Men for 2025

New look Premier Men's side in 2025

Marist St Pats embarks on the new season of Swindale Shield rugby with a new coach, new captain and a number of new faces in the Premier side.

While there will be connections to be built and playbooks to learn - this is a team that has been well prepared for the upcoming season. Anyone who has attended trainings - whether it be off season in November or preseason in February - the players in attendance have been diligently supported by the coaching and management team.

The season's preparations started in earnest in October, when Director of Rugby Sean Horan and the Rugby Sub-Committee appointed Jason Adamson as Horan's successor as Premier Head Coach.

Jason has implemented a regimented programme supported by his assistant coaches, specialist coaches, management and other specialists. All in all, he is pleased with the preparation of the team:

'Our preseason campaign has been an incredible boost for our rugby programme, both on and off the field, as we gear up for the upcoming season.

A special thanks to our Strength and Conditioning Coach, Daniel Rodgers, and Dietitian, Rachel Desmond, who have done an outstanding job preparing our players. Additionally, our rugby subcommittee and coaching staff have maintained high standards throughout the preparation, providing invaluable support for the programme.'

On the field, the preseason has taken the squad to Spillane Cup in Hamilton; to Fielding to play one of Manawatu's strongest clubs, Fielding Yellows; along with a local fixture against Johnsonville.

'The preseason campaign has given me the opportunity to observe and learn a lot about the players who will take the field. It has provided me with a strong sense of their abilities and how they conduct themselves, both on and off the field.'

The players Jason refers to include a number of new faces. While the side lost a number of players overseas and to other regions, recruitment has been strong with players buying into the vision created by the coaching team and Marist St Pats Management Committee.

One of the new faces is Jake Wetere who will lead the team in his first season at the club. The former Nelson Marist captain played at Johnsonville last season with Jason and has made the move back to his Marist roots.

'Our captain, Jake Wetere, is an incredibly experienced player who strives for excellence in every aspect of his game. He knows exactly what it takes to lead a successful team.

Isaia Petelo will serve as our vice-captain. Isaia brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having tasted success with Marist before. He understands the demands of leadership and what it takes to win. I’m excited to see both of them lead us into the 2025 season.'

Other new faces the pair will lead on the field include first five Luke Kapene, who recently won a Swindale Shield at Paremata-Plimmerton; and Jayde Burns, a St Pat's Old Boy and Wellington U20 representative who played his first Premier season at Norths last year.

They will be joined by other young representative players Taufa Kaufononga and Ben Higgs who will be looking to build on strong 2024 seasons at Marist St Pats.

Then there is a strong recruitment out of local colleges that has seen a number of Wellington Under 20s representatives join the club for their first season of club rugby. These Under 20 reps include Cazna Sale, Preston Moananu and Dante Ford-Tueve - all exciting prosects.

With the Swindale Shield kicking off this Saturday, hosting Poneke at Evans Bay Park, we asked Jason what the Evans Bay faithful can expect from his side in 2025.

'Supporters can expect to see continued growth, building on the progress made last year. We aim to bring an exciting blend of fast-paced play and the robust flair that Marist is known for, where settling for second place is simply not an option.'

Join us sideline at Evans Bay Park on Saturday or tune into our livestream on Facebook if you're out of town. The clubrooms will be open post-match and we look forward to reconnecting after the summer!

Photos in this story are taken by Barry Stead.

Gains and Losses
Gains		Losses
Jake Wetere	Johnsonville	Milan Kriletich	Auckland
Jayde Burns	Northern United	Rique Miln	Otago
Luke Kapene	Australia	Keelan Whitman	Australia
Isaia Petelo	Year off - injury	Grayson Whitman	Waikato
Ryan Dafel	Year off - injury	Ivan Fepuleai	Australia
Luke Donaldson	Year off - travel	Jack O'Brien	Waikato
Tui Tuiatua	Wellington	Sam Connor	England
Alex Morrissey	Poneke	Sagele Aukusitino	Australia
Broch McCallum	Scotland	Eamonn Carr	Australia
Daniel Leone	Tawa	Nick Harrison	Retired
Ben Gardiner	Otago	Shane Thompstone	Retired
Max Ireland	Year off	Rich Downey	Retired
Milan Peterson	HOBM	Tom Gordon	Auckland
Solomona Vaka	Old Boys-University	Elysium Tolova'a-Stanley	Wainuiomata
Jordan Newsome	Otago	Viliame Saukuru	Fiji
Boaz Ikahihifo	Auckland	Fionn Gilbert	Ireland
Cazna Sale	Palmerston North Boys High	Joe Aston	England
Corban King	Wellington College
Preston Moananu	St Patrick's College, Silverstream
Max Reynolds	St Patrick's College, Wellington
Dante Ford-Tuveve	St Patrick's College, Wellington