A massive amount when that individual is as talented as Cromwell’s Hayden Todd, who guided his team to a dramatic 21-20 victory over Arrowtown at Jack Reid Park when the Central Otago premier club competition kicked off on Thursday night.
Todd, 32, decided he would come back out of retirement to help boost his Cromwell club, which had a shocker of a season in 2025, and also because he considered he still had something to offer.
Since helping Cromwell become the dominant force in Central Otago club rugby from 2019 to 2022, Todd has represented North Otago from the Kurow club, from where he twice won selection for the New Zealand Heartland XV.
He then coached the Cromwell College First XV, and a couple of his proteges were playing alongside him against Arrowtown on Thursday night.
Todd not only had the Arrowtown defence on full alert every time he handled the ball at second five but he was summoned to take the critical penalty kick at the death with his team trailing 20-18, the team’s goal-kicker having been sinbinned.
The clock at the ground indicated the game ran over by eight minutes, meaning either it or the referee was out of sync.
It mattered not to Todd as he safely landed the goal from 35m.
He declared later he could not remember the last time he had kicked for goal in a match, but records show he scored a whopping 42 points against Cromwell’s second team, the Cavaliers, in 2022, from four tries and 11 conversions.
Cromwell led Arrowtown 18-10 with 20 minutes to play before the home team, under new coach Aidan Winter, came roaring back with thrilling tries to Damian Ratty and captain Ryan Egerton.
But two missed conversions left the door ajar for Cromwell.
Wakatipu pulled off a convincing 36-12 victory over Alexandra at Molyneux Park, centre Rube Peina contributing 21 points from two tries and five goals.
‘‘Rube’s the man,’’ new coach Tom Cunningham said.
‘‘He’s a big-game player who can make something out of nothing.’’
Two of Wakatipu’s tries were scored by their Wakatipu High School graduate, winger Harry Walker-Leach.
So many players cramped at this early stage of the season that golden oldie scrums applied for the final stages of the match.
- Bob Howitt
