Club celebrates Tuli’s milestone
Teni Tuli was big on family and big on his beloved Linwood Rugby League Club.
He treated the club as a family and was always wanting everyone to be together and happy.
Even after his sudden death last week, Tuli is still bringing the club together.
Hundreds turned out to Linwood Park on Saturday to celebrate what would have been Tuli’s 300th match for Linwood.
Marsden Mateni Tuli, 42, known as Teni, died of a suspected heart attack at training on Tuesday night. He had just told his teammates that Saturday’s game would be his last.
It has been a tough week for the tight-knit club but, just as Tuli would have loved, they have found strength in each other.
Linwood captain Agaese Fiso was a teammate of Tuli’s for many years. He said there was a feeling that Tuli was still there in spirit.
‘‘It’s felt like that for the last couple of days, ever since Tuesday, really,’’ Fiso said.
A gathering of flowers in one corner and a crowd lining the sidelines several deep made it obvious Saturday’s match was no ordinary club game.
The result was an emphatic 46-8 upset win to Linwood but the scoreline was never the motivation.
‘‘There’s been a change in a few of us boys this week, just realising that life is too short when you have someone like that who goes way too soon,’’ Fiso said. ‘‘It puts everything into context and shows us what is really important.’’
Tuli’s wife, Jazz, and their children were presented with a plaque to recognise the 300-game achievement after the one-sided win.
In a moving ceremony, the players circled the family and performed the team song.
Jazz Tuli told the players how proud she was of them for their courage to take the field and their outstanding performance.
A popular figure, Tuli’s work within the club was even more valuable than his blockbusting runs and crunching defence.
‘‘[Saturday] was all about honouring a great man,’’ Fiso said. ‘‘For what he has done for our seniors, our youth and our juniors and most of all family. He was a real family man.’’
Tuli’s son, Uriah 12, led the Linwood premiers out through an emotional guard of honour.
He was wearing his father’s number 12 jersey that the club have now retired in recognition of an incredible career that started back in 1994.
Linwood manager Ian Gamblin said many former Linwood players had travelled from as far as Australia to be there to celebrate Tuli’s milestone.
He said Tuli’s brother, George, home from Australia, turned out for the Linwood senior B side in the curtain-raiser and their mother was there to watch the match.
Tuli will be laid to rest on Wednesday. Banks Peninsula residents are meeting with police as they refuse to let street racing, burn outs and boy racer gatherings blight their communities.
More than 40 inner harbour residents from Governors Bay, Diamond Harbour, Rapaki and Cass Bay are expected to meet with members of the Canterbury road policing team today to find solutions to the problem.
Governors Bay resident and meeting organiser Rosie Belton said boy racers had become a major issue during the past 18 months on two main routes around the peninsula.
‘‘It’s something that has been around for a long time but it’s worsening, and seems unaffected by any moves that the police may have been making. There’s got to be a new way of dealing with it.’’
Belton said boy racers were endangering residents and tourists with drifting, gathering and racing on popular routes and tourist stopping points. They had caused many sleepless nights.
‘‘We are unsafe on our roads if you’re coming back from town anywhere after 9 o’clock at night. There are near-misses all the time.’’
Residents would share their concerns and suggest ideas about how the issue could be addressed, Belton said.
Some community suggestions included reducing the speed on Dyers Pass Rd to 70kmh, lowering 100kmh sections of the road between Governors Bay and Lyttelton to 70kmh, stricter enforcement of the 50kmh speed limit through Governors Bay and ensuring late night phone calls were picked up by local police.
The meeting will be at the Governors Bay Hotel from 7pm today.
In 2010, the Christchurch City Council created a bylaw that bans cars from cruising on some Christchurch streets at set times, with offenders facing a fine of up to $1000. It includes the once popular avenues – Deans, Bealey, Harper, Fitzgerald and Moorhouse – surrounding the central city.
A small team of officers is dedicated full time to monitoring boy racer activities in Christchurch.