This much anticipated fundraising rugby game was first scheduled to be played at Whakatane's Rugby Park in April 2020, however like a lot of planned events, Covid-19 put this event into the 'postponed' basket. However, Zespri still wanted to bring the Parliamentary Rugby Team to Whakatane and committed to their original vision and some. Financial support came from a number of other industry suppliers that work alongside Zespri, like the Ports of Tauranga, who all eagerly jumped on board to offer some practical and financial help to the NZ based victims and first responders. This fund will provide financial assistance to meet the medium to long term needs of families involved in the eruption of December 2019, and those needs not covered by Government agencies, as well as provide funding for training opportunities for the largely volunteer based organisations that were (and are) first on the scene for all incidents/disasters in our region. 

Our thanks go to Matt & Ida Te Pou & The Marist Rugby Club for being the hosts, providing welcoming hospitality, Chris and Arlene Robson for a very successful auction following the game, George Rogers for marking out and managing Rugby Park and to Micheal Fox, Amy Porter and the Zespri Team for their total committment to making this event a memorable one and a very successful fundraiser for the Whakaari Fund. There were many businesses who willingly offered goods and experiences for the auction, which together with the koha taken at the gate, raised $50,000 for the fund.