Inside the Hautapu clubrooms with the Hong Kong China rugby team
When Hong Kong China flanker Tyler McNutt walked into the Hautapu Sports Club with some of his teammates last week, he made a beeline for a photo hanging on the wall.
Tyler McNutt, second left, in front of the 2023 championship winning Hautapu photo, with Hong Kong China teammates Zacceus Cinnamond, Tommy Hill and Max Threkeld. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
It was the Waikato championship-winning Hautapu premier rugby team of 2023, with McNutt pictured alongside current All Black Simon Parker.
The two are now on track to line up on opposite sides when Hong Kong China meets New Zealand in its Rugby World Cup pool match in Melbourne next year.
The side has been drawn with New Zealand, Australia and Chile for its World Cup debut. Its opening match against host nation Australia in Perth will kick off the tournament.
McNutt’s return to Cambridge came the night after Hong Kong China’s 24-22 win over Waikato in Te Awamutu in difficult winter conditions.
The visit to Hautapu gave the touring side a chance to experience a traditional New Zealand club environment. They took time to look through the honours boards, jerseys and photos on display, including Parker’s All Blacks jersey which now hangs in the clubrooms. Parker made his international debut against Argentina in Buenos Aires last year.
McNutt, 23, was born in Hong Kong but came through the New Zealand system, playing for Hamilton Boys’ High School and Hautapu. He studied psychology at Waikato University.
He first represented Hong Kong China at age-grade level, making his debut at the 2023 World Rugby Under-20 Trophy in Kenya, where the side faced teams including Spain, Samoa and host nation Kenya.
His selection came about by chance. Hong Kong China coach Logan Asplin had coached him at Hamilton Boys’ High School but was unaware of his birthplace.
Serving a feed for the visitors at Hautapu, from left Holly Ridgway, Gaby Douglas and Veronica Huxtable. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
“He had no idea I was born in Hong Kong until he was having a beer with someone else from New Zealand who just happened to mention it,” McNutt said.
The call-up meant he missed Hautapu’s push for the championship title, something he followed from a distance, but he was back in time to be included in the official team photograph.
He now plays for Hong Kong Football Club in the Hong Kong Premiership, and his first test came in the 58-12 loss to Portugal in Lisbon in November last year.
For McNutt, it was a familiar setting, but for many of his teammates it was something new.
Technical director Andrew Douglas, who coached the 2023 Hautapu team and previously managed the sports’ club, said the visit showed his players a side of rugby they do not often see.
“It’s a place I’m really proud of,” he said.
“It’s the people who make it. I’ve got a lot out of being part of this club.”
Douglas said clubrooms like Hautapu’s are rare in Hong Kong.
“The boys walk in and go straight to the photos and jerseys,” he said.
“That history and sense of community is something New Zealand is lucky to have.”
Waipā mayor Mike Pettit welcomed the team, and caught up with Asplin whose wife Anna taught at Cambridge Primary School when Pettit was principal.
The Hautapu All Black jerseys, from left Keith Arnold (1947), Todd Miller (1997), Keith Lowen (2002), Regan King (2002), Liam Messam (2008-2015), Tawera Kerr-Barlow (2012-2017), Luke Jacobson (2019 – present) and Simon Parker (2025 – present). Missing is Ollie Norris (2025).
“Every team you play, every country you go to, you’re learning,” Pettit said.
The team presented two signed jerseys, one to Pettit and one to Hautapu Rugby Club, along with a plaque.
Players then shared a meal with club members and supporters.
Douglas said the squad had enjoyed reconnecting with New Zealand, where many of the players have links through schooling or time spent playing the game.
The Hong Kong China side has built momentum in recent seasons, culminating in qualification for the World Cup.
From Cambridge, the team travelled on to South America to face Samoa, Chile and Uruguay in the Nations Cup.
For McNutt, the international tour was a chance to reconnect with the club where part of that global journey started.
See: Waikato pipped at the post
Inside the Hautapu clubrooms with the Hong Kong China rugby team are from left, Waipā mayor Mike Pettit, team captain New Zealand born Josh Hrstich who played for Petone and in Ireland, technical director Andrew Douglas and Hautapu club president Dave Simes. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
