17 May 2010

South Sydney Rabbitohs hooker Issac Luke is preparing for a homecoming of sorts this Sunday, even though he originates from a town 416 kilometres away from Mt Smart Stadium.

Luke says that many of his supporters from his home town of Hawera in New Zealand’s north island will make their way to Auckland for the clash between the Rabbitohs and the Warriors, however it may take them a little while to get there due to the tyranny of distance.

“Yeah there’s a bus load coming to the game so I’ve got to try and sort out some tickets,” Luke said with a big cheeky grin.

“I know of about 12 people that are coming. Everyone likes to get over for the game. They’re all Rabbitohs fans now and it’s turned into a bit of a League town now.

“Hawera is about five or six hours from Auckland.

“They will come up during the week and stay there to watch the game.”

Luke says that Hawera, with a population of just 11,000, was a town dominated by the 15-a-side football code, but it doesn’t seem to be that way anymore.

“It was a Rugby town and sometimes I had to play just to get a game,” Luke said.

“We were one of the first town’s to have a League team. Financially we couldn’t play anything but Rugby for a while.

“I’ve got a mate that’s in the Otago Highlanders (Super XIV Rugby) side, and he was a League player. He was probably better than I was.

“It just goes to show that there is a lot of talent around home.”

There does seem to be a lot of talent to come out of Hawera with Western Force Rugby Coach and former All Blacks Coach John Mitchell, and professional golfer Michael Campbell, listed as elite sportspeople to have been born in the second-largest town in the Taranaki region.

Luke says he has a chance to play in front of a large number of family and friends and to make them proud, somehow suggesting that his achievements so far have not quite hit the spot.

“Every game is a different game, not just the one’s we play back home,” Luke said at All Sorts Fitness and Wellbeing Centre this afternoon once the Rabbitohs had completely their weekly regeneration session.

“I get a chance to try and impress my family somehow on Sunday.

“They tell me they are proud of me but hopefully I can play better this week. I feel like I’ve still got a lot of improvement to come.”

The Rabbitohs will take on the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium this Sunday 23 May at 4pm local time (2pm Sydney AEST). To pre-purchase tickets click here. Alternatively those in Australia can watch the game live on Fox Sports 2 HD and Fox Sports 2 or listen to the game on 2GB 873AM.