Find your Front: Te Aroha Eels creating a mana enhancing space to embrace haka

Te Aroha Eels Prem Reserves team wearing the Find Your Front training tops to raise the awareness of mental wellbeing across the rugby league community.

Te Aroha Eels Rugby League Club are championing Find Your Front throughout the local rugby league community – last weekend as part of their mana whenua round, they used the practice of haka to support their wellbeing. Te Aroha’s two men’s teams along with several supporters and whānau performed their haka, newly created by Wiremu Moeahu (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Awa).  

The term ‘find your front’ in Rugby League refers to the intent of landing on your front when making contact with the opposition to get the best advantage when playing the ball. New Zealand Rugby League have re-framed finding your front as a way to build resilience and promote open kōrero and striving to break the silence surrounding mental wellbeing in the Rugby League community.

Read more about Find your Front: Wellington Rugby League prioritises wellbeing, ensuring player can thrive both on and off the field

Te Aroha’s haka embodies strength, unity and resilience, providing players with a powerful outlet to connect with their emotions enhance their mana, something that will get passed down to future generations of the club too. During haka practices, there were times where tamariki from the local kura have become the tuakana, teaching their dads and uncles.

Te Aroha Eels performing their haka led by Mohi Aupouri, with the next generation proudly standing up front. Video credit – Marama Puketapu

Whakapapa is the life force of the club, so it’s important that the maunga, awa and marae surrounding their home ground Te Whiti Park are acknowledged.

Having this at the forefront allows everyone to draw inspiration, strength and courage. It gives the team, their whānau and wider hapori a sense of belonging regardless of where they are from.

“When we represent Te Aroha, we represent Waiwhetū, therefore we are Pukeatua Maunga, we are Waiwhetū Awa, we are our wharenui Arohanui ki te tangata. Although the club is based at Waiwhetū and the iwi is Te Āti Awa, we hold strong to the whakaaro of our wharenui, the raukura and our whakapapa links to Parihaka, that our club is for all iwi, all people” says Noel Woods (Te Ātiawa, Porou, Ngā Ruahinerangi).