New Brighton Rugby

 AARON McCOY – 200^th GAME

Aaron McCoy will be playing his 200^th Premier game for the Club this Saturday against Belfast, a milestone he was due to achieve last season before succumbing to injury.

This is milestone achieved by very few players, and few would argue that Aaron deserves to reach this milestone after the stellar service he has provided to the Club. What makes it an even more significant achievement is that Azza would have played 80 minutes for virtually all of those games!

 Aaron played for Shirley Boys High, followed by a year at Colts for Linwood in 2003 before seeing the light and coming to us in 2004 where he linked up with his old SBHS coaches, Craig Philpott and Glenn Fyall in the Premier squad. He has remained a cornerstone of the Premier team ever since, except for the 2007-08 seasons when he was in Japan.

 From the moment he arrived, he brought a real aggression, no real sense of respect for his body and the pain he put it through, and an absolute desire to do everything he could for team. His aggression, and willingness to engage in verbal battles on the field, often made him a target for opposition teams and he copped more that his fair share of miss-treatment over his career. It was hard to believe how he kept on playing given some of the treatment he got in various games. It is fair to say that Azza has had his fair share of controversary over his career, but for all that, we are so lucky to have him in our Club and not the opposition!

Azza is the latest in a line of fantastic no.8’s I have seen playing for the Club over many years including John Te Amo and Peter McLaren. He certainly deserves to be mentioned alongside these men, and Ian Penrose, when the Club debates the best No.8’s in the Club’s history.

I have been privileged to be involved with the Division One/Premier squad for over 20 years and have seen virtually every one of Aaron’s games. I have been fortunate to get to know many very special players over that time, and Azza would be right up there with a number I truly respect for the pride and passion they bring when wearing the jersey. He has been a key figure in the much-improved results for the Club over the last 20 years and so good to see he got the reward of a Championship success in 2013.

Here is Azza’s playing record. He has scored 260 points for the Premier team over this career. 

KIA KAHA

Wayne Turner