In August 2021, Hautapu Sports lost a friend, teammate and club man in Matt Caldwell.
A year on, Ryan Yelavich pays this tribute …
One year ago, our club and everyone who knew Matt lost a great man.
Matt epitomized what it meant to be a great club man. Matt came to Hautapu in 2014 from the Cambridge High 1st XV after playing his first-ever rugby season.
Matt enjoyed his first two years at the club playing for the Hautapu Colts team making plenty of memories and also many great friends.
After his years in the Colts, Matt moved up to our Senior Bs team where he won back-to-back Premier B championships in 2016/2017.
Over the years, Matt continued to improve every year and in 2019 enjoyed a full season in our Senior A side which was topped off with a Waikato Breweries Shield win on Waikato Stadium.
In the seasons following, Matt continued to represent the club in our Prem B in 2020 and a full season in our Prem A in 2021.
He was a club man who helped build the club culture that we have today. He was well on his way and truly on his way to earning his 50-game and 100-game blazer.
Outside of the club, Matt had a wonderful family, with parents Phil and Julie, and his brothers Dan, Jackson and his beautiful wife, Bonnie.
Phil, Julie and his family have supported the club extremely well over the years and continue to do so with Matts’s brother Jackson in this year’s Colts team.
Today and every day, Matt is always and forever in our hearts.
Rest easy, Matt.
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