Hunter Rugby Union, 2023: Kiwi mates Raniera Petersen and Tristan Flutey unite to chase title for Hawks

Petersen and Flutey grew up rugby-mad kids in the same neighbourhood in Greytown, a village an hour north of Wellington, and spent hour after hour honing their skills.

Both backs, they went away to the same boarding school, Te Aute College, in Hawkes Bay and played in the first XV together.

Now 23, the close mates have teamed up together at Hamilton.

Petersen's cousin, prop Chris Hemi, is in his second year at the Hawks.

"It feels like we are kids again in the backyard, throwing the ball around," Petersen said. "We have been best mates since forever. Rugby is pretty much it for us. That's all we talk about."

Petersen is in his second stint at the Hawks. He followed Marty Berry to Passmore Oval in 2021 when the former All Black took over the coaching reins.

However, after a bright start, the playmaker suffered a badly broken jaw after copping a knee attempting a low tackle in the Hawks' 21-19 loss to Merewether at home in round four.

"I stayed around to try and finish the season, but COVID cut it short," he said. "I went home last year for family reasons."

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Petersen resumed playing for Greytown. Flutey was 10 minutes down the road at rival Martinborough.

''Tristan and I were living together back home," Petersen said. "Chis was out here playing. We got talking and decided to come out and have a season together. It has been great so far."

They are sharing a house near Newcastle beach and working as scaffolders.

Flutey scored two tries in the opening 15 minutes of the Hawks' 28-22 win over Wanderers last round before aggravating a hamstring injury.

"Tristan has X-factor and is really fast when his hammy is right," Petersen said. "It will be good to get him back to 100 per cent.

"We had a bit of a slow start to the season, but things are starting to build now."

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Berry left the Hawks this season to take a gig in Canada.

"Marty talked to me about going over there, but I wanted to come back to Hamilton, especially after only playing those four games last time," Petersen said. "I wanted to come back and hopefully get a championship here."

Petersen and Flutey played representative rugby for Wairarapa Bush in the second tier Heartland provincial championships in New Zealand and have stuck their hands up to play for Newcastle at the Country Championships next month.

"I'm real keen for that," Petersen said. "I think we can put together a strong team. There are a lot of really good players in this comp."

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