Heinz relishing return to Linwood and Club Rugby

As well as recently re-signing for the Canterbury NPC side, Willi Heinz has also returned

to his beloved Linwood, the club that gave him his start all those years ago.

Now a 64-game veteran for the Bulls, Heinz has relished the opportunity to pull back on the green and black hoops, returning to Canterbury and Linwood as an international and keen to help out where he can.

“It’s been awesome (to return to Linwood). The timing felt right to come back to New Zealand and I knew I was still keen to keep playing. I still really enjoy it and love being back out on the grass, so Linwood was the obvious place to start.” said Heinz.

“It’s been great getting back to the club and reconnecting with the senior team from when I left to where it is now. There’s not too many guys I played with still playing but it’s great to see them still contributing and helping out off the field. That’s one of those unique things about club footy, the generations come back and give back to the club and that’s what it needs to keep it moving, with people that are passionate about their club.”

Getting back to the club environment has been refreshing for Heinz, who spent 7 years playing in the English Premiership for Gloucester and Worcester.

“It’s been awesome being back there and contributing to the club. The effort the guys put in on a Tuesday and Thursday night after work and then backing that up on Saturday, it’s been refreshing to see that enjoyment from boys that comes with the hard work they put in to each training and game.” Heinz said.

Linwood have gotten themselves right in contention this season, finding themselves sixth in the table with just three regular season games remaining.

Alongside a good group of leaders, the Bulls have also managed to call on a bit of experience through the season.

“When I came back, I was lucky enough to get involved and stay sharp with the Crusaders, where I met Te Toiroa (Tahuriorangi), who had also joined Linwood, so it was great to have him at the club as he’s a great guy and a quality operator. Having guys like that really adds to the environment. We have great leaders in people like Tepasu (Thomas), so this season presents an awesome opportunity for us to challenge.”

“We’re in the top half of the table, which is where you want to be at this stage of the season, we’ve had some good games and some frustrating losses, so there’s some good things for us to work on and get right so that we give ourselves a shot to get into the Top 4 and anything can happen from there.”