The Finnish rugby union national team’s rise to the highest level in its history in the Conference 1 series in April was partly due to New Zealand beer and tallow spirit.
The national team coaching missed the deciding game of the Conference 2 series against Andorra because of its physical advantage Kalle Välimäki.
In 2020, Välimäki, chosen by the sports journalists’ association as the best Finnish rugby player, was not exactly easy to get involved, because he lives in New Zealand.
Flights to Europe are expensive, and the top Finnish player playing at the country’s highest amateur level has only made it to the national team games once in a while.
Välimäki finances his gaming by working as a chef. He mentioned an important game to the owner of his restaurant, who took action. The restaurant ordered three 50-liter barrels of beer from a local brewery, which was named Flying Finn.
The proceeds from the beer sold from the restaurant’s taps were put into Välimäki’s travel fund. In addition, Rugby shirts were sold and a fundraising campaign was set up online.
That’s how we got the car together and Välimäki to Andorra.
– The people of this area are a good and loyal customer base. They were drinking beer and buying shirts every day, Välimäki tells Urheilu.
Teammates and their own club also bought shirts.
– It was great to see how support was found here in New Zealand, you can see the country’s love for rugby. Even though there is such a small national team, the community supports its own and sends a chef to Finland and Andorra to play rugby.
Finland, strengthened by Välimäki, won the match 31–23 and rose from the second conference of Rugby Europe to the first conference. To a level it has never played before. Conference 1 is the third highest league level for men in Europe.
According to Välimäki, who started in the national team at the age of 19, making Finland better than ever before.
– It’s like night and day, what the mood is there at the moment. Many players have gone abroad to get experience and brought their lessons with them to Finland. It’s great to see how far you’ve come. The hope is great that one day we could qualify for the World Championships.
Cooking towards professionalism
Välimäki, who comes from Iittala in Hämeenlinna, started playing Rugby at the age of 18 in Linna Rugby ten years ago. The club was coached by a man from Auckland, New Zealand Ray Dicksonwho urged Välimäki to try his hand at Dickson’s home country.
After a few Finnish championships and a year with the national team, Välimäki felt that he had achieved in Finland what can be achieved in a small sport.
– I still wanted the world to see how the grains are enough. Then, with a player agent, I found a club 1.5 hours away in Christchurch, a small town called Methven, and ended up playing there in March 2017 for the first time.
Välimäki has played in New Zealand for three years at the highest amateur level. The goal of Välimäki, who plays as a front man, is to become the first Finnish man to become a professional player in the sport.
– Yes, that dream is still alive. The players at my venue get better with age. A lot of professional players I’ve gotten to know say they didn’t break through until they were 28-30 years old. It’s still a tough challenge. The competition is so insanely fierce.
Five New Zealand teams play in the professional league Super Rugby, which also includes teams from Australia, Fiji and Polynesia. The next level is The National Provincial Championship.
Välimäki plays at the highest amateur level in the Metro Premiership in the Christchurch team.
– I play against people every week who want to join the ring. It’s nice, but tough competition. Yes, the dream is still alive, and I believe in myself completely that it will come true one day.
Välimäki doesn’t make a living from Rugby, so he works full-time as a chef at a restaurant near his home.
– It feels like two full-time jobs when you train. Let’s believe and enjoy the process while we can still do it.
Rugby crazy people
New Zealanders are a rugby-mad nation. Especially the national team, the All Blacks, unites people.
– It’s like hockey for us Finns. It is idealized in a different way here. The whole nation is glued to the television when something is said about the national team.
National team matches are a place of national celebration. Välimäki’s restaurant does not show games on TV, so the place is empty when the All Blacks are playing.
According to Välimäki, the women’s national rugby team Black Ferns has started to become as popular as the men’s national team in recent years. Ferns won the 2021 World Cup gold at home.
The next most popular sport in New Zealand is cricket. Basketball is also quite popular. Football, on the other hand, is not the state’s top sport. Wellington Phoenix, the country’s only professional team, plays in Australia’s premier league, the A-League.
According to Välimäki, however, football is watched with a side eye.
– It seems that everyone knows something about football. Everyone knows the Premier League teams and something about the Champions League.
The Finnish player believes that the World Cup will increase the interest of football in the eyes of the locals.
– The same was seen in the popularity of the women’s national rugby team and the number of female fans after the World Cup.