David Fox joined King Country Rugby Union as its general manager last week
There’s not a lot David Fox hasn’t done in rugby.
From humble beginnings at his family club in Pirongia, the man affectionately known as ‘Foxy’ has become a grassroots rugby administrator wearing many rugby hats across club, representative, Chiefs and teams in black.
Last week, he donned the maroon-and-gold coloured hat of King Country Rugby Union (KCRU), as the provincial union’s newly minted general manager, taking over the box seat from Taupo man Kieran Hema.
Fox joins KCRU from fellow Heartland union Thames Valley, where he was a rugby development officer since early 2025.
Known for his infectious enthusiasm, Fox has always admired King Country Rugby and is looking forward to leading it into the future.
David Fox
“I’m really looking forward to getting out into the King Country community and meeting the club people, meeting our volunteers and the people that make our game great.
“I’m a people’s person and someone who does his best work through preaching the word of rugby union and getting out there and meeting people.
“(King Country) is a union I’ve always had a lot of respect for. It is a union filled of history and tradition and people who have given so much to help the union. I felt my ethics and beliefs were a good fit with King Country Rugby to carry on the good work,” he said.
His rugby journey commenced just down the road in Pirongia, where his great-grandmother Jane Beet became Pirongia Rugby Club’s first life member. It’s a club he still has strong ties to.
“I would imagine there wouldn’t be too many clubs in New Zealand that their first life member was a woman. So I had strong ties – my grandfather, my uncle, and myself, we all played rugby for Pirongia growing up,” Fox said.
With a grassroots rugby pedigree, it’s no surprise Fox fell in love with the game and eventually took the community rugby path.
“I remember as an eight-year-old, Mum and Dad took me to meet my hero (All Black) Bryan Williams. I met him, got a photo with him, he signed my book and here we are now 48 years later and I still remember that moment,” Fox said.
Living in Te Awamutu with his wife Elaine where they raised their children Amy, Liam and Kim, Fox developed an impressive resume at the Te Awamutu Sport Club, having held many roles, from player to club manager, rugby developer, director of rugby and premier coach.
Following a successful career in rural sales, he started as Waikato Rugby’s commercial manager in 2009, and served for more than 10 years before leading Waikato’s community rugby team as the participation and development manager following the Covid pandemic.
With three decades leading, coaching and managing players, committees and now a provincial union, Fox said his biggest kicks still come from making an impact on those around him.
“In 2018, I had two phone calls in the space of an hour. The first one came from Te Kapa Crown who I’d coached when he was younger, and he said, ‘Mr. Foxy, I’ve made the Chiefs Academy, I’m going to be head boy at Te Awamutu College, and I just want to thank you for setting my pillars’,” Fox said.
“An hour later, young Jazmin Hotham rang me in tears. She goes, ‘Foxy, I’ve just rang Dad, and you’re the second person I’m ringing to say I’ve just been contracted to New Zealand Sevens’.
“That epitomised why I do what I do and that was a very special moment. It shows you might have done something right,” he said.
