Sam Rufer

Goalkeeper - WaiBOP United
25 Dec 2026
Friday
Process
Overview Personal Contract News 6 Transfers Relations Events 53 Awards Matches History

Marked for Sam Rufer

18 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market30 Nov 2026

Sam Rufer asks to leave WaiBOP United

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Player ratings30 Nov 2026

Both jobs done by Callum Sutton — 6.74

A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 16 actions, 6.74, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.

Squad30 Nov 2026

Joe Boxall in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match28 Nov 2026

A bad afternoon for WaiBOP United against Team Wellington

0‑1 to Team Wellington, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad30 Nov 2026

The manager makes an example of Joe Boxall

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings30 Nov 2026

Nobody could get near Bill Cacace

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

Back issues
16 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad16 Nov 2026

Jake Nelson signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jake Nelson and WaiBOP United agree another 3 years.

Squad16 Nov 2026

Tempers go at WaiBOP United

Bill Cacace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad16 Nov 2026

Words at WaiBOP United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan De Vries is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

14 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings2 Nov 2026

Bill Cacace runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Francis Garbett says WaiBOP United went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market2 Nov 2026

Sam Rufer hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.

Match31 Oct 2026

Jake Kirwan among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Jake Kirwan on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of WaiBOP United and Waitakere United.

Match31 Oct 2026

WaiBOP United come up short against Waitakere United

Waitakere United left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Joe Boxall falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Francis Garbett in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces2 Nov 2026

WaiBOP United supporters have found a favourite in Cameron Payne

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Cameron Payne has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Joe Boxall gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

10 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad5 Oct 2026

Jake Boxall is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Market5 Oct 2026

Sam Rufer puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WaiBOP United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad5 Oct 2026

Tempers go at WaiBOP United

Bill Cacace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

6 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad7 Sep 2026

Michael De Vries breaks a bone — 29 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market7 Sep 2026

Sam Rufer puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WaiBOP United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad7 Sep 2026

Jake Boxall is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

In brief

2 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market10 Aug 2026

Sam Rufer asks to leave WaiBOP United

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad10 Aug 2026

Bill Cacace stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Bill Cacace and WaiBOP United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market10 Aug 2026

Hawke's Bay United watching Matt Colvey

The interest is real enough to have reached print. WaiBOP United have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad10 Aug 2026

Bill Cacace falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad10 Aug 2026

Tempers go at WaiBOP United

Bill Just was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad10 Aug 2026

Bill Cacace knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bill Cacace trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief