2023 Canterbury Rugby Awards - Community Team of the Year Finalists
Finalists for team of the year will be a tight knit group who have achieved more than the sum of their parts. They may not have been world-beaters, but they will have qualities as a group that embody everything that is great about rugby. They will have contributed to their club, community and whanau beyond game-time. They will embody diversity and inclusion, have helped out where needed, been a positive influence for the current and up-and-coming players around them - demonstrating what it means to be a member of their team and club in a positive way.
Check out why this year’s teams were nominated for the 2023 award!
Halswell-Wigram Battlers (Metro Classics)
The Battlers are a bunch of guys from all backgrounds and ages, whom wanted to play rugby and be involved with like-minded men. They have a huge emphasis on family's first, rugby second, games are played with the community in mind as well as supporting causes that affect each and everyone of us at some stage, with games being held to fundraise for mental health and breast cancer every year. Being the only senior team of the club, these men through subs and support are giving back to the junior side of the club to grow the community through sports and family supported environments. They have embraced classics rugby by hosting teams when playing at our home grounds with bbqs and making sure their families ate welcome and to be a part of what we share.
HSOB Light Bears (U85kg Club Cup)
The Light Bears took out the U85kg Club Cup, taking on team’s from around the country on their way to the title. They are a team made up of players from all mens grades in the club, with teams represented in the form of the Premier Mens, Prem Reserves Mens, Colts White and Blue and the Keiths from the Classics grade. They are coached by club legend Jack Hyde, who is assisted by Patrick Coady. The club gets right into behind these lads, who play an exciting brand of rugby and are leading the way in this space.
Oxford U18 (Combined U18 competition)
It would have been easy for this team to not have gone ahead this year as we could not field an U16 side this season but here we have a group of awesome young men who varied in ages from 15 upwards at the start of the season, some not very large boys but happy to go up against often bigger and older opposition to be able to play the game they love as this was the only team available within their club. Some of them have only been playing rugby for a couple of seasons, while some have been playing together through the grades since U6. They have turned around a two year drought of no wins to improve their game to start winning and eventually go all the way to win their U18 North Canterbury Final. They are a polite, humble and diverse group of young men who have varied interests from farming to gaming, yet they all share a love of rugby, have each other’s backs both on and off the field and enjoy socialising together.