Winter has well and truly arrived!
It’s hard to believe that it’s July this weekend and a lot of our adult competitions are heading towards the finals stages, with the representative programme starting to take shape. The naming of the Farah Palmer Cup squad this week prior to the start of their competition on 15 July is the first of a few upcoming announcements of those players whose seasons will lead on to higher honours.
Congratulations to our title winning teams, with the University Premier Womens team for taking out the final in a hard fought battle with Christchurch last Saturday and the Crusaders also getting it done in Super Rugby Pacific.
Junior and Teenage rugby players have a break over the school holidays and during this time the Cantabrians U15 Development Camp will take place with over 100 U15 players coming along for further development.
Congratulations to Rosie Kelly on her Black Ferns debut last night, playing alongside five other Cantabrians and realising a dream that first started over on the West Coast.
Canterbury Rugby’s thoughts are with two rugby families this week, with the passing of two prominent members of the community.
Our thoughts are with the family of Craig Fisken after he passed away earlier this week, Craig was a current member of the Metro Rugby Committee and together with his wife Di have been heavily involved in the Merivale Papanui Club for a number of years. Volunteers like Craig are so valuable to rugby and are what keep the players out there playing every week.
We also wanted to express our condolences towards the family of Robin O’Leary too, a well known and passionate supporter of all of our Canterbury sides, travelling to follow both Canterbury and the Crusaders.
All the best to everyone playing tomorrow, it’s an exciting finish in the Bascik Metro Premier Round Robin with most teams still in contention for the top 8 finals series and we have Suburbs and Hurunui celebrating significant milestones.
Ngā mihi,
Fiona Smith
Community Rugby Manager, Canterbury Rugby Football Union
Community Welcome
New look Canterbury squad named ahead of 2023 Farah Palmer Cup, presented by Bunnings Warehouse.
A host of new faces will get the chance to lay down the foundations for Canterbury’s 2023 Farah Palmer Cup, presented by Bunnings campaign, with a squad of 35 players named from throughout the region, with all five Bascik Transport Premier Women’s clubs represented in the side.
Sisters Erana and Jamee Te Moananui are two of the new faces in the front row, while Hayley Hutana, Keighley Simpson, Laura Bayfield, Maddi Robinson and Rosie Buchanan-Brown also have FPC experience as a selection of the 10 potential Canterbury debutants in this year’s squad, alongside Holly Wratt-Groeneweg, Winnie Palamo and Sally-James Houlahan.
“It’s a really exciting group.” said Head Coach Jimmy Sinclair, “The club competition provided really entertaining games and a number of these players have put in performances that were too good to ignore.”
10 Black Ferns feature, including Christchurch’s Rosie Kelly, who is set for her international debut off the bench against the Wallaroos on Thursday.
“We’re lucky to have such a strong group of Black Ferns, the experience they have gained, and will gain, through being in that international group provides us with an excellent resource to tap into when they return from the Pacific Four.”
The squad will be without their Black Ferns while they are on international duty, with a further 14 players invited in from the Wider Training Squad for the first couple of weeks, providing the opportunity for those players to fight for a spot in the final squad.
“Our Wider Training Squad play an important role in the Development side and in our preparation at the start of the season, they’ll provide good competition amongst the group for spots throughout the season.” said Sinclair.
As a result, an important addition to this year’s squad is the return of experienced players Marcelle Parkes and Martha Mataele, who have returned to Canterbury off the back of enjoyable and successful personal experiences in previous seasons.
The retirement of Canterbury Legends Steph Te Ohaere-Fox and Kendra Cocksedge also provides excellent opportunities for the next generation of players, with the likes of halfbacks Di Hiini, Kelsyn McCook and Rosie Buchanan-Brown all well equipped to step into the role of game manager, with all three holding first class experience.
“They’re (Te Ohaere-Fox and Cocksedge) obviously a big loss, but the depth that we have in those key positions means we are well placed to continue the growth and development of the next group of players.” Sinclair said.
Canterbury also welcomes back a couple of players from long term injury, with Tayla Simpson and Wratt-Groeneweg selected this year after being unavailable for selection last season.
Canterbury opens their 2023 campaign at home versus Wellington on the 15th of July, with kick off at Rugby Park at 12:05pm as they begin the campaign to retain the JJ Stewart Trophy and fight for another FPC Premiership title.
Back of Jersey draw set for the Farah Palmer Cup, presented by Bunnings Warehouse
The Canterbury Rugby Partnerships team ran a successful Back of Jersey draw for sponsors before the Farah Palmer Cup, with individual sponsors names gracing player’s jerseys this season.
As Pathways Partners, sponsors have the opportunity to feature on both the NPC and FPC Back of Jerseys, with a random draw done to decide who has the pleasure of being on each jersey!
Keep an eye out this season for:
1. Metalcraft Roofing
2. Parks Towing
3. Melray Electric
4. Signbiz
5. Whutupōro Accountants
6. Container Waste
7. World Moving & Storage
8. Pavilions Hotel
9. Luisetti Seeds
10. GSL
11. Misco Joinery
12. Barkers of Geraldine
13. Concrete Brothers
14. Go Media
Bascik Transport Premier Men’s - Round 11
Hurunui celebrate 25th anniversary
As a number of the original Hurunui Sub-Union clubs celebrate centenaries and other significant milestone, this weekend signals the 25th anniversary of the combined Hurunui club, with Club Day set for Culverden Domain on Saturday.
An amalgamation of four clubs, Hurunui RFC is one of the newer clubs in Canterbury, “As a club, we’re really conscious that we’re a new club by these days standards.” said Hurunui President Kevin O’Neill, “It’s a celebration of where we’ve come from, and where we are trying to get to.”
“There’s a lot of people who have put a ton of effort in over the last 25 years to get us to the point we are today.”
“The club plays such an important role in our area, so to be able to recognize the community and support the club gets, for example, some of sponsors have been with us the full 25 years, so it’s a great opportunity to say thank you.” Said O’Neill
As a part of Saturday night’s formalities, the club will be inducting their first life members.
“Being a new club, there’s still a number of members around who have been around for the lifetime of the club,” O’Neill said, “we’ve got our our first life members being inducted tomorrow, Tim Le Pine, Emelyn Francis and Ally Youngman, so it’s great to recognize the massive contribution those guys have put in over our short history.”
“We’ve also got two guys receiving their 200-games Blazers tomorrow, Norty Anderson and Cale Dobby, they went through some hard years when we were in Division 2 and rebuilding, they’ve been a massive part of getting us back into the Senior competition and getting us competitive too.”
It’s fair to say Culverden Domain will be humming tomorrow, with all Hurunui teams at home, including an important Luisetti Seeds North Canterbury Division 1 clash with Ashley.
“It’s great to have all the teams at Culverden this weekend, it’s pretty special to have every team at home, so we’re looking forward to the occassion.” Said O’Neill.
Luisetti Seeds North Canterbury Division 1 - July 1
North Canterbury Division 2 - July 1
International opportunities present amongst the Canterbury Rugby Referees Association
With borders reopening in 2022, international opportunities have returned for the Canterbury Rugby Referees Association, with exchanges restarted with both Kansai in Osaka, Japan and the Queensland Rugby Referees in Brisbane, Australia.
As a group of volunteers, the Referees Association works hard to provide opportunities to reward and recognize referees that have given significant time to our game or to who may benefit from the opportunity to travel abroad and continue their development.
Recently, over 10 days towards the end of June, Rob Goodman (Ellesmere) and Josh Bamber (Metro) had the privilege to represent the association in Brisbane, with the Queensland exchange going for over 40 years.
They officiated in 10 games and experienced a wide range of rugby and extra-curricular activities, following in the footsteps of many well known Canterbury Referees.
Having this chance allows referees to get out of their comfort zone and referee a new style of rugby, as well as escaping the typical cold snap that comes with rugby in June.
In addition to the international opportunities present for our referees, there are also a number of opportunities domestically too.
This season, referees from throughout Canterbury also had the opportunity to travel to North Harbour, Auckland, Wellington, Otago and Southland, providing an opportunity to experience different rugby, but also meet new people and get an experience not available if they were to play or coach.
As a part of these exchanges, referees also come the other way, which may explain a couple of the new jerseys you may have seen out in the middle over the last few weeks.
Ellesmere Division 1 Draw - July 1
Gallery - Bascik Transport Women’s Premier Final
University took the spoils in this year’s Bascik Transport Women’s Premier Final, triumphing over Christchurch in a tight-fought encounter, 24-19
Miles Toyota Premiership & Championship - July 1
Gallery - North Canterbury Super Saturday
North Canterbury celebrated an awesome day of Senior rugby, with all four Luisetti Seeds Division 1 fixtures taking place at Southbrook!
Canterbury Rugby community initiatives – Wellbeing Breakfast
This week, the Canterbury Rugby Game Developers ran a wellbeing breakfast for the senior coaches and Referees, with an eye on ensuring our volunteers take the time to look after themselves as the season creeps towards the pointy end.
Run by Canterbury Rugby Personal Development Manager Jonelle Quane, the session looked at ways to continue having the passion for our game they all have while avoiding burnout, as well as recognizing signs to provide support for players and peers alike.
Congratulations to the Crusaders!
