Tena koe, it’s an exciting week with our first Bunnings NPC game of the season in Northland.
You’ll get the first look at our team for our opener below, and as you can, see we’ve got an exciting 23 pulling on the red & black tomorrow night.
We’re away to Northland and North Harbour to begin the season, before we return home for Miles Toyota Club Round on the 19th of August at the stadium.
This is a double header alongside our Farah Palmer Cup side, and we look forward to seeing all 48 of our clubs represented at the stadium, continuing the meaning and design that you will see present in our jersey’s red stripes.
On that note, it was great to see big crowds at Kaiapoi, Waihora and Rugby Park over the weekend supporting our community finals. Congratulations to Glenmark Cheviot, Prebbleton and Marist Albion on their Luisetti Seeds Division 1 North Canterbury, Ellesmere and Bascik Transport Metro Premier successes.
This week has seen the next round of finals, with Christchurch Girls’ High taking out the Miles Toyota Cup, and Christchurch Boys’ High contesting both the Miles Toyota Premiership and Championship finals tomorrow, with the Premiership final being livestreamed on our facebook page here. We also have the Bascik Transport Metro Premier Reserve final out at Lincoln University too.
Finally, it’s exciting to see a number of our Cantabrians wearing black this weekend in Dunedin, including Tamaiti Williams getting his first start and Dallas McLeod set to make his debut off the bench.
Have a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks time at the newly named Apollo Projects Stadium.
Ngā mihi,
Marty Bourke
NPC Head Coach, Canterbury Rugby Football Union
Community Welcome
Round 1 side set for clash with Northland
Promising young lock Tahlor Cahill is set to earn his first Canterbury NPC cap against Northland in Saturday’s Bunnings Warehouse NPC clash in Whangārei.
Marist Albion’s towering 20-year-old will pack down with the rejuvenated Luke Romano (Hurunui) in the second row. “Tahlor’s a young man on the rise,” said Head Coach Marty Bourke. ‘And for him to line up alongside one of the best lineout exponents in the game in Romano is a pretty special thing for Tahlor’s development and for Canterbury.”
The front row is also a solid mix of experience and enthusiasm with Hooker George Bell (Lincoln University) sandwiched between Daniel Lienert-Brown (HSOB) and Seb Calder (Lincoln University).
New Brighton’s Billy Harmon will again captain Canterbury from number 8, partnering dynamic loosies Dominic Gardiner (Marist Albion) and Corey Kellow (Lincoln University). “For a lot of these young guys, they’ve had a great taste of NPC rugby and know what’s expected of them. They’re hungry to perform and get the season off to a solid start,” said Bourke.
Experience threads throughout the Canterbury backline too with Linwood’s Willi Heinz linking up with Fergus Burke at 9 and 10, while New Brighton’s Ryan Crotty partners Rameka Poihipi (Lincoln University) in the midfield. Marist Albion’s Manasa Mataele, Prebbleton’s Ngatungane Punivai and Belfast’s Chay Fihaki round out the back three.
“It’s exciting to see this group link up against for another NPC campaign and reform their partnerships. Ngane and Ram’s (Rameka) have been in our group for a few seasons now, so it’s their turn to take on those leadership roles and drive our team forward,” said Burke.
Hurunui’s Ben Funnell returns to the red and black of Canterbury for the first time since the 2017 Final, while UC’s Tom Heywood will get the chance to add to his single NPC cap along with New Brighton’s Carisbrook Toomalatai, who is set for his Canterbury debut off the bench. Springston’s Mitchell Dunshea will make his long-awaited return to Canterbury and is set to earn his 50th Cap, while Joe Brial (Lincoln University) gets his second opportunity to back up the loose forwards.
Mitchell Drummond (HSOB), Alex Harford (HSOB) and speedster Blair Murray (University) will finish the contest across the backline.
“It’s important for us to get our campaign off to a strong start, so it’ll be up to these guys to do that for us. We’re expecting Northland to be fizzed to get their season off to a flyer too, so we need to be ready for that” Bourke added.
Canterbury Development side providing opportunities to more players and coaches
The Canterbury Development side is helping to provide a number of new opportunities for female players and coaches, including an all female management team containing a number of familiar faces.
Over the first couple of weeks of the Farah Palmer Cup, presented by Bunnings Warehouse, with the 10 Black Ferns in the Canterbury squad absent due to the Pacific Four series in Canada, 14 players joined the FPC squad to provide cover in a number of important positions, as well as learning from the opportunity to be a part of the high performance squad.
Since then, the Development squad has entered into their own series of games, firstly against Otago Development, winning 74-0, and this weekend, taking on the Southland Hinds in Oamaru. The side for this weekend’s match can be found below.
An integral part of this year’s Development side is the all-female management team.
Led by Head Coach Liz Worthington, who is also a coaching intern with the Farah Palmer Cup side, the coaching team also includes Kendra Cocksedge, taking on her first coaching role as the Backs Coach, and Melissa Ruscoe, who is taking the forwards.
Also supporting the team is Strength & Conditioning Coach Sophie Glass, Manager Heather Algar and Physios Anna Cotterrell and Olivia Adam.
The side’s match against Southland kicks off at 12:30pm.
Miles Toyota Cup Final
Christchurch Girls' High took out the Miles Toyota Cup last night, beating Avonside Girls' in blustery conditions at Ngā Puna Wai!
Miles Toyota Premiership and Championship Finals
Canterbury B squad announced following entertaining club season
The Canterbury B coaches have announced their squad for 2023, with some hard decisions having to be made following an enthralling club season that ended with three finals around the region on the weekend.
Working out of the initial 70-man Wider Training Group, a number of players also played their way into the squad in recent weeks, with selectors taking note of some impressive personal performances at a time in the season where it matters most.
“We’re lucky to have the best club rugby set up in the country.” said Canterbury B Head Coach Scott Pawson, “All three Division 1 and Premier competitions are super competitive, and this translates to the talent coming through, as they say, iron sharpens iron.”
“Having both the Wider Training Group process and the access to widespread game footage has allowed us to ensure we are picking the best players available, as well as providing more opportunities for our players to learn and upskill.”
“There will be a number of players disappointed that they have missed out, and it was a very difficult selection process, but we know they will be able to show off their talent for Waitaha, Ellesmere, North Canterbury and the Cantabrians, meaning our whole representative group will see the benefit of our talented playing group here in Canterbury.” Pawson said.
A key role of the Canterbury B side is to ensure that the group of players just outside the Bunnings NPC set up are ready to step up as required, which is something that continues to be evident this year, with six players named in the 2023 squad who featured for Canterbury B last year.
“We can’t stress highly enough how important this group is.” said Canterbury NPC Head Coach Marty Bourke, “Last year, we called upon a number of the B’s squad throughout the season and they were integral in the success we saw last year, both on the field through their match performance but also on the training field too.”
“Our representative programme is especially important to provide this chance for players, and there’s no doubt in my mind that if called upon, this year’s group will also be able to provide us with the best chance to chase the 2023 title.”
Canterbury B start their campaign on the 27th of August against Southland in a curtain raiser before the NPC side play Wellington, before matches against Otago and Tasman to round off the campaign.
Canterbury U19 side announced for 2023 campaign
Many of the exciting next generation of Canterbury Rugby will get their opportunity to pull on the red & black for the first time, with the Canterbury U19 squad announced for 2023.
The squad also features a number of returning players too, with Canterbury U19 Player of the Year for 2022 Johnny Lee and New Zealand U20 representative Isaac Hutchinson amongst them.
The group features names that have lit up both the Miles Toyota Championship and the club competitions in the last few years, with former 1st XV captains, Ben O’Donovan (St Bede’s), Jack Coulthard (St Thomas) and Lee (Christ’s College) all featuring.
Also in the group is Hornby forward Richie Tupuailei (St Thomas), who was the joint top try scorer in the Luisetti Seeds Combined Country Division 1 competition playing in the front row and at loose forward.
The squad contains Premier finals experience too, with Hutchinson, Cam Rawlings and Riley Brewis featuring in Sunday’s Bascik Transport Metro Premier Final.
Canterbury NPC Head Coach Marty Bourke is excited to see the next group of Canterbury players getting their chance to pull on the famed jersey, talking to the pathway that U19’s begins that has seen players move through the ranks of NPC, Super Rugby and to international honours too.
“The U19’s programme is an excellent chance for these young players to get their first taste of provincial rugby.” said Bourke.
“We’ve seen in recent years how the U19’s programme has kickstarted young careers, with the likes of Fletcher Newell and Tamaiti Williams, two of our most recent All Blacks, playing in the U19’s side in 2019, so we look forward to watching this group follow in their footsteps.”
The Canterbury U19’s begin their campaign this Saturday against Ellesmere, as they build towards the U19 South Island tournament in early September.
Club Finals Gallery
Ray White’s Biggest Open Home
