Tena Koe, it’s Miles Toyota Club Round for our NPC and FPC team, which is a fantastic way to celebrate where players learn their craft and form the bonds that set them on their path to rugby success.
Players have been training in club gear all week and will be wearing their club socks on Saturday. Miles Toyota have kindly given all our clubs the opportunity to attend Saturday’s games in the FPC (2:05pm against Counties Manukau) and the NPC (4:35pm against Manawatu), as well as taking part in relays and the traditional club parade. Tickets are still available for Saturday’s celebration here.
Elsewhere, the representative programme is underway with the Tane Norton Trophy competition beginning last weekend, and numerous other games taking place across the province. Junior and Teenage rugby continues in Metro, following the successful end to the season out in both Ellesmere and North Canterbury, as well as the South Island Playoffs for the region’s qualifiers in 1st XV rugby. You can watch Christchurch Girls High School take on Southland Girls High School at 11.15am on Saturday at Christchurch Boys High School, while Christchurch Boys High School head to Invercargill to take on Southland Boys High School. This Tuesday at Ngā Puna Wai will see the final of the Metro Colts competition will take place between High School Old Boys and Shirley at 7pm.
Congratulations must also go to High School Old Boys for their 30-17 win over the Southern Bush Pigs in the South Island U85kg final on Sunday. They now progress to the Quarter Finals which will see a clash with either College Rifles or Auckland University.
Nominations for the Canterbury Community Rugby Awards close at the end of next week, it’s certainly not to late to nominate clubs, teams, coaches and volunteers for these awards, so click here to nominate a worthy recepient now!
Ngā mihi,
Fiona Smith
Community Rugby Manager, Canterbury Rugby Football Union
Community Welcome
Exciting JJ Stewart Trophy clash headlines Miles Toyota Club Round Double Header
The chance to lock away the JJ Stewart Trophy for the 2023 season awaits the Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup side, as they kick off Miles Toyota Club Round against Counties Manukau.
Following two successful defences at Rugby Park, Saturday’s match is Canterbury’s final home game of the regular season, with Counties Manukau forming up as formidable opponents in what should be a physical encounter on a special day for the Canterbury Community.
Alongside the home sides wearing their club socks, all 48 of Canterbury’s clubs will be celebrated throughout the day, continuing on a theme that started in the release of this year’s playing jersey, with the traditional red stripes of Canterbury carrying each club’s name.
Running out in that iconic red and black strip is again a largely unchanged side from the week before against Hawke’s Bay, with only a couple of changes to talk about this week.
In the starting side, Atlanta Lolohea is rewarded with a start at hooker, while Stacey Niao and Rosie Buchanan-Brown return to the bench after missing last week’s clash in Hastings.
Other key areas of this week’s side include the outside backs, Grace Steinmetz, Martha Mataele and Karla Wright-Akeli, all of whom see their name on the competition’s top try scoring list, bringing a lot of excitement and firepower to an already mouthwatering match coming up at Apollo Projects Stadium.
The referee for today’s game is North Harbour’s Natarsha Ganley, supported by AR’s Josh Bamber and Sam O’Reilly.
Tickets are available from Ticketek here, with the Women’s match followed on by the Men hosting Manawatu in the Bunnings NPC at 4:35pm.
Moody returns for Canterbury’s first Bunnings NPC home game
Joe Moody will suit up for Canterbury in Saturday’s Bunnings Warehouse NPC/FPC double header in Christchurch.
The Loosehead Prop will partner Oli Jager who earns his 50th cap for Canterbury, the duo sandwiching hooker Ben Funnell in the front row.
Cullen Grace returns to the starting lineup in his favored number 8 spot, which sees skipper Billy Harmon shift to blindside, joined by Tom Christie on the open. Mitchell Dunshea’s return to play takes another leap forward, earning a start in the second row alongside energetic youngster Tahlor Cahill.
“It’s been a bit of a journey for Oli to get to 50 caps, so its great to see him reach that milestone and to have Joe back in Red and Black is a real bonus for us. We’d love for him to be heading away with the All Blacks, but we’re delighted to have his experience and commitment to Canterbury too.’ Said Head Coach Marty Bourke.
Mitchell Drummond slips into the number 9 jersey for the first time this year, while the rest of the backline that beat North Harbour in Albany last weekend retain their starting spots.
“We didn’t quite get the start the way we wanted on the weekend, so it’s another opportunity for us to get that right. There’s plenty of competition for spots in our squad, so were expecting a response from the team.” Burke added.
Glenmark Cheviot’s Nick Hyde is set to earn his first Canterbury NPC cap, as back up to Funnell in jersey 16, while Daniel Lienert-Brown and Seb Calder will provide front row cover. Luke Romano, Corey Kellow and halfback Willi Heinz also slip back to the bench. Alex Harford gets another shot in jersey 22 with experienced midfielder Ryan Crotty back in 23.
Otago’s Fraser Hannon referees today’s game, with George Haswell and Karl Hancox on the sideline.
The match kicks off at 4:35 and caps off a day of club celebration with Miles Toyota Club Round. In between the earlier Bunnings Warehouse FPC match where Canterbury host Counties Manukau, a club march past will take place, highlighting the importance Canterbury’s 48 clubs play in province. The NPC players will wear their club socks, furthering the connection between Club and Canterbury, which are proudly displayed on the 2023 playing jersey. “Everywhere we go, they go.”
What makes our clubs so special?
U16 Squads announced for South Island Tournament
The squads representing our three sub-unions have been announced for the 2023 U16 South Island Tournament, which will be contested in Ashburton at the end of October.
Two Metro sides, Ellesmere and North Canterbury will compete, with Metro Red looking to retain the title won at last year’s tournament.
Senior Representative Draw - 19 August
The importance of giving back
It’s no secret that club rugby cannot run without its volunteers - people who take the time out of their lives to make sure jerseys and socks are available, grounds are ready to be played on, after match food served and a myriad of other unseen tasks to keep the game being played each Saturday.
Michelle Tocker, Woodend RFC Junior Club Captain, is one of those vital volunteers. Hailing from Ireland, Michelle has always been an avid supporter of rugby and upon moving to Christchurch in 2007, she was all too keen to get to her very first Crusaders match. It was that game that made Michelle realise she wanted to do more than attend games, but to get her hands dirty and be involved with building club rugby. Having volunteered for charities and other events prior, Michelle says “You get a good sense of enjoyment from [volunteering]... It's very fulfilling to volunteer and give your time.”
When her daughter and son began playing rugby for Woodend, Michelle was quick to put her hand up to volunteer as she “just wanted to give back and help. Plus, the kids love having mum on the sideline and helping out.”
Alongside her role as Junior Club Captain at Woodend, Michelle was approached last year to by North Canterbury Rugby Sub Union to assist with feedback on
Junior Rugby. In one short year, Michelle now wears many hats at NCRSU. Acting as the senior squad’s representative to the board, Michelle has been pivotal in helping with the fundraising to get the team to Japan, whilst still being the board’s Junior Advisory Board (JAB) delegate.
Michelle says one of the reasons she took on extra NCRSU responsibilities is because of the environment the North Canterbury seniors created last season. “It was awesome to witness. And I was like, what can I do to make this trip to Japan happen?” Michelle will be heading to Japan with the team in September as their ‘camp leader.’
Whilst the club rugby games are wrapping up this weekend in North Canterbury with U12’s and U13’s playing their final matches, Michelle says the volunteers will still be working behind the scenes, looking straight into recruitment, finding coaches and establishing how grades will work for the following year. Not put off from the workload, Michelle says “I really do believe that rugby gives you a sense of belonging” and encourages others to volunteer their time towards their own clubs, “even if it’s just a couple of hours, it really helps.”
Written by Hannah Yates
Our clubs doing good things
The community that club rugby creates has been shown throughout the season so far, with a number of our clubs putting in incredible efforts behind the scenes to ensure that the effect rugby has is spread out throughout the region.
Ashley’s Ladies Day
A large part of Ashley’s Ladies Day focussed around raising funds on behalf of the Cancer Society North Canterbury, with the successful and sold out event raising $8,000 for the support of the wider community and people.
Special pink jerseys, hosting pitchside in a marquee and an auction all formed part of the day, which has become a tradition and now an anticipated event on the Ashley RFC calendar.
HSOB & Ohoka Tri Rugby
Both HSOB and Ohoka hosted Tri Rugby trainings this year, culminating in Sunday’s final game of the season, which saw the two clubs clash ahead of the U85 Club Cup match.
Tri Rugby continues to be an incredibly important avenue in our game, allowing more people participate in the game we love, and we thank the volunteers and the clubs for the time invested in a special cause.
Southbridge’s Pasifika Day
Southbridge’s Pasifika Day raised $9,500 in funds for Unicef and the DC fund, ensuring they were able to celebrate their community while also taking the time to look after others, with the funds set to go towards important sanitation and projects in the Pacific.
These three moments are merely the tip of the iceberg, and we thank the numerous volunteers and dedicated club people who make these good things happen in our community.
