Welcome from Community

Kia ora

I'm incredibly excited to be working here at Canterbury Rugby in my role as Game Developer – Match Officials to support and develop match officials across the Canterbury Province.

My role allows me the opportunity to help grow refereeing through the understanding of the laws of the game, a better understanding of players' objectives and to help the rugby community understand what referees are trying to achieve. All of these elements will help enhance the enjoyment of rugby for everyone involved.

As the club and school season comes towards its conclusion, representative rugby gets underway. You'll find me on the sidelines of these games, and I encourage you to come up and chat about how we can make our great game even better.

Nga mihi

Allan Stead (Steady)

Round One Tickets are on sale now!

Click on the image below, and get your tickets to Canterbury’s opening game of the season and witness history as Mitchell Drummond runs on for Canterbury for the 100th time!

Success of a club brings pride to community

Linwood Rugby Club values connection, culture and community – that is their key to success according to their RDO, Sam Jack.

“We keep our feet on the ground, and everyone is valued” Jack, “everyone is welcome, everyone is respected here at Linwood”.

Last year the Linwood Premier side was painfully close to reaching the heights of their last winning season in 1973, losing in the semis by one point. But 2024 has finally seen all their hard work, on and off the field, come to fruition.

“The momentum and support from our community was just phenomenal” said Jack, “we had Samoan singing from the grandstand, waiata on the field afterwards. It was a real display for who and what we stand for – our cultures and our families”.

With many dads in the squad, Jack said that throughout the season there coaching team “were conscious of them having time with their families, with the time away from home within the season”.

The sheer vastness of green in Rugby Park last weekend was largely a result of nine buses taking the supporters from the club rooms to watch their team play the final, including a double decker for the children. With players and supporters beginning their day together at their home club rooms, the atmosphere was already electric.

Amongst the supporters were players from the ’73 squad, including Ian Mallard and All Black winger Terry Mitchell, “that was pretty special,” said Jack.

Winning the Bascik Metro Premier final for the first time in 51 years “means the world to us, we are a really proud club” said Jack, “I’m sure the celebrations carried on for a few days”.

Around the Grounds

Our senior club competitions have come to an end with a huge weekend of finals action a couple of weekends ago. It was great to see such great crowds at Kaiapoi, Kirwee and across the Metro finals culminating in the Metro Premier Final at Rugby Park.

Congratulations to all of the finalists, the winners and the match officials that earnt their appointments through their performances throughout the year.

Teenage and Junior Rugby is nearing the pointy end with Finals in Ellesmere and North Canterbury this weekend as well as Semi Finals in the Miles Toyota 1st XV Premiership and Championship competitions.

The Senior Representative season is now underway with the various programmes kicking into gear. Highlight of the weekend will be the Canterbrury Pasifika v Waitaha (Canterbury Maori) match that is a curtain raiser to the Canterbury v Northland NPC match.

Congratulations to all players who have been selected into the various rep teams, a great reward for all of your hard work across the season.

Make sure you check out the weekly draws for all Representative, School and Club fixtures here

“We had ten teams competing in five North Canterbury senior finals, hosted at Kaiapoi Rugby Club. It was especially great to see the new Woodend Womens team playing in the finals, they have been a great addition to the North Canterbury women’s teams. Glenmark- Cheviot took home the Div 1 trophy, Ohoka’s Div 2 side won their final, making them unbeaten throughout the season, an amazing achievement. It was a great week to be an Ohoka supporter as their Colts team took the win on the day too. Hurunui took home the Div 2 Reserves and Oxford won the womens for a second year in a row.

There was also some massive achievements in Metro, with Lincoln Uni getting the win in Colts Tahi, Prem reserve and Prem reserve plate finals! UC Rattlers won the Colts Rua tournament, making them another unbeaten team throughout the season. Linwood took out the Bascik Metro Final at Rugby Park and Sydenham won the Prem reserve Rua grade.

Awesome rugby was played across every grade and great club representation all round. All grounds saw supporters out in full force, and truly showed the passion Cantabrians have for club rugby.”
Georgie Calder-Lee North Canterbury Rugby Manager and Metro Operations Coordinator – Senior

“Ellesmere had their finals day at the Kirwee Rugby Club and it was a spectacular day with the sun shining and 3 fields that were in perfect condition. This made from some fantastic running rugby that was certainly befitting of finals footy. With the Prebbleton club competing in all 5 finals on the day there was certainly an army of blue lining the sidelines for each game which was great to see. Prebbleton managed to take out the Colts, Division 3, and Division 2 grades with Springston winning the Women’s and the Darfield Ducks taking home the Coleman Shield in the Division 1 grade.

A huge thank you is in order for the Kirwee club and wider community for hosting the Ellesmere Finals day. The fields, facilities and atmosphere were outstanding all day and I know the celebrations that carried well into the night were well deserved! Thanks, is also needed to all the players, management, referees, volunteers and supporters who came out and made this one of the largest finals days in recent Ellesmere history.”
Cameron Bone, Ellesmere Rugby Manager

World Moving Storage commits to Canterbury and Sustainability

World Moving & Storage has been a trailblazer in adopting green practices within the moving industry, and this initiative marks a significant step in their mission to give back to the environment. "We are excited to support Canterbury Rugby and contribute to a cause that we are deeply passionate about," said Bruce Reid, Director of World Moving & Storage. "Every native tree planted represents a step towards a healthier planet and a commitment to sustainability that we hope will inspire others to take action. Together, we can make a meaningful difference."

The native tree-planting initiative will begin with the first game of the season and will be closely tracked, with regular updates provided to the public. Fans of Canterbury Rugby are encouraged to cheer on their team, knowing that each try scored brings with it a new tree and a positive environmental contribution.

Stay updated on the native tree-planting progress by following Canterbury Rugby and World Moving & Storage socials.

Tries equal trees for Canterbury Rugby during this year’s Bunnings Warehouse NPC and FPC thanks to an innovative collaboration with World Moving and Storage.

With a long-standing commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, World Moving & Storage aims to bring excitement and awareness to the cause as well as a tangible positive impact on the environment.

"We are thrilled to launch this environmentally friendly initiative with World Moving & Storage," said Glen Thawley, Head of Partnerships at Canterbury Rugby. "Their dedication to sustainability aligns perfectly with our values and our commitment to making a difference both on and off the field. Every try scored will now have a lasting impact, benefiting our environment and creating a greener future."

Tane Norton Trophy Update

The opening round for the Tane Norton Trophy was last weekend, with completely different games creating very similar scores.

Waitaha got out on the front foot in the first half against North Canterbury, leading 26 -14 at half time, but the northern men came charging back, ending the game with a 31-35 win. Similarly in Dunsandel, Ellesmere lead the way 30-10 after 40 minutes, but the Canterbruy Pasifika half time chat must have been something of legends as they came back fighting and put a further 24 points on the board in the second half and didnt allow Ellesmere one, with a final score of 30-34.

Don’t forget you can catch Canterbury Pasifika go toe to toe with Waitaha this Saturday 10 August at Apollo Stadium for the NPC Double Header. Kick off is at 11:35am, with your tickets available here.