Welcome from community
As the kids say I'm amped to be appointed to the newly created role of Club Capability Manager at Canterbury Rugby.
Tasked with working with our fantastic clubs to assist in building capability and capacity to deliver rugby opportunities to our communities, the role will focus on developing off-field operations.
Previously I've worked in sports development for over 25 years and am excited to be bringing this experience and knowledge with a fresh pair of eyes to the position. Success will see more participation in rugby programs.
Looking forward to meeting and working with our fantastic rugby people.
Vaughan Utteridge
Club Capability Manager
Around the Grounds
2024 has been an incredibly positive year for rugby participation in Canterbury with growth in numbers both on the field and on the sidelines.
Overall, our player numbers have grown by 3% which is a great result however, it’s when we delve into the numbers that we can really see where we are starting to make an impact. We are thrilled to report that we have seen a 13% increase in female players, 7% increase in teenagers and 5% increase in senior club players 19+, which are all areas of focus in the Canterbury Rugby 2028 Strategy. We put this down to, amongst other things, different offerings to help get people involved in rugby such as the under 85kg grade and some really successful girls’ programs being offered in schools. We are also seeing a greater number of players transitioning from high school to club rugby which is where there has traditionally been a drop off.
We are also seeing more people choosing to be involved in rugby on the sidelines. An increase in coaches and volunteers with people choosing to support the growth of the game in our region, which just shows how much we love rugby in Canterbury.
These figures not only show us that we are making real change to the game we love but they also present opportunities for further growth which is exciting. We will continue to work with clubs to ensure we have a rugby offering to suit the needs of our participants and hopefully capture more players going forward. We will also be focusing on the sidelines as well to ensure we are growing the number of coaches, referees and volunteers as, without these people, we can’t facilitate future growth of the game.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved in making our 2024 season such a success across the board.
Michael Sheat, Community Rugby Manager
Canterburys #1 Supporter
“Three buses stopped and none of them were going to Rangiora” said loyal supporter Graham Paterson. The next best option being a TV screening at his sister’s in Burnside, Graham thought stuff it, not wanting his day to be defined by the Christchurch Metro Bus service, he ran home and jumped on his push bike. Some 30km later and 10 minutes into the first half, Graham’s legs were gone but he’d made it, “All I could think was I’ve got to get there, I nearly gave up, I could barely bike”.
Greeted by Doctor Dan (Daniel Leinert-Brown) with electrolytes and jet plane lollies “I just kept eating lollies and was sweating away, but eventually I came right, I was just happy to be there”.
We were all relieved to hear Graham did opt for the bus back to the city, bike in tow. “Rightly or wrongly I got there, and that was all I cared about.”
Watch the video above for Grahams full story and deep connection with Red and Black Rugby.
That’s a Wrap
The Farah Palmer Cup presented by Bunnings Warehouse, and Bunnings Warehouse NPC have come to an end for 2024, with both teams in the red and black making it to finals footy and reaching some incredible highs along the way.
You can’t talk about the Canterbury 2024 season without bringing up the debutants, growing both sides and building the future. FPC had an incredible 12 new players to don the red and black, nine who playing their first Farah Palmer Cup tournament. “A highlight for me was so many debutants” says Mona Paraki, Head Coach for FPC, “for them to have that opportunity to play at this level and getting accustomed to the expectations. They thrived in the environment and to see the amount of growth that happened during the season was awesome”. NPC wasn’t without fresh blood with 12 new starters, bringing the grand total of Canterbury Debutants to 24 for 2024. “All those young guys earned their stripes, and definitely deserved to be here this season” says Marty Bourke, Head Coach of the NPC side, “They developed through the different systems we have here in Canterbury and they were ready to come through”.
NPC Round One opened with a bang with Mitchell Drummond running out for his 100th appearance for Canterbury, an incredible achievement for the halfback and a huge honour for the club. “It takes a lot to play 100 games and the commitment and effort requires speaks volumes” says Bourke. Ngatungane Punivai and Rameka Pohipi both made their 50th appearances this season, and a number of players across FPC and NPC received their blazers after 12 games for their side.
The stats certainly don’t lie, with 12 of our players being listed as having some of the best statistics in the tournament! Three players with highest tackles won in the FPC competition were our very own, with Captain Laura Bayfield coming number one with a whopping 167! Two debutants Neve Anglesey and Nicole Purdon came in behind with 147 and 122 tackles respectively. Winnie Palamo dominated the boards reaching 2nd for most tries scored (8), clean breaks (19) and meters gained (665m). NPC Captain Billy Harmon, along with Punivai lead the way making three appearances each in the top ten statistics. Punivai landed third in the comp for number of tries scored (7) and clean breaks (15), Harmon with 134 carries, and 149 tackles won.
With 18 games between the two sides, it might be difficult to pinpoint a favourite moment, but for Paraki it was the bus ride into the semi-final game against Counties Manukau, “the energy felt different” he said, “it’s hard to ignore what happened in that game. I think the whole prep before it, to me that was when I thought ‘Woah. This team is different’.
I had a sense that something special was going to happen”.
For Bourke, it was the connections made and strengthened throughout the campaign with the community, families within the squad and particularly meeting Angus Grant and his parents through Miles Toyota and Ronald McDonald house, “they are an exceptional family and I know I speak for the whole team - it was a privilege to have them join our Canterbury village” said Bourke “it’s even better to see Angus doing well and back on the farm down south looking after his chickens with a long road to recovery ahead of him”.
With the season behind us, both coaches expressed their gratitude to the Canterbury fans and community, “Thank you so much for supporting us, all our girls know that the province and people here were behind us and kept being so supportive” said Paraki, “It really helped us build that self-belief. It shows how much we love rugby here at Canterbury, but also the care we have…you were part of the contribution to where we were able to get to this season. It’s just a matter of trying to do it again and get one further.”
Bourke had similar sentiments, saying “To the fans of Canterbury, thank you for your support – I know it has not always been the smoothest of rides and how we all have an expectation that anyone wearing the red and black of Canterbury has to win, The NPC was awesome this year and the rugby landscape is as competitive as I have ever seen it with any team able to beat another on the day. We constantly strive to be successful and win at all costs but we also never lose sight that one of our important functions is to promote our players to the next professional level, while maintaining a strong link with our clubs and communities”.
words by Hannah Yates
It’s 7’s Season
Get on down to Ilam Fields this weekend and jump on the Canterbury Club Sevens sidelines!
Saturday | 10:00am - 3:00pm, Sunday | 10:00am - 2:00pm (tbc)
A huge thank you to our 2024 Pathways Partners.
