Hi everyone! I’m Charlotte, I have recently moved to Canterbury and taken over the receptionist role for CRFU. It is feeling like home here already. You’ll find me at the main entrance, often organising the many packages that arrive at Rugby Park and fielding calls to staff throughout the building.
My journey here started off with a bang as I began my role in the first week of the Bunnings Warehouse NPC and Farah Palmer Cup seasons! It has been busy, but so much fun becoming familiar with all of the amazing people that make up Canterbury Rugby, and I am so excited to keep learning.
I feel very blessed with the role I have as I get to be involved with all aspects of the organisation, from the Community team, our Board Members, right through to NPC and FPC players and management.
I am really excited for the rest of the season and look forwards to meeting many more faces within the Canterbury Rugby community.
Charlotte
Reception Administrator
Welcome from the front desk
There is plenty happening in Community Rugby now that the club and school seasons have (nearly) come to a close however there is still a lot of representative rugby being played.
Around the Grounds
Christchurch Girls High School 1st XV is at the NZ Barbarians National 1st XV Championships across Friday 6th and Sunday 8th of September – all the best in your quest for the national title team! You can watch their game against Howick College live here, or keep your eye on the weekends results with the NZ Barbarians National 1st XV Championships Facebook page. It will be a busy week for the girls as on their return from the Nationals they will take on St Andrews 1st XV in the Miles Toyota Cup Final on Wednesday 11th September.
The Tane Norton Cup Competition came to its conclusion with the Cantabrians taking out the competition in the final week.
A couple of highlights of the comp would be the Waitaha and Pasifika match at Apollo Projects Stadium and of course, the Southbridge Shield Match with North Canterbury making it 3 in a row over their Ellesmere counterparts. Both occasions were great ways for us to connect with our community with a mix of community and high-performance rugby.
Upcoming South Island Rep Tournaments/ Matches:
Canterbury B play matches against Otago, Wellington and Tasman starting tomorrow.
The Under 19 Boys Tournament is on Friday 6th and Monday 9th September at Nga Puna Wai.
The Under 18 Girls Tournament round robin gets underway on the 14th September with Finals at Nga Puna Wai 6th - 8th October.
The Under 16 Boys Tournament round robin gets underway tomorrow with the Finals at Waihora RFC 3rd -5th October.
Check out our draw here.
2024 Community Rugby Community Awards:
The Canterbury Rugby Community Annual Awards are an incredibly prestigious and important part of the fabric of our game.
Taking the time to recognise, celebrate and reward the individuals and collective groups within our rugby community that stand out as leaders, contributors and innovators on and off the field, is something we take immense pride in, and place significant importance on.
We invite nominations for the below award categories.
Volunteer of the Year
Coach of the Year
Community Team of the Year
Rugby School of the Year
Club of the Year
Nominations close on Sunday 15th September.
Finalists will be notified at our earliest convenience and invited to be hosted by Canterbury Rugby at an NPC home game.
For more information on each of the award categories and to nominate a deserving recipient click here
A community brought together in the name of rugby
North Canterbury clubs banded together in the weekend to help put on a fabulous day of rugby at the Rangiora Showgrounds, proving the wonders of our rugby community.
The logistics of hosting a rugby game away from the stadium is no walk in the park with planning beginning a year ago, after discussions started just one week after the 2023 game in Rangiora against Taranaki.
A variety of people worked together to make this a successful day, managed by our Events Executive Meg Schmack, who you can read more about in this edition of the Red and Black. Volunteers from various North Canterbury rugby clubs also took part in the day as fundraising initiatives.
Glenmark – Cheviot, Ohoka and Ashley Rugby Club’s all did their part to keep the crowds fed and refreshed hosting food and beverage stands, with Ashley Rugby Club also taking on the enormous effort to feed over 400 players and officials from the North Canterbury and Ellesmere sub unions for their after match feasts.
Woodend Rugby Club took on the task of manning the gates, car park and rubbish collection with their efforts going towards new lights at their grounds. Lucy French, from the Woodend Rugby Club Committee, supervised approximately fifteen of their players from the Womens and Div 2 teams on Sunday, with shifts scheduled so the volunteers could take turns, “but some of them were enjoying the vibe so much they decided to stay on!” she said, “it was a cool day, the sun was shining, the girls from our women’s team had a ball, it was a fantastic day!”
Many comments were made by those attending about the excellent conditions of the fields, which we have the ground staff to thank for. Meticulous work was put in over the weeks leading up to the big day, including ensuring the field of play was safe, lawns continuously mowed, steady work on the line marking and apparently someone even ordered that wonderful sunshine.
CRFU are grateful for all the hard mahi from volunteers and organisations that went into creating another glorious day of rugby out in North Canterbury, and would like to thank everyone who had a part to play.
NPC and FPC wrap up
ROUND 3
NPC V AUCKLAND
James White started the side off well putting two penalties through the sicks after just 17 minutes. An evenly fought scrum was the starting point of Auckland’s first points on the board, a kick off from Canterbury was contested and caught by Jone Rova, who ended up gliding it over the white line less than a minute later. Half time score was 7-14 to Canterbury. James Mullan made a great run to the 10 metre line which ended in Daniel Leinert – Brown getting it down right on the posts! James White was held up with what could have been an amazing try from a dummy pass. The score was 21-27 to Canterbury with mere seconds left while Auckland held the ball with the try line in sights. The hooter goes but TMO weighed in and deemed a knock on by Auckland. Canterbury control the scrum and kick it dead for the final whistle… was their a Cantab who still had nails after that?
FPC V AUCKLAND
Starting off strong, Dermody got the ball down in the fourth minute giving us a nice 7-0 lead early on. The first half was brought to an end after a gruelling few minutes spent challenging Auckland’s defence - a forward pass meant Paloma’s try was disallowed, Busch was just shy after hitting the defence line low and hard, Milnes got it over but was unfortunately held up. Coming into the second half 10-26 down, our wāhine came in fast and strong putting three tries on the board in just ten minutes! Gapper got the ball through Auckland’s ankles straight from a ruck, Laikong brought the house down with an amazing chip and chase, then Paloma took a high intercept and bolted it 85 metres to the try zone! The final score wasn’t in our favour, finishing with 27-43 to the blue and white hoops. Bayfield handed the JJ Stewart over and both teams joined together in song, a beautiful sight that showed the true heart of the game.
ROUND 4 / STORM WEEK
FPC BYE WEEK
NPC V HAWKE’S BAY
Storm Week kicked off with Canterbury taking on Hawke’s Bay at Apollo Projects Stadium. James White continued his success from last week by putting the first points on the board just six minutes in. Isaac Hutchinson read the Hawke’s Bay play beautifully catching an intercept and scored a try. At half time the score board was 13 a piece. Four minutes back in, Canterbury made a stunning play at attack, holding onto the ball for 13 phases ending with Kurtis MacDonald scoring a try on the wing. The infamous “Caaaaanteeeerbury!” chant bellowed around the stand! White did it again and kicked us to a one point lead with 11 minutes left on the clock, but Hawke’s Bay get one down a couple of minutes later making it 21-27 to the visitors until the final whistle.
NPC V WELLINGTON
Continuing with Storm Week, Wellington arrived in Rangiora well prepared to take on our Canterbury NPC team, the first half was 0-31 to the visitors but not without some incredible runs by Braydon Ennor and James White. 44 minutes on the clock and White dodged his way through the Wellington defence to put down his first try in the red and black jersey! A lineout, maul and some fast hands from our back line lead to Chay Fihaki's superb try on the wing. Ten minutes later quick actions from the backs set up for a stunning try from Dallas McLeod, who placed the ball down right between the posts - on his 50th appearance for Canterbury! Despite a come back in the second half, the Wellington side came out on top with the final score of 21-39.
NPC Players visit Rangiora High School
Ahead of the Rangiora game, Ryan Crotty, Brodie McAllister, Daniel Lienert-Brown and Marty Bourke visited students at Rangiora High School to answer some of their questions about life as a professional rugby player. The players really enjoy connecting with the future of Canterbury Rugby, and were grateful for the time and questions from students and teachers.
Snapshots from Sunday at the Rangiora Showground
Round Five team lists
FPC heads to Prebbleton!
Get ready Prebbleton – we’re about to paint the town Red and Black!
The Farah Palmer Cup presented by Bunnings Warehouse will soon be hosted at Prebbleton Domain on 14 September when Canterbury play Hawke’s Bay.
After the success of taking NPC to North Canterbury the last two seasons, CRFU are very excited to bring an FPC game to another local ground.
Captain of the side, Laura Bayfield, is looking forwards to showcasing Canterbury women’s rugby at a local ground, “club rugby is the roots from where we have all developed” she said, “it’s super important to be able to involve our local clubs and hopefully inspire the younger generation of girls and boys by showing them the pathways that are available”.
Grab a bite to eat with our vendors, let the kids loose at the Kids Fun Zone and get involved in the FPC coming to Ellesmere!
Grab your tickets for just $10 from Ticketek, kids under 10 go FREE!
FPC half time entertainment with Toyota!
Join us for an exciting opportunity to build your own Hilux during the Farah Palmer Cup Miles Toyota Halftime Hilux Hustle and be in to win!
Gather your team and enter for a chance to win a free WOF and service on your vehicle (any make or model), plus free game tickets.
FPC play at Prebbleton Domain 14 September, get your tickets here so you don’s miss out on this awesome chance!
Meet Meg Schmack, who began her CRFU life as an intern from Lincoln University studying Sport and Recreation Management, with a major in events management. Now, she’s running events like bringing the NPC game to the Rangiora Showgrounds
How long have you been in your role at CRFU?
After my internship I was given the role of partnerships and engagement coordinator. This was a great role to start my career in and I was in that space for a year and a half. Recently, I was given the role of events executive, and I have now been doing that role for just over three months.
Pathways at CRFU
What support or mentorship did you receive during your transition from intern to a full-time position?
When transferring from intern to full time I was given support from the whole partnerships and engagement team. They all knew that I was super excited to start and keen to learn everything I could about all of the different areas. In our team there is two areas, partnerships and engagement. In the coordinator role I was given a lot of opportunities when I first started to learn about both sides, helping our events executive at the time with her game days, as well as joining meetings with partners to get a good understanding of what the relationship management side of things involved.
How has CRFU supported your development, and what resources or opportunities were most valuable to you?
The organisation has helped me a lot with my career development, especially in my first role. Getting involved in all areas of our team was beneficial to me learning what I wanted to do with my career. Working with the partnerships team and learning about the relationship side of things was interesting. With my interest being events the events executive before me made sure to involve me in all of the processes that are done before events, so that I was able to learn more about them.
What is your favourite part of your involvement with the CRFU?
The people are my favourite part of my job. The team I work with is so fun and easy to get along with, but also so hands on and ready to help whenever I need it. Everyone in the building gets along really well and work well as a team. I also love my new role as events executive as I get to see things play out that I put together, specifically the recent games at Rangiora, that was a big project for me this year and it was awesome to see it all come together. There is also so many other opportunities that come up through this job such as being able to help with teams like the Crusaders, the All Blacks, and the Black Ferns – such a good insight to how other teams run their games and so much learning available.
What advice would you give to others contemplating an internship with CRFU?
I would say to definitely go for it. With Canterbury Rugby growing there is so many new opportunities coming up for people to take. If you do take on an internship at CRFU, I would recommend getting involved as much as you can. We are always looking for people to are eager to help, get involved and are happy to be there. If as an intern you make a good impression it is going to make a huge difference when applying for jobs either in CRFU or externally.
