Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

Welcome back to another week of rugby news! The time has finally come for the Central Otago people... with the premier club competition officially kicking off this Saturday 17th April. Make sure you get out there and support your team on the sideline. Ahead of this week's games, be sure to skim your eyes over the Central Region Season Preview for 2021. The write ups were provided by legend Tiny Carruthers, which includes players to watch and a general overview of how the teams are shaping up for this season based on their performance in 2020. The match of the round this week is between 2020 champions Cromwell Goats and Arrowtown Bulls, which is a repeat of last year’s final! Scroll down below to view the season preview booklet...

Congratulations to Otago Spirit player Kilisitina Moata’ane who is at the Black Ferns camp up in Wellington. We are delighted to see Tina being included in the Black Ferns circle! Check out our girl below...

This week small Blacks coaches courses took place up central, led by our Game Development Manager Aaron Callaghan. A great night was had at Jack Reid park. Over thirty passionate coaches from Wakatipu and Arrowtown putting in the time and effort to get better for their players. For more up and coming courses, along with coaching advise from Aaron check out our coaches corner below.

In 2021 the ORFU in co-operation with the Otago Rugby Referees Association - Inc have some new incentives on offer to work together with our rugby community to service our game. Lack of Referees is not a "Referee problem" it is a Rugby problem. So we need... RUGBY HELPING RUGBY. We encourage you to think of someone who has a passion for the game. See the new referee incentive we have on offer in 2021 below!

If you want to play club rugby in 2021 it's not too late to get yourself registered... Check out our club directory page on our website for all relevant info or click here

Want to play women's club rugby in 2021? Click here for club contacts.

Southern Region, Central Region and Metro Premier Draws are now available to view. For more information on how to navigate these draws scroll down.

Interesting Reads from Otago Daily Times:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Provided by Francis Parker

Clutha vs Toko

Clutha are in unfamiliar territory. On the brink of three losses in a row for the first time in recent memory. Their loss to Valley last weekend was due to poor discipline and a static backline. Their opponents, Toko are yet to win a game this season after two matches and a bye. They lost to West Taieri last weekend in a physical encounter. Toko will fancy their chances of upsetting the home side for the first time since 2009.

Roxburgh vs Owaka

Roxburgh are at home for the first time this season. They have had two big losses to Heriot and Crescent respectively. They improved tenfold in their second match against Crescent last week, securing a four try bonus point. Owaka are coming off the bye and are yet to win a game either this season yet. Roxburgh will fancy their chances at home with surely a near-full squad to choose from.

West Taieri vs Clinton

Friday night matches are the way of the world for Clinton this season. With more players available for them on Friday’s its fantastic that most teams have accommodated their request. The Wild Horses conceded over 50 points for the third week in a row last week and it doesn’t look like getting any easier this week against the unbeaten West Taieri at Outram.

Heriot vs Crescent

Heriot host Crescent at Death Valley in the match of the round. The Death Valley Boys are unbeaten after three rounds but have played three teams not expected to feature in the finals picture. This will be their first “acid test” of the season up against a Crescent team coming off a big win over Roxburgh and a morale boosting win over Clutha the week before. We will finally see Heriot’s pedigree after this match certainly.

I feel very grateful for this time of the year. It is a great chance to get around the region and meet plenty of coaches. As you would expect there is a vast mix of experiences and ambitions. First year coaches through to ten plus year vets. One of the common things I see no matter if I am in town or the country is the passion for helping our players get better, have a great experience and continue in the game that we love.

Over the course of the season, I’m keen to get a weekly coach’s segment going. This will be a short piece on things I have seen in my travels around the region or random coaching thoughts.

If you have any questions that you would like answered in this section, please email aaron.callaghan@orfu.co.nz

For those coaches looking to add to their knowledge base on how to coach decision making, build team culture, effective communication strategies, planning a world class session and much, much more, I would highly recommend The Coaches Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov

As a region I feel our players are so lucky having so many great people involved. Keep up the awesome work.

Cheers Azza