Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

Good afternoon Otago supporters & welcome to our weekly newsletter

It's going to be a huge weekend of finals footy this weekend, with the Clutha Valley Condors hosting the Cromwell Goats in the Country Wide Final at Clydevale, kick off is at 2:45pm so be sure to get down to to Clutha Valley RFC early to secure your spot pitch side!!!

This Saturday the Metropolitan Club Rugby competition is wrapping up for another year! After a big weekend of semi finals, the top two teams from the Premier 1 and Premier 2 competitions have been decided... This Saturday, the Taieri Eels and Green Island Grizzlies will go head to head in the "Battle of the Saddle" for the Speights Championship Shield.

Also, be sure to catch Dunedin and Kaikorai battle it out for the Premier Development Championship. You don’t want to miss it! Saturday 31st of July Premier 2- 1pm Premier 1- 3pm Forsyth Barr Stadium. Gold coin donation at entry through Gate E. Good luck to all the teams involved!

Otago Spirit travel North to take on Counties Manukau Heat this Sunday! It's sure to be an epic battle so tune into Sky Sport at 12:05pm to back our ladies. Then lock in your tickets here to see the ladies play live against Waikato here at Forsyth Barr stadium next Saturday 7 July, kick off at 2:05pm followed by Otago vs Southland in the first round of the Bunnings warehouse NPC.

Congratulations to our Otago NPC boys on their second preseason victory after doing battle against Canterbury in Temuka yesterday. The boys played some stella footy and walked away with a 28-21 win! The NPC comp officially kicks off next weekend when Otago take on Southland at Forsyth Barr Stadium Saturday 7 July at 4:35pm The match day theme is club round so we want all of our supporters to wear their club jerseys to the game! We know the Southland Stags fans will be coming with force to the game so we need our community to get behind our boys to drown out their noise! Secure your tickets here, and don't forget to support your club by entering your clubs passcode, more details on how to do this can be found below.

It's the final week to secure your Season Memberships! Membership forms can be located on our website here. If you wish to renew your membership or sign up for the first time you have until 5 August to lock in your seat.

We have been delighted to see the response to our "For the Love of Club" initiative! Otago supporters can purchase tickets to all 5 Otago home games now on Ticketek. When purchasing be sure to enter the promo code for your club or the Otago Referees Association. A list of all clubs and referees promo codes can be found at the bottom of the page here see more on how much will be contributed and how to make your purchase below!

Interesting Reads from Otago Daily Times:

Otago wins after strong first half
Valley versus Cromwell in battle of titans
Well-timed form v transformed team

Taieri vs Green Island

The big dance has arrived and what a belter it promises to be….

The Battle of The Saddle, Green Island vs Taieri under the glass panes of Forsyth Barr Stadium… what more could you want on your Saturday arvo?

These two sides have met twice previously in 2021 with Green Island taking the upper hand on both occasions in the Speights Jug and Gallaway Trophy rounds so Taieri will be out to tarnish the Grizzlies hope of hatrick wins over the Eels. It has been a very long time between drinks for the Grizzlies and grand final footy so for the whole Green Island club this is a massive achievement regardless of the result and expect to see the green and gold out in numbers come Saturday afternoon as they look to take out their first title in 43 years. For Taieri they have the opportunity to write history into the books and complete back to back Speights championship wins after their 2020 banner win over the Bookworms last year.

There are matchups galore right across the park but it has to be the battle of the locks that sticks out from the rest of the pack. Ben Morris and Don Lolo up against Woody Kirkwood and Josh Clark what a contest that promises to be as youth and experience combine. And keep your watchful eye on the inside peering of Harmon and Te-Hiwi as they look to burst the Taieri midfield of Laing and Ngatai.

When it comes to finals footy, it’s winning the big moments that wins you games. Previous results all go out the window and it’s a battle of the top two inches to see who can take top spot on the Metropolitan Premier Podium. There’s no better place to be this Saturday at Forsyth Barr Stadium so bring the family in hundreds and prepare to witness one of the all time great club finals.

Clutha Valley vs Cromwell

The Otago Country club season comes to a close this weekend with the Country Wide final contested by two unbeaten teams in their respective competitions. Clutha Valley are unbeaten in fourteen matches this season and take their place in the final after a very solid 37-22 win over West Taieri in the Southern Region final last weekend. It took Valley 40 minutes to show their worth on attack, but once they hit their straps there was no stopping them. Cromwell have been equally as impressive and have a slightly longer winning streak to defend. Cromwell’s last defeat was in the 2019 final to Arrowtown. They have been the cream of the Central crop for the past two seasons with 19 wins on the bounce. This will be a tight battle.

Another big game of rugby this weekend! Clutha Valley Condors, who were named the 2021 Southern Region champions last week after an impressive battle against West Taieri, will now take on the strong Central Otago Cromwell Goats side.

The game will be hosted at Clutha Valley RFC in Clydevale. This will be the first time in many years that the Valley have made it to the Country wide final, making it a very special event for the club especailly with it being their cenntinnal year as well.

Get along to support the boys... there will be bagpipes, balloons, rugby, music and more! Not to be missed.

Match Day Programme - Metro, Central & Southern Region

Secondary Schools First XV Match Day Programme