Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

Good afternoon Otago Rugby supporters.

The 2023 FPC Draw was announced this week with 3 Otago Spirit Home Games. Some locations are still to be confirmed. The Farah Palmer Cup is set to kick off Saturday 15th July however the Otago Spirit's first game in the Championship Grade will be on Saturday 22nd July against Tasman in Nelson. To view the full draw click here or scroll down to see our Home games. We can't wait for the ladies to be back in action!

We have a “For the Love of the Game” event happening this Saturday at Forsyth Barr Stadium! For the Love of the Game’ provides the opportunity for club players to enjoy the experience of playing under the roof. Scroll down to get full details and get along to cheer on your teams. Keep your eye's peeled on our socials for more details around the Wahine round being played at the Stadium on 27 May!

Otago Rugby are offering an open fitness and skills diagnostic session for players interested in representing Otago this season. This opportunity is primarily for Development and NPC level players and is open to both Metro and Country. It will be held at Opoho grounds on Wednesday 3rd May at 6pm. No registration needed, just turn up and show us what you've got!

Secondary School Coaches are invited to discuss a Highlanders Positional and Core Skill Document to help support their Coach Development. Our key objective is to provide coaches with some further skills/games which can be utilised throughout the season to develop these core skills with your players. Coaches can attend in person or via zoom. Register Here. Check out the flyer below for dates/times/locations.

The 2023 NPC Draw is out now! Scroll down to check out our Home Games, or check out the full NPC Draw here.

Scroll down for more rugby news and announcements like development opportunities, weekly happenings, rugby courses and more…

ODT Interesting Reads!

This week’s Referee profile of the week is a young man that started out refereeing in Otago and spent a year away in Canterbury last year. Thankfully Trey has seen the light and has returned to the land of the Golden O to bolster our stocks in South Otago.

How long did you play rugby for?

Played junior years at Kaikorai Rugby Club, then played U14-U15 for Kings High school.

What made you come to refereeing?

Injuries and seeing the people involved in refereeing looked like a good bunch of people thought I would give it a go.

What have you enjoyed the most about refereeing?

Meeting all the people across multiple regions (Otago, South Otago and Canterbury) and seeing what different skills different teams have and show.

What's your greatest refereeing moment to date?

2022 Colts A final referee in Christchurch.

What do you want to get out of refereeing for the future?

See more different regions of footy. Different parts of the world is a real possibility.

What would be your advice to someone who's thinking of taking up the whistle

If you’re thinking about it just do it and see how it goes, if it’s not for you then at least you’ve tried. If you enjoy it then carry on.

Thanks Trey, for helping our game!

OUR Game, OUR Referees.

Our fantastic match officials in our metro region were supported by Will Henry and Moxy Smith from Otago Rugby this past Monday night.

New for this year in Metro is the restructure of the Training and Development evenings to incorporate different levels of learning and discussions.

Will took our Performance focus area and developed some great conversations around what both parties are trying to achieve at scrum time.

The Development group was led by John Keenan and our foundational new referees were facilitated by Richard Mitchell and Chucky Carroll.

By the end of the session all of our referees in attendance were able to participate in a group with similar understanding.

A massive thanks to Will and Moxy for their experience and guidance shared.

The next training & development session will focus on lineout/maul with special guests soon to be announced.

If you’d like to be a part of a fantastic growing Team and give back to your community then pop along to one of our training and development nights or get in touch with Brandon.hale@orfu.co.nz

NZR and Visitor Solutions have released their first findings from insights on the Future of Rugby Clubs Project. This project is a two-year initiative to strengthen community rugby clubs around the country. The Future of Rugby Clubs project will identify the current and preferred future state of the rugby club system in New Zealand and provide a transformational plan for NZR to implement.

Otago Rugby will hold a series of drop-in sessions across the province in May to discuss the data/insights, how do the national findings align in our Otago context. Visitor Solutions will they run a series of clusters in June. If you would like to read the initial findings and roadmap of the project click on the links below. If you have any feedback contact your local club committee member.

Future of Rugby Clubs Road Map

Future of Rugby Clubs Preliminary Insights - Feb 2023