Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

Good afternoon Otago Rugby supporters.

Otago's National representation continues with Academy players Aaron Withy, Jeremiah Asi, Ale Aho and HP group training member Jermaine Pepe all named in the New Zealand University side to tour Japan later this month. Go well boys!!!

Otago NPC Internal trialists will be named on Sunday May 21st. Gold and Blue XVs will train in their respective teams on 24th May, 31st May, 7th June with the Internal trial taking place on Wednesday 14th June.

It's a new month and that means we are calling for nominations for our next Otago Community Rugby Volunteer of the Month sponsored by Cobb & Co! Send us a direct message on our Facebook page with a nominee's name, photo and why they should be acknowledged! We will narrow it down to 4 nominees and then the winner will be voted on by the public on our Facebook page and score themselves a meal voucher from Cobb & Co Dunedin.

Otago Rugby wishes to invite all aspiring Otago U19 Mens Representative players for the 2023 campaign to an open skills and fitness testing night at Logan Park 1, 22nd May at 6pm sharp. Register HERE: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/234675 More details on the flyer below.

We are offering some Junior Girls rugby sessions in Queenstown. The dates will be Wednesday the 24th and 31st of May. We will have girls in Year groups 1-8 but will split the age groups up. The younger year groups will be more focused on ball skills, touch/rip rugby and then the more senior girls we will train in ball skills and introductions into tackle and contact as well. More details below.

The 2023 NPC & FPC Draws are out now! Scroll down to check out our Home Games, or check out the full NPC Draw here and FPC 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 ref profile of the week is a young Wāhine that has joined refereeing to learn more about the game and has found a new passion in doing so.

Kahurangi is a great example of someone managing playing, coaching and refereeing. She adds so much to our group and we love having her a part of our special community.

How long have you played rugby for?

I have been playing rugby since a young child, always just as a passion and hobby.

Only within these recent years 2022/2023 have I started getting more serious, and learning intently about the game and its rules.

What made you come to refereeing?

Wanting to learn more about rugby as a player. And I'm always that one person who will take something up and try new things that pique my interest.

It also looked like a great opportunity to meet some great people, be a part of another amazing community, and support the sport we love.

What have you enjoyed the most about refereeing?

The community for sure, everyone that I have met so far is helpful, kind, uplifting, supportive and there's always someone who's keen to help you out.

But I do also love seeing the JAB kids' faces while they play rugby, the passion and fire they all have, especially our female junior all blacks.

What's your greatest refereeing moment to date?

So far they are all equally as great. My favourite moments so far have been the support and cheer from the sidelines, I really do appreciate their thanks afterwards.

With every one I am always learning something new and working on strengthening a different area in how I ref.

I am still very much fresh but growing with every game and enjoying the process.

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

I would love to have the opportunity to be a ref or an AR at a National Women's game in the future.

One of the main goals at the moment is refereeing more games as a female in the hopes of getting more female referees.

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

Great community, great chat, a lot of awesome experiences.

It's blimin nerve wrecking for sure, but every new thing you decide to take up will be. It's by practice and experience that you become better at something.

Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū!! - Feel the fear, and do it anyway!!

Thanks Kahurangi, for helping our game!

OUR Game, OUR Referees.

We are offering some Junior Girls rugby sessions in Queenstown. The dates will be Wednesday the 24th and 31st of May. We will have girls in Year groups 1-8 but will split the age groups up.

Years 1-4 train from 3.30pm until 4.15pm and Years 5-8 train from 4.15pm until 5.00pm. It will be held on Field 4 at Frankton Events Centre.

The younger year groups will be more focused on ball skills, touch/rip rugby and then the more senior girls we will train in ball skills and introductions into tackle and contact as well.

Contact Laura Sadler for more information:

laurasadler.orfu@gmail.com

0279127047

On Tuesday we got together as a group to chew the fat and go over some technical aspects of the game around the breakdown.

In Central we’re a geographically spread out sub-association. This means we try to meet in Cromwell as it’s the most convenient location every fortnight.

What makes our group so special is not only our challenges but also our people.

We’re very fortunate to have people such as Hamish Walker in our group. Hamish is a former National Referees squad member having refereed over 10 first-class fixtures in Heartland rugby.

The experience that Hamish provides in invaluable and those that attend our meetings come away with gold.

But of course we’d like to fill the room up some more and add to our fantastic crew by getting more people signed up.

Rugby simply can’t happen in Central Otago without the likes of people like Hamish pulling on the white jersey.

So, if you or anyone you know has been mulling over refereeing, get in touch with Brandon and give back to our game.

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