TeamTalk #35
Thursday, 03 September 2009 04:38
TeamTalk #35 is now online.For the Trivia Fan
Which northern hemisphere country playing in the New Zealand leg of the IRB Sevens World Series has had the most New Zealanders in its side?
SPARC Volunteer Coach of the Year Awards 2009
Do not forget that entries for this close Friday 4 September.
Further information is available at: http://www.sparc.org.nz/sport/coaching/coach-of-the-year
Post Season 7's Tournaments
Whilst venues are still to be confirmed, the announcement of these dates will allow planning and preparation for clubs to be put in place for each of these tournaments. Please be aware that in all three tournaments, the WRFU Youth Player Eligibility Policy will be enforced. All three tournaments are open to WRFU Club Teams only.
12 September Local Point Sevens Tournament
26 September WRFU Sevens Tournament
3 October American Ambassador Sevens Tournament
In each of the Men's 7s tournaments there will once again be a U20 Grade to replace the U21 Tournament that has been held in the past.
All players will need to be registered with a WRFU Club or Secondary School and must have competed in WRFU Club/Secondary School rugby competitions in 2009. Rugby League players/teams will not be permitted to take part in these tournaments.
Tournament rules can be found on Page 56 of the WRFU By-Laws. These are available under:http://www.wrfu.co.nz/community-rugby/forms-and-documents
Further information will be available from Nathan Pilalis: 021 390 463 or
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Recent Promotion of Referees
As the season draws to a close, the WRRA has promoted two more referees. Brett Beaumont and Vincent Ringrose have gone up from Junior to Intermediate.
The best 5 referees in the Intermediate Grade are selected into the Top-5 panel. The 2009 Intermediate Top-5 is: 1. Rob Neru, 2. Brent Ringrose, 3. Daniel Mangin, 4. Bradley Hudson, 5. Nicholas Hogan
Our leading referees continue to gain appointments in top Air NZ Cup fixtures. Chris Pollock, Garratt Williamson and Mike Fraser are representing the province with distinction. The Central Region Zone Squad and Promising Squad are well represented by Wellington referees who are getting out into the Hurricanes provinces adjudicating in representative rugby from Under 16 through to provincial ‘B' level.
Congratulations to Wayne Dickson and Gordon Noble-Campbell for their appointments to the Jubilee Cup Final and Hardham Cup Final respectively. Mike Fraser and Phil Smith refereed Jubilee Cup semi-finals while Daniel Kershaw and Hamish Mexted refereed Hardham Cup semi-finals.
Sport Wellington Coach of the Month
Congratulations to Gus Smith who was named Coach of the Month by Sport Wellington. He was Coach of Johnsonville RFC senior team "that won its way back into the Premier Division for 2010 competition. Gus is a loyal and dedicated club man who has jelled and trained his young team to success."
Club News
Hutt Old Boys Marist RFC and Petone RFC have both had food drives in the last month. Thank you to members of both clubs for their support and donations.
Representative Rugby
Several teams have kicked off their 2009 campaigns. So far Wellington Pride have had a great win over Otago in their first competition game this season followed by a a 10-10 draw against Auckland last weekend.
Congratulations to Rebecca Liua'ana who played her 50th NPC game for Wellington Pride on Saturday.
Keep an eye out at www.wrfu.co.nz for the results and upcoming games.
A full list of representative fixtures is available at http://www.wrfu.co.n/community-rugby/rep-teams/representative-fixtures-2009
Under 14 and 15 Trials
Nominations have been received and players named for our Under 14 and Under 15 trials.
The Under 14 trials start first and will be held:
· Monday 7 September - Hutt Valley at Taita College, 4.30pm Kickoff
· Wednesday 9 September - Wellington City at Evans Bay Intermediate Field, 4.30pm Kickoff
· Thursday 10 September - Western Bays at Tawa College, 4.30pm Kickoff
The Under 15 trials will be held on Sunday 13 September:
· Hutt Valley at St Bernards College, 9.30am Kickoff
· Wellington City at Wellington High School, 12.30pm Kickoff
· Western Bays at Porirua College, 3.30pm Kickoff
For further information contact Rick Whatarau on 021 228 2129 or
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Junior Rugby
Wellington City Tackle Tournament
This tournament was held on Tuesday 11 August for Year 5/6 & 7/8 at Ian Galloway Park.
There were a total of 21 teams (approx 350 players), with 15 Year 5/6 teams & 6 Year 7/8 teams coming on a fine but chilly day. The Ranfurly Shield was on show as well and a great day was enjoyed.
Karori Nomal School was the winner of the Year 7/8 section.
Winners of the Year 5/6 pools were Pool 1 Seatoun School, Pool 2 West Park School, and Pool 3 Khandallah School.
Western Bays Tackle Tournament
The Western Bays tournament for Year 5/6, 7/8, and 7/8 Girlblack was held on Tuesday 15 August at Ngati Toa Domain.
There were a total of 25 teams (approx 350 players), with 12 Year 5/6 teams, eight Year 7/8 and five Girlblack teams came on the day.
Winner of the Year 7/8 Girlblack section was Paremata School.
Winners of the Year 7/8 sections were Championship Brandon Intermediate School, Plate Te Kura Maori o Porirua School.
Winners of the Year 5/6 sections were Championship Titahi Bay 2 School, Plate Paremata School, and Bowl Plimmerton School.
Hutt Valley Tackle Tournament
The Hutt Valley tackle tournament was held on Tuesday 18 August for Year 5/6, 7/8, and 7/8 Girlblack at Fraser Park.
We had a total of 41 teams (approx 700 players), with 27 Year 5/6 teams, nine Year 7/8, and four Girlblack teams there on the day. Again the Ranfurly Shield was on show as well and a great day was enjoyed.
Winners of the Year 7/8 Girlblack section were Newlands Intermediate School.
Winners of the Year 7/8 section were Pool 1 Hutt International Boys School and Pool 2 Tui Glen School.
Winners of the Year 5/6 pools were Pool 1 Upper Hutt School, Pool 2 Trentham School, Pool 3 Wellesley School, Pool 4 Oxford Crescent, Pool 5 and 6 Championship Section Pomare School, Pool 5 and 6 Bowl Section Maungaraki School.
2009 Wellington Under 13 Premier 1 and 2 Squads
These have been announced and can be seen on the WRFU website.
Under 11 Coaching Day
The Vodafone Wellington Lions Coaching Day was held on Sunday 23 August at Ian Galloway Park.
Under 11 Teams from Johnsonville, Marist St Pats, Newlands, Northern United, Paremata-Plimmerton, Rimutaka, Upper Hutt, Waikanae, Wellington and Wests Roosters junior sections enjoyed the coaching that was provided. Vodafone Wellington Lions players in attendance were: Jacob Ellison, John Schwalger, Dan Kirkpatrick, David Smith, Robert Fruean, Fa'atonu Fili, Ged Robinson and Faifili Levave.
The Vodfaone Wellington Lions players refereed games and also ran team skill sessions, together with CCO's.
Afterwards players were given a sausage and drink, and then mingled with the Vodafone Wellington Lions to get autographs and photos.
Thanks to the Vodafone Wellignton Lions players and CCO's for giving their time, and also the JRZE for providing food & drink.
Junior Triangular College Exchange
This was between Newlands, Onslow and Tawa Colleges with teams all U65kg and Years 9-10 students only.
Newlands College came out on top with two close wins, beating both Tawa College 12-5, and Onslow College 17-14. Onslow beat Tawa in the other game.
Wellington Samoan Rugby
The game last week end against Wellington B was a very big stepping stone for the Wellington Samoan team. They were all looking forward to the occasion to test themselves against better opposition.
A good first up win the previous week end against Wairarapa Bush (55 - 15) set a very good platform for the team to work with. The morale was exceptional with coaching staff Frank Rees, Okesene Moananu & Faavae Tumaai leading a collective way with playing Rugby and having fun. Some of their boys are having a taste of Samoan culture for the first time and they really enjoy and all want to be part of it.
Sport Wellington "Club Promotion" Workshop
How does your club attract new members?
How will your club keep existing members?
How much should your club charge for membership?
How will your club get an article in the local newspaper?
What's the difference between internal and external promotion?
With summer just around the corner Sport Wellington can help your club with a promotional plan. This workshop will be held in the Sport Wellington Office, 113 Adelaide Road, Newtown on 14 September. The Registration form is available on the Sport Wellington website.
CCO's Golf Tournament
The WRFU Coaching Coordinator network recently put together a fundraising Golf Tournament at the Shandon Golf Course in Petone. The day dawned perfectly fine so 22 teams, each with four enthusiastic rugby supporters, teed off and enjoyed a fun day. The purpose was to raise funds to allow the CCO network to get together for two full days in December and plan the 2010 calendar year.
Also on the day Andrew Green, one of the resident golf professionals, ran a competition on the par 3 18th hole and raised $460 for The Wellington Free Ambulance.
A special thanks to Darren Larsen for his contribution to the day.
The Answer - for the Trivia Fan
Croatia in 2000 - all but one of the players came from Auckland.