Annual Report 2018 th 138 Annual Report of the Otago Rugby Football Union 1 | P a g e Otago Rugby Football Union Inc. th Notice is hereby given that the 138 Annual General Meeting of the Otago Rugby Football Union Incorporated will be held at Taieri Rugby Football Club, Peter Johnstone Park, Reid Avenue, Mosgiel on Wednesday 27th March 2019, beginning at 7.00pm. Richard Kinley General Manager 2 | P a g e President’s Report This is my third year as President of the ORFU and from an overall perspective of Otago Rugby, this year would clearly be the most satisfying. While there remain a number of challenges in our game right across the board both at provincial and at a national level, there are many positive aspects which we should all enjoy and continue to celebrate. Of the 33 clubs in the province, I managed to visit 28 of them and every one was an absolute pleasure. In addition, the many secondary school games, weight grade fixtures, tournaments, representative fixtures, meetings, prizegivings, sponsors functions and a host of other events, has made this season a most enjoyable experience. One aspect that I would like to comment on is the secondary school rugby scene. Richard Kinley and I took the opportunity to meet with the Chairman of the Canterbury Secondary Schools Rugby Council during a visit to Christchurch. While I will not go into the details of the meeting, it became very evident that the current systems we have in place for administering and managing the game at this level in Otago are very sound. The Otago Secondary Schools Rugby Council raise significant funds to support what is truly an Otago wide competition. It is pleasing to note that in 2019, Wakatipu High School will be entering all their teams in the Otago competition, the first time for a number of years. The introduction of a Dunedin Co-educational Team in the Premier Schools Grade is another positive initiative to give students a pathway to play First XV rugby. The philosophy of creating a draw that gives teams across all grades competitive games, has been long standing and will continue to assist in keeping players in the game. While there is always room for improvement, including the liaison between clubs and schools, the Otago Secondary Schools Rugby Council are open to ideas and aware that students now have a wide range of sports to choose from, and clearly understand that as a governing body they must continue to be proactive. Premier Club rugby both in the Country and in the Metropolitan competitions were very successful. As stated earlier I was fortunate enough to see a large number of country games and was impressed with the quality of the matches. There is no question that country rugby continues to improve at all levels, due largely to supportive volunteers in the clubs, some fine coaching led by Aaron Callaghan and Lee Allan and strong administration at the Country Board level. The Metropolitan Premier competition was well contested, with a number of teams vying for the top four positions. From my perspective, all grades appeared to function well with some learnings to be taken from the Colts grade. The finals in the Country at Wanaka and in Balclutha were great occasions with huge crowds at both games showing there is still a real interest in club rugby. The finals day concept centred around the Forsyth Barr Stadium was also very successful, attracting good support across all matches. Congratulations to all those involved on what was a positive initiative. In watching so much rugby throughout the season, I would particularly like to pass on the Union’s appreciation to the referees throughout the province who willingly give up their time to officiate our great game. The emergence of secondary school referees is a wonderful initiative by the Association and bodes well for the future. As we all know, the rules of the game are not easy to follow or understand, however we are so fortunate in having a very able group of volunteers who do their very best in assisting to give the players an enjoyable experience. I had the privilege of attending the 125th Jubilee of the Owaka Rugby Club along with their special guest Stan Meads. I spent two days at the celebrations and could have easily stayed a whole week as the Jubilee Committee did an outstanding job of organising such a wonderful event. The large turnout of past players, coaches, administrators and supporters was testimony to the traditions of the Owaka Rugby Club. The Premier team then went on to cap off the weekend by defeating Clinton in the first competition match of the season. The organising committee should be very proud of their efforts – we expected nothing less from such a great club. Well done to the Otago Spirit team on making the Championship Final of the Farah Palmer Cup. I was fortunate enough to see the Spirit play on a number of occasions and was impressed with their skill level and their commitment. They will continue to grow as a team and will be motivated to go the next step in 2019. Women’s rugby across the province is certainly developing, and while this will take time to progress to the highest level, the introduction of the Women’s Academy and the continuation of the secondary schoolgirls competitions, will all assist in growing the game. The Women’s Premier competition produced another exciting final in front of a very supportive crowd. As President, there can be some very satisfying and rewarding moments during the season. The trip to Auckland to support the Otago team at Eden Park was a wonderful experience. The boys played 3 | P a g e their hearts out and to hold onto the ball for those final four minutes was a great effort. For me this was a special victory as I have been to Eden Park several times as Manager of the Otago team and although we came close, we never managed to win. What impressed me most was the way our boys handled themselves after the game – remaining humble at all times. I was also impressed with the Auckland team management and their Board who were extremely praiseworthy of our performance both when speaking at the after-match function and also when congratulating me and our small group of supporters after the game. The Ranfurly Shield challenge would be without doubt the highlight of the year. I was the leader of a tour party, which made the victory even sweeter. The way we played in the early part of that game was just outstanding so to have that cushion of points, placed us in a strong position. The last four minutes were nerve wracking but I was confident we would hold on after the experience of the Auckland win. I would be telling a lie if I said I was not emotional after the game. That result was huge for all the rugby people of Otago and we can now look forward to a number of exciting Shield defences. The re-union of the NPC Champions of 1998, both players and management, together with the Champion Rebels Netball team was a wonderful experience. Managing the team in 1998 was probably the highlight of my rugby career mainly because you were in the company of such a great group of guys who played some outstanding rugby, the likes we may never see again. The luncheon on the Friday was a superb event. Players and management were interviewed, stories were told about times both on and off the field - it was wonderful entertainment for the whole three hours. Then there was the cocktail function where the Brendan Laney chainsaw was in action as was the Romi Ropati kick box added to by the humorous stories from Kees Meeuws and many others. The netball girls more than played their part as well at both functions and talked openly about their competitiveness on the court as well as their frequent social times. It was great also to have the current 2018 team come to the luncheon to have their playing jerseys presented by the 1998 team. The lounges were decked out in Blue and Gold, the food was great and the Speight’s tasted as good as ever. Well done to Matt, Michelle and Monique from the ORFU for their superb organisation. Saturday morning saw the boys assemble at Carisbrook to reminisce about that incredible season and those amazing home games including a semi-final against Taranaki and the final against Waikato. We assembled on Saturday afternoon for pre-match drinks with the netball girls and then made our way to the ground to be hosted by the ORFU. As the Otago and Canterbury teams ran out onto the ground the netball girls lined the tunnel while at half time the 1998 rugby team were taken out onto the ground to meet all the fans and throw balls into the crowd. The 1998 team joined the current team in the changing room after the game and while the 2018 boys were disappointed with their performance, the 1998 lads soon lifted their spirits. Both teams stood together, embraced and sung a great rendition of the Southern Man song, something we did after every game. All in all a wonderful weekend of celebrations. It is sad to record that the Otago Rugby Supporters Club is no more. They have been an integral part of Otago Rugby for many years but for a variety of reasons have had to close their doors.