Annual Report 2018 The Annual Report of the Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Incorporating Annual Accounts & Audit Report 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2018 Thanks to Victoria University of Wellington for printing the hard copies of this report 2018 Annual Report: Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Click Here to Return to Contents Contents Click on Report Title to go to Page No. Report Title Page 1. Club Directory 4 Office Holders’ Reports 2. President’s Report 5 3. Chairman’s Report 6 4. Financial Statements / Annual Accounts 8 5. Hon Auditor’s Report 18 6. Hon Solicitor’s Report 18 7. WRFU Delegate’s Report 19 8. Junior Club Convenor’s Report 21 9. NZ Universities Delegate's Report 22 10. Club Captain’s Report 23 11. Reserve Grade Convenor's Report 25 12. Wellington College Liaison’s Report 26 13. Capricorn Club Captain’s Report 29 14. Women's Rugby Development Report 30 Team Reports 15. Premier 32 16. Women’s 33 17. Premier Reserve 36 18. First Grade 37 19. Under 21 Green 38 20. Under 21 Black 43 21. Under 21 White 44 22. 85 kg Bunnies 44 2 2018 Annual Report: Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Click Here to Return to Contents 23. Sixty-Niners 45 24. Pink Ginners AFASF 46 25. Righteous Bros 48 26. Teddy Bears 48 27. Under 11 Williments 49 28. Under 8 Bremners 50 29. Under 7 Prestons 52 30. Under 7 Sadlers 53 31. Under 6 Wilsons 54 32. Under 6 Rowats 55 Miscellaneous Reports 33. Team Statistics 2018 56 34. Prize Winners 2018 57 35. Directory of Office Holders 2018 70 36. Representative Players 2018 71 37. Club Sponsors 77 38. Registered Players 2018 79 39. Obituaries 81 40. Directory of Financial Members 2018 83 OBU RFC Patrons: Gregor Fountain & Grant Guilford 3 2018 Annual Report: Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Click Here to Return to Contents 1. Club Directory Legal Name: Wellington College Old Boys and Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club (Inc) Incorporated Societies Number: 217783 IRD Number: 16-724-533 Nature of Club: Rugby Football Union Club Registered Address: Waiteata Road Kelburn Wellington 6012 Clubrooms: OBU Function Room, Cambridge Hotel 28 Cambridge Terrace Wellington 6011 Postal Address: Post Box 710 Wellington 6011 Designated Home Ground: Basin Reserve Rugby St Wellington Patrons: Grant Guilford (Victoria University of Wellington) Gregor Fountain (Wellington College) President: Andrew Braddock Chairman: Jaesen Sumner Treasurer: Richard Cromie Secretary: Richard Boag Club Captain: Maree Chivers Bankers: TSB Bank Limited Honorary Solicitors: Ford Sumner Lawyers Honorary Auditors: (Refer also Directory of Office Holders 2018, Section 33) Return to Contents Page 4 2018 Annual Report: Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Click Here to Return to Contents 2. President’s Report Another stellar rugby year has come and gone for OBU. When the breakthrough in 2015 of winning the Jubilee Cup for the first time happened, the challenge was always going to be keeping up the level of performance. This has been achieved admirably and not just by the players but all the coaching, managers & support from the club as a whole delivering Hats off to Colts Green as well, back at the top of the heap & great season comeback by the Impalas, you know how to do it now! However, OBU is not simply just about trophies. Feedback I received during the season from the other teams playing was that they achieved the main goal which is enjoying their rugby. It was pleasing to see the Juniors progress from strength to strength, interesting to note we are no longer ‘the babies’ as we numerically surpassed Newlands, who are now WRFU’s ‘smallest club. Alastair Forde, Trapper and the junior coaches are doing a wonderful job, make sure you support them and pass the word the OBU Juniors is the place to be on Saturday mornings. There are still many challenges facing OBU, not the least in getting our strategies and priorities right and ensuring we remain fiscally sound. A lot of work is done by a lot of unpaid people to keep the club on track. Sometimes a difficult & tense task, I wish to thank all those who are involved with the administration of the club. Its what keeps the players on the paddock week in week out. The pressures of raising the standards from the professional levels of the game impact deeply on all clubs, ours is no different. There has been a lot of discussion with WRFU about competition formats, what clubs are expected to deliver & how this can all be achieved within the very tight budgets all clubs have. OBU has been very well represented in these areas and you can be sure that our best interests are being looked after with Ian Cuff & Peter Scott leading the charge. I have now had another year as President of this, the greatest of all Rugby Clubs. It’s a tremendous privilege to be in this position and I thank all of those who have helped me & all the players & supporters who make this club such a great one to belong to. Here’s to a threepeat in 2019! Andy Andrew Braddock President Note: The President wrote his report in November. Sadly, he passed away in December. Return to Contents Page 5 2018 Annual Report: Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Click Here to Return to Contents 3. Chairman’s Report 2018 was another successful year in Wellington College Old Boys and Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Incorporated’s ("OBU") history. Our Premier Men's team retained the Jubilee Cup to go with recent wins in 2015, 2017, and 2018 which means they will be looking for a rare three peat in 2019, while the Under 21 Green team retained the John E Kelly Memorial Cup and the Premier Women won the Izzy Ford Trophy to become the Women's Division 2 Champions. The club also won the Dewar Shield for the most championship points. OBU's on field performance continues to be very strong. This is down to old fashioned hard work, innovative thinking and learning from our past mistakes. Our ability to adapt and stay ahead of trends in the game on and off the field is pleasing to see. We continue to have a strong, capable and committed coaching group who want to develop better players and better people, while the OBU Academy in partnership with Victoria University of Wellington ("VUW") will test many of our new players in 2019. While many positives came out of our 2018 season, we also suffered a significant loss as a club with the passing of President Andy Braddock in December 2018. Andy was a club man through and through and was an exceptional listener and dispenser of advice when the situation required it. I was privileged to visit with Andy in his last days. Andy, in the knowledge his time was limited and with the Jubilee Cup well positioned in his room, commented that he could now pass on a happy man. Andy will be missed. Our condolences go out to Andy's family and friends. Financially, OBU recorded a deficit of around $7,000.00. While this is concerning in terms of funding our operational requirements, we have endeavoured to minimise the losses. The cost of running a rugby club seems to remain slightly ahead of income. Unfortunately this is a common theme and it is a problem that is not unique to OBU and is echoed by most club officials I engage with each season. This is a concern to grass roots rugby in New Zealand and has prompted many rugby thinkers to suggest that rugby will soon become an elite game, with a big gap between High School rugby and the professional ranks; those falling in between falling away from the sport. I hope these views turn out to be incorrect, but it is something that OBU needs to keep an eye on in the coming years as we continue to promote the game of rugby for our players at all levels of the game, encouraging participation and enjoyment on and off the field. To our sponsors and key stakeholders; thank you for your support. We are privileged to have some of the best sponsors and stakeholder relationships in club rugby. These include Tech Cafe, National Technology Experts, VUW, Wellington College, the Cambridge Hotel (the Trinity Group), The Lion Foundation, NZCT, Four Winds, Infinity Foundation, DB Breweries Limited, First Sovereign, Air Rescue, and Pelorus Trust. On the committee front we have continued to extract many hours of work from those who put their hands up with little reward on offer apart from helping one of NZ's best rugby clubs. Our committee gets the job done. A few stalwarts have signalled their intention to stand down from our committee in 2019, including Ian Cuff, former Treasurer and WRFU delegate, and Richard Cromie, our Treasurer. These roles are demanding Return to Contents Page 6 2018 Annual Report: Wellington College Old Boys & Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club Inc Click Here to Return to Contents and Ian and Richard have given many years to OBU. On behalf of the club I wish to thank them for their work and club support. On that note it gives me great pleasure to officially welcome Mike Copland as the new OBU President.