Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

The Metro Premier Women's Comp officially kicks off this weekend! It's Wahine Day tomorrow, which means you can catch 2 epic games of Women's rugby at Forsyth Bar Stadium. Scroll down below for more details and to hear from our Women's Premier Captain's in Captain's Chat. Full team lists found in the Match Day Programme below, and full draws can be found here.

A massive congratulations to our Otago players, A-One Lolofie, Dylan Pledger and Josh Whaanga who were selected into the NZ U20s Squad for 2024. Go well boys!!!

We've been out and about in the Community trying to help grow the game. Keep scrolling to see what we've been up to this week!

NZ Rugby is hosting a "Recognise & Remove" concussion webinar this Sunday @ 7pm with information that would be beneficial to anyone involved in the community game. Scroll down below to see more info and to register to attend.

We're running a Year 7 & 8 Development day on Wednesday next week! Get your Year 7 and 8 kids along to Forsyth Barr Stadium on the 17th of April for some upskilling ahead of the season. Core rugby skills of catch, pass and tackle technique will be covered. Bring rugby boots, mouthguard and drink bottle, no registration needed. First session will start at 4:15pm for the Year 7s and 5:30pm for the Year 8s so get the kids there a bit early and get them ready!

2024 Season Memberships are now ONSALE!!! In 2024 all members will receive a $10 voucher per membership to shout themselves some food or a bevy on us! Memberships purchased prior to the Test Match going on sale, are also able to purchase Test tickets with their membership, guaranteeing they won't miss out! To sign up you can find our Membership Sign Up Form and information booklet HERE

Calling all Junior Rugby Coaches!!! You'll want to make sure that you've attended the required Small Blacks course. Scroll down below to see Small Blacks course dates for your area or if you have questions reach out to michael.smith@orfu.co.nz

The 2024 NPC & FPC Draws are out! Scroll down to check out our Games, or check out the full Draws here… FULL NPC DRAW, FULL FPC DRAW.

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

ODT Interesting Reads!

In Cromwell on Wednesday we had all of the Central Secondary School girls rugby teams at a compulsory preseason development session which included Cromwell College, Dunstan High School, Wakatipu High School and Mount Aspiring College. With a focus on growing passing, tackling, and ball carrying contact skills, it was a great way for the girls to engage with the other schools within the region and scope out the coming seasons competition. A massive thank you to the Central Otago Women's Rugby team members that came along to help assist Women and Girls Game Development Lead - Aria Monaghan with upskilling the younger generation. It was an epic evening with a great turn out!

The time has come to register for Associate Referee courses near you!

Come along and gain some valuable tools to become an Associate Referee for your club or school. We encourage as many players, coaches, parents and supporters to register for their local course.

As you’ll be aware we have a shortage of referees and the time will come this season when your team will be called upon to help out. Get your people prepared by getting them along to one of these courses and help your community.

Please register to confirm your place but walk-ins are welcome too. You can make a difference and single handedly, make the O stronger!

Click this link to register https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/286656

Junior Rugby in Dunedin is this year introducing a new grade for those kids who aren't quite ready to make the change to tackle, are new to the game or just love the Rippa version of the game. This grade is in conjunction with the existing tackle grades in Year 3 and 4. Note: this grade is only available in the Metro competition this year.

For those that want to play tackle at Year 3, each player who registers in 2024 will receive a Tackle Clinic session with Otago Rugby at the start of their season.