Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

It's rep rugby season people, so if you're a rugby fiend like us and just can't get enough, make sure you keep an eye on our socials so you can get out and support our representative players when they are in your area.

Peter Johnstone Park is set to host two Tuppy Diack Shield matches this week. Metro South is set to take on Country on the number 3 field. Meanwhile Metro North hosts Southland Metro on the number 1 field.

The U19 Mens side travels up to meet Canterbury halfway in Timaru at. Kick off at 1pm on Fraser Park.

The Country and Metro U14 Girls sides play in their second match this time down in Alexandra. 2025 is the first year we have selected a Development team at this age level and we are excited to see the girls make their mark.

All the best to all the teams involved. Full team lists can be found HERE

Last Friday evening, we celebrated the 2025 Club Rugby season at the Speight’s Metropolitan Club Rugby Awards. It was a fantastic night to recognise the standout performances of the season and honour those who made their mark both on and off the field. While not all recipients could be there in person, we have some snapshots from the evening to share below! Thank you to Kaikorai RFC for hosting us in their Club Rooms.

Both our NPC and FPC teams head to Wellington this weekend for an exciting Double Header. Check out team lists below. Best of luck to all our players and a special shout out to our potential debutants Madison Flutey, Zaria Murray & Dallas McKnight. In recognition of great milestones, well done to Isla Pringle who plays her 50th game for Otago, along with Hannah Lithgow & Ben Lopas who play their 15th Blazer games for the Province!

The 2025 NPC & FPC Draws are out! Scroll down to check out our Home 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!

Otago Head Coach Mark Brown has named his side to play against Wellington in the third round of the Bunnings Warehouse NPC this Sunday 17th August, 2:05pm in Porirua, Wellington, where they will play for the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy.

Gibson was a centre and wing who played for both Wellington and Otago in the 1980s. He played three seasons for Otago, and one full season in Wellington and for the Lions before he was diagnosed with leukaemia and he passed away in 1988, age 27.

In his honour, Gibson’s Bay of Plenty-based family commissioned a trophy to be played annually between Wellington and Otago. The trophy was carved by Winiata Tapsell, a grandson of Winiata Tapsell who played for New Zealand Maori against the Springboks in 1921.

A relatively unchanged team, this week sees Christian Lio- Willie return to the line-up and Benjamin Lopas set to play his Blazer game for the province.

Sam Gilbert leads the team as Captain, with support from Lio- Willie in the VC role.

Award Winners

Top Points Scorer

Women: Abbey Cochrane – Big River Country

Men: Ben Miller – Kaikorai

Top Try Scorer

Women: Abbey Cochrane, Big River Country – 12 tries

Men: Lucas Casey, Kaikorai – 13 tries

Club Champion of the Year

Andy Ellis – University

Referee of the Year

Fraser Hannon

Milestone Games

100 Games: Paige Church (Alhambra-Union), Mackenzie Palmer (Southern), Ciaren Jansen (Zingari-Richmond), Brady Robertson (Taieri), Aleki Morris-Lome

150 Games: Hame Toma (Dunedin)

Ben Smith Medal – Emerging Player 2025

Rique Miln – Harbour

Women’s Player of the Year

Bella Rewiri-Wharerau – Alhambra-Union

Men’s Player of the Year

Lucas Casey – Kaikorai

Congratulations to all award recipients and thank you to everyone who contributed to another unforgettable season of club rugby!

On Saturday 9 August the second round of the Y8 Festival was held at Hancock Park in Dunedin.

While the weather certainly reminded us that Rugby is a winter sport - all the teams involved had a fantastic day! We even had some special guests from the Otago Spirit and NPC teams on the BBQ.

10 teams from across the Otago Province played some great rugby throughout the day, and it was a excellent opportunity for the kids to play with players from other clubs and experience new coaches!

A huge thank you to all the families, coaches, and volunteers who made this festival happen!

In 2015 Otago Polytechnic, with the Otago Rugby Football Union, established the ORFU Scholarship to assist students with both sporting and academic aspirations

Two Scholarships are on offer for players wishing to study at the Otago Polytechnic in 2026. One male and one female will be chosen.

Applications for the 2026 Otago Rugby/Otago Polytechnic scholarship applications are now open!

The following conditions apply:

Two FULL fees scholarships for one year of full-time study will be awarded at the discretion of the Otago Rugby Football Union for study starting in the year 2026*.
This scholarship applies to Domestic students only.
Candidates for the scholarship must be nominated by the Otago Rugby Football Union.
Candidates must meet minimum entry requirements for their programme of choice.
The scholarship may be held concurrently with other awards/grants, subject to approval of Otago Polytechnic
Otago Polytechnic and the Otago Rugby Football Union has the power to terminate the scholarship if the recipient ceases to follow regulations of the programme of study and/or bring the reputation of the Otago Polytechnic or the Otago Rugby Football Union into disrepute.

APPLY HERE

* Please note...receiving a scholarship does not ensure inclusion into the Otago Women’s and Men’s Academy programmes for 2026.