Hi Everyone,

A fine Saturday to be out and about watching some entertaining games.

Referees Seminar:

On the Monday night of each week, the Dunedin Referees hold a seminar type session for around 1.5 hours focussing on areas of education to improve the standard of their refereeing. Like many people involved in rugby, these men and women are volunteers and give their time because they enjoy being involved in the game. Having said that, their presentations on a Monday night are professional, always well prepared involving plenty of discussion. Last weeks forum was extremely well led by Stu Curran who is not only an outstanding referee but also an excellent communicator with his fellow referees. I try to attend these meetings as often as I can to show the support of the ORFU and on this occasion I was able to take along the Ranfurly Shield which they very much appreciated.

Bringing Young Players Back to the Game:

This year I have been involved in assisting the Kaikorai RFC with the playing side of the game. Around a month ago, I was approached by two former players, who were interested in forming a rugby team, the core of which would be based around their student flat. The flat consists of 17 students – yes 17 students. I have visited the house and it is a large two story wooden villa with some outbuildings and a large car park alongside the house – say no more. After several discussions with the lads, they came up with a list of 32 players bringing on board a number of their mates to join the squad. Many were old boys from OBHS and John McGlashan College and some of the players had connections with Kaikorai in the past so they were keen to play under the Club Banner.

They had 24 players at their first training run so we entered them in the Colts Championship Competition. Many of them have not played rugby since they left school, which we all know is an issue that all sports bodies are facing. Last Wednesday they had their second training run under the guidance of three of the Premier players, showing that they had some potential. Last Saturday they had their first competition game against Alhambra-Union with 26 players taking the field at different stages of the game. They won comfortably although A/U spent a good percentage of the game on attack but could not break through. The majority of the team were at the clubrooms for the speeches on Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The team is called the Kaikorai Cobras, with the appropriate Cobra sign and the snake “hiss” as part of their makeup. This team is all about playing with their mates and having fun and they have certainly started off that way – will keep you updated.

University Match:

On Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of watching the NZ Universities play the Kansai University side. Kansai is a region in Japan consisting of around eight Universities from which their team was selected. This was an entertaining game played at the University of Otago Oval on a good surface and in beautiful weather. Both teams wanted to move the ball around which is symbolic with University rugby and many points were scored. NZU led 17-10 at the break and then came away early in the second half to have a healthy lead, but to Kansai’s credit they fought back well to score two great tries to tie the game up at 29 all just on full time. NZU were awarded a penalty in injury time to come out winners by 32-29. Pronouncing the Japanese names during the game over the speaker system was a challenge for Davy Glover but he did well. At the after-match function in the “Longroom” both captains spoke well in terms of the quality of the game and the strong relationship that has developed between the two Universities.

Oldest All Black Dies: 

The man who held the honour as the oldest living All Black, Ron Elvidge, died recently. The Otago rugby great played 30 games for the province between 1942-50, and 19 games and nine tests as a rugged midfielder for New Zealand between 1946-50. He captained the All Blacks in 1949 on their tour of South Africa, when he famously took over the leadership from Fred Allen, and in 1950 against the British and Irish Lions when he produced one of the legendary performances in the black jersey. Elvidge, who combined a successful medical career with his rugby one, died in his home city of Auckland, aged 96. Elvidge's most shining moment in the All Blacks jersey came when he heroically shrugged off two serious injuries to return to the field and score the match-winning try in the 6-3 third test triumph over the Lions in 1950 in Wellington. He attended John McGlashan College.

It was sad to hear of the sudden passing of Jim Darling, a stalwart of the Southern Rugby Club and a member of 1957 Otago Ranfurly Shield winning team. I attended Jim’s Memorial Service yesterday at the Southern Rugby Club along with his family and many of his friends – it was a special tribute to a fine man. The service was well led by Jim’s daughter Vicki, giving a comprehensive background to his very full life. He was certainly loved by his children and his grandchildren. Ian Stevens, who played with Jim during his career, spoke very highly of him as a person and particularly of his commitment to whatever team he was playing for. I personally enjoyed Jim’s company over a beer, and well remember the interesting discussions we had around the game we all love, as he was an astute observer.

Rest in peace Jim.

Des Smith MNZM

Article added: Tuesday 09 April 2019