The Mid Canterbury Combined XV rugby team puts everything into a haka ahead of a UC Championship game last year. Photo Robyn HoodA plan has been hatched to put the shine back on schoolboy rugby in Mid Canterbury, but those behind it know it’s a case of one step at a time.

Last year the Mid Canterbury Combined First XV struggled to find coaches and players, and then found themselves on the wrong end of some pretty big scores during a UC Championship where they failed to win a game.

And turning that around isn’t going to be something that happens overnight, but the committee that had tasked itself with doing just that is determined it will happen, member John Galbraith said.

None of those on the committee even have kids involved in first XV rugby – they are simply passionate about the game and know how important schoolboy rugby is to the national game.

So, they have drawn up a template which they hope will lead to first XV again being something young players strive for in Mid Canterbury, and they hope the community will get behind them to help make a change.

Galbraith said both Mid Canterbury’s boys’ and girls’ first XVs are a big part of the plan, but it is also about providing a pathway for players in the second XV and under-15 teams, and it isn’t all just about rugby.

It is about growing good players who are also good people, and giving them vital life skills.

Part of that is bringing in new voices, and this week the man tasked with identifying young talent for the Crusaders region – Dave McLennan – was due to visit Ashburton to talk to players about potential pathways which could take them to the Crusaders Knights and beyond.

He was due to speak on everything from nutrition and planning, to personal wellbeing and training, but had to pull out at the last minute.

“We’re not just trying to make All Blacks, we’re trying to give the kids the best experience they can,” Galbraith said.

It is the first time Mid Canterbury’s rugby union, schools and clubs had come together and recognised the importance of school level rugby, Galbraith said.

“We don’t want to take anything away from club rugby, and we don’t want to take anything away from school rugby,” Galbraith said.

It is about working together towards a common goal – making Mid Canterbury a schoolboy rugby powerhouse again.

Galbraith attended Darfield High School and said back in his day Ashburton College’s first XV was feared, and he wanted to see it get back to that.

But to get there, it will take the community’s support.

Yes, part of that was getting sponsors on board but instead of finding one big sponsor, they are hoping to get a lot of smaller sponsors.

That, Galbraith said, will hopefully get more people to buy in to the team and put more people on the sidelines cheering Mid Canterbury Combined on.

The past few seasons hadn’t been great, but Galbraith said losing didn’t hurt quite so much when you did so in front of a decent-sized, supportive crowd.

They aren’t expecting Mid Canterbury to win every game this season – it was a case of small steps.

But, examples set by the likes of Lincoln Combined and Rangiora High School in recent years showed that things could change.

Both sides had made big alterations and last year Rangiora High School finished in the UC Championship’s top four, beating Christchurch Boys’ High School along the way.

They got there by playing for each other, playing for school pride, and playing for their community, and that was what Galbraith and his team wanted to see in Mid Canterbury.

There would still be age group club rugby across the grades, and the changes within the school rugby system were not about taking anything away from the club scene.

Galbraith said not everyone will want to play for the first XV, but he wanted to bring that prestige and respect back for schoolboy rugby in Mid Canterbury.

He said the schoolboy rugby competition in New Zealand was the highest level of schoolboy rugby in the world and could provide a launchpad for players to go on to much bigger things.

It had been a few seasons now that Ashburton College and Mt Hutt College had been coming together to put a Mid Canterbury Combined First XV on the field, but even with two schools to pick and choose from it hadn’t always been easy to get the numbers.

It was hoped that the new template being rolled out from this season would start the change, and in a few years there might be 60 kids trying out for the first XVs.

“It’s not purely results driven.

“It’s about laying a foundation and making for a really cool culture,” Galbraith said.

This year’s Mid Canterbury Combined First XV will be coached by Warren Donald, Andrew Morgan and Brent Middleton, who also coached last season alongside Blair O’Donnell.

O’Donnell would this year take on the manager’s role.

Within that leadership team there was a fair few Mid Canterbury caps, while Morgan also played for Canterbury. Between them, they knew what it took to make it.

“In Mid Canterbury we have all the resources available to compete with anybody,” Galbraith said.

The building blocks are there and if everyone made an effort, from players and coaches, to sponsors and spectators, the results on the field would take care of themselves, Galbraith said.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 23 February 2019