It was tough going for the Mid Canterbury Combined side against Nelson College. Photo supplied.It was more than just a severe reality check that Mid Canterbury Combined received in its UC Championship opener at the weekend.

There are some walking wounded among a battered Combined squad, after Nelson College ran riot in their opening UC Championship matchup in Nelson.

The defending UC champions ran in 13 tries during a 75-3 rout, as Nelson again look to set the benchmark during the secondary school competition.

Head coach Shane Enright said it was a significant step up with 16 of the 22 Combined players making UC debuts.

“It really showed the difference in standard from what most of the lads had been playing last year U16 Rugby for the Mid Canterbury club teams in the Ellesmere competition,” he said.

Combined made a good fist of things during the opening exchanges, with Nelson up 5-3 after 10 minutes.

However a sole penalty off the boot of Sam Ree were the only points Combined registered.

Mistakes then began to creep into Combined’s game which Nelson punished as the home team raced out to a 27-3 lead by the break.

“We really struggled and started to fall off our tackles, and our lack of fitness really started to hit home with quite a few of the players,” Enright said.

The visitors were not helped by a rotten run of injuries during the game.

Combined lost midfielder Aiden Bennett to a leg injury midway through the first half, before Otto Mareko also went down right on half-time.

Further injuries in the second half to Mark Gabriel and Christian Thompson, the latter to a head knock which will keep him out of action for at least three weeks, compounded the misery for Combined.

“(Thompson) is a huge loss to the team, but it gives others the chance to step up and own that number 2 jersey,” Enright said.

Nelson did not take the foot off the gas after halftime and added another 48 points to complete proceedings.

Although Thompson will miss the best part of a month’s rugby, Bennett, Gabriel and Mareko will have to prove their fitness for this weekend’s home game against Waimea Combined.

The side are also still without skipper and Fijian import Michael Hennings, who suffered a knee injury in the pre-season game against Timaru Boys’ High.

Hennings was expected to travel to Christchurch yesterday for an MRI scan.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 23 June 2020

Mid Canterbury Combined’s 1st XV take on Nelson College in their UC Championship opener in Nelson tomorrow. Photo Heather MackenzieIf there is any pointer to the challenge ahead for Mid Canterbury Combined’s 1st XV, comparing their quest to a Hollywood epic should paint the picture.

The return of head coach Shane Enright has inspired the players to tag themselves after the Spartans, an ode to the 2006 Zack Snyder film 300.

“I think it’s very much like the Spartan 300 taking on the Persian Army,” Enright said.

“They’ve really built into that.”

The squad had broken off into groups where each faction was named after a Spartan province, a collective ethos which the coaches hope will galvanise the team.

The task at hand does not come more formidable for Combined in their opening competition match-up as they travel north to take on the defending UC champions Nelson College tomorrow.

“We’re just going to have to try our best and defend and attack when we get the opportunity.

“We know it’s a huge task.

“As long as they play 70 minutes of rugby and if we’re good enough we’re good enough and if we’re not, we’re not.

“As long as they don’t give up, which I don’t think they will with the feeling they’ve got at the moment.”

Coaching staff have been heartened by the players’ response to some of the fresh measures implemented in pre-season, where a focus on fitness and training has left the playing group of 30 eager.

“It’s shown that they’ve bought in by the fact we haven’t lost anyone,” Enright said.

“It’s really exciting to have 30-plus kids running around, even though it’s a disappointment to let some of them go.

“It’s a good buzz.”

The team have had a setback with star recruit Michael Hennings struck down with injury, which is set to keep him out for 4-6 weeks.

However the side does boast some notable talent in the form of Mount Hutt College playmakers Charlie Brown and Sam Ree.

Isi Ula, who is being moved into the openside flank from halfback, offered coaches a unique conundrum.

“I looked at him at the start of the season and he had a really good pass on him, and we weren’t sure what we were going to do at halfback.

“He put on 6kgs over Covid and grew a bit taller.”

And it will be in the loose where the fireworks should occur in tomorrow’s clash.

Nelson College boast some impressive bulk, particularly at 8 and 6.

Enright said the 2019 UC Championship winners were well drilled all over the park.

“They’re just a good team with a good culture.

“They’ll want to be winners again this year.

“But the good thing first-up is you never know what’s going to happen.”

With rain forecast for Nelson both today and tomorrow morning, conditions could be a significant leveller in which the game could develop into a forward-orientated grind.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 19 June 2020

 Dan Hitchens. Photo supplied.Plato once said that music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything and, while former Ashburton muso Daniel Hitchens may be no Plato, his musical talent and natural teaching ability definitely changes lives.

One area that Hitchens has a dramatic influence in is in his work with youth at Te Poutama Arahi Rangitahi.

Te Poutama Arahi Rangitahi is a specialist, secure residential treatment programme near Christchurch, housing the most high-risk youth in New Zealand, aged between 12-to 18-years-old. The residents have engaged in harmful behaviour that have left them unable to live safely in the community.

Classroom teacher Gabby Tuaine, and residence manager Lincoln Ellery, both agreed the youth in this programme are all severely at risk and have a range of anti-social behaviours with mild to moderate learning delays.

Tuaine and Ellery cannot speak highly enough of Hitchens and the positive influence he has had on students since starting there in 2016.

“There is ongoing interest in interventions, such as participatory music programmes, that seek to foster social reintegration, support mental wellbeing and equip young offenders with life skills, competencies and emotional resilience,” they said.

“Dan has the ability to connect and engage all youth into an inclusive individualised music programme.

“Students feel at ease in Dan’s presence as he manages to engage our young akonga (pupils) after years of disengagement from mainstream education.”

For Hitchens, teaching at Te Poutama Arahi Rangitahi is the highlight of his day. With his long dreads and tattoos he fits right in, “I look like one of them”, he said.

Over the last four years at the facility, Hitchens has unearthed some very talented musicians. The end of year concert where Dan performs and his students get to showcase their abilities is often the highlight of the calendar year.

“For the Maori and Pasifika residents, music is part of their heritage, so they know a bit about it already and it’s in their blood.”

It’s a great feeling to know that his students are now jamming together at break times, rather than staring each other down over the lunch table, he said.

Right from a young age music has always been a huge part in Hitchens’ life.

He was six when he first picked up a guitar, seven when he first stepped on stage in his local church and was still attending Ashburton College when he led his first band.

Graduating high school gave him the freedom to follow more of his musical interests.

To begin with, as well as playing professionally, he decided to give teaching a go and soon gathered up an impressive list of students from all around Canterbury.

His growing interest in the technical aspects of jazz saw him move to Christchurch in 2011 to attend the CPIT Jazz School.

In order to make ends meet while studying, Hitchens continued teaching and also played in a covers band, Sammy Jay and the Cucumbers.

“We were four people each with small town backgrounds, who met at jazz school and formed a band. The name didn’t have any special meaning, we just liked the sound of it.”

Sammy Jay and the Cucumbers’ talents soon become widely known and bookings rolled in.

Hitchens, the band’s lead guitarist, avoided the microphone, declaring himself as not much of a singer, he said.

Hitchens established himself in the late night music scene in Canterbury and New Zealand, but that wasn’t the only area where his name was gathering momentum.

In 2017 he started teaching in primary schools in Christchurch and Canterbury.

Within six months he had a waiting list of five-to-eleven-year-olds wanting to learn guitar, ukulele or basic piano.

It’s not hard to work out how the waiting list happened, he’s a great teacher and mentor.

His music school also focuses on giving students somewhere public to show off their skills and they love it.

“So often they work really hard learning an instrument, but then nothing. They are not given the opportunity to perform in public other than in front of family or at the odd school assembly.”

Hitchens soon changed that, he takes his students busking with him or organises special concerts. Performing live is good for confidence and that self-confidence spreads into everyday life, he said.

“To begin with they are too scared to perform in public, but once they have a couple of songs under their belt the nerves fall away.”

In 2019 Hitchens could see his teaching idea was working out, so he decided to step it up a notch and open an official music school, Monster Music.

Talented musicians are often referred to as ‘Monsters’, plus kids love monsters and think the name is really cool, he said.

Monster Music’s philosophy of teaching music in a modern and fun way has worked out well, as he now has three tutors working with him, teaches at seven schools and has over 200 primary-aged children on the books.

“I love teaching and seeing the kids grow musically, and personally, as well.

“Music is really good for everybody,” he said.

Even though he is still teaching and working up to 60 hours a week with his music school, Hitchens still finds the time to perform live and is currently with the covers band Wishlist, alongside fellow Ashburton mates, Simon and Nikita Christensen and Ben Crosson.

By Heather Mackenzie © The Ashburton Guardian - 18 June 2020