Christchurch Football Club eNewsletter

As we are now less than two weeks away from the start of rugby season it is a good time to reflect on the rugby off-season and pre-season to understand what went well and what needs to be improved upon come the 2026/27 season and all the work & effort that has gone in behind the scenes.

For Budgie and I it is the first time we have worked together during an off-season and pre-season & we appreciate that we have learnt a lot during the past few months and even though we have been & are well supported by a lot of people the ownership of running the business side of the club and the rugby programme lies with us

In our many and multiple discussions both Budgie and I agree we want to be the best that we can be and to highlight this is a word during that came up last week during the Un18 Girls and Premier Women’s team training – “intent” (be determined and focused) – this word was used to challenge everyone to achieve positive outcomes when training and in the game! This word resonated with me as both Budgie and I have always had the same intent to be determined and focused on achieving positive outcomes for the club we love dearly.

We all know over 163 years of being in existence there will be great times and bad times however the challenge is to keep looking forward with positive intent as the past is the past and cannot be changed

In further reference to the above & the weekend just gone confirmed that word “intent” is one that we should challenge ourselves on using i.e., are we determined and focused to achieve positive outcomes for all current generations and for future generations to come?

Firstly on Saturday I had the privilege to be asked by the Premier Men’s team to join them in a BBQ breakfast before they headed south to Timaru. To be in the company of Jerry Rowberry, Brad Mooar, Sam Cottam, Chris Mason was extremely humbling as we all spoke about what the Christchurch Football Club jersey meant to us. After Jerry spoke it was an honor to again receive our precious jersey from Jerry who was my first Senior coach when I joined this awesome club back in 1989, someone who taught me a lot not only about the game but what an honour & privilege it is to play for this club and the standards that are required when you pull that jersey on! Some 37 years later Jerry is still teaching me and challenging me to be the best that I can be by having the right intent and looking out for and after others. It is important to note that part of the group that spoke included Hunter Johnston (Premier Manager) who never got to wear the Christchurch Football Club jersey however over the past 10 years along with his family has always been driven to ensure everyone is looked after and cared for & that the club is regarded as their “happy place”!

Following on from the BBQ I had Mathias from Mathias Refrigeration Service here on Saturday installing the new units for the chiller to ensure the kegs are cold and ready to go for the upcoming season!! Again his “intent” was to have his work completed to a high standard, that he was proud of his work, as well as ensuring that the future possibilities were included in his planning and preparation – sound familiar?

On Sunday morning my Rotary Club, Garden City, along with McDonalds hosted another very successful duathlon at Hagley Park where in excess of 1100 children ran and biked around a set course. It was awesome to see so many having fun and the determination and focus of all the athletes to complete the course with a smile was awesome!!

Finally on Sunday afternoon we saw our Premier Women’s team in action for the first time in 2026 and for all of the players it was the first time playing against older players. I, along with the Coaching & Management team, were extremely proud of this group who played outstanding rugby and showed they will be a force to be reckoned with come the start of the season on the 11th of April. All the players showed positive “intent” and confirmed to us & themselves that they have the skill work, teamwork, and the right attitude (and this includes having a lot of fun) to continue building the legacy of the women’s game and to write their own story here at the Christchurch Football Club – a club that we love and are passionate about 😊

Enjoy the next two short weeks, have an awesome Easter with family and friends, travel safe & where applicable trust all your planning for the upcoming school holidays is on track!!

Regards

Shu

Over the weekend I got to watch a fantastic celebration of stick ability in club rugby. My old mate Larno, Lance Taylor, got to play his 100th game for his beloved Kaiapoi.

It was a good game of Country club footy with a win to Kaiapoi. I often wonder will we get more of these solid club men who play for their club for this length of time. In fact, there were 3 in Country club rugby yesterday with Alistair Collins, Darfield and Tom Taylor, Ohoka.

Maybe it’ll just be Country rugby where this will take place. Where players stay with their club for all their career.

Who was the last player at Christchurch to achieve this goal?

Will it happen again?

I guess it has a great deal to do with the atmosphere that a club creates and a thing called loyalty.

In my opinion loyalty is something of a dying value.

There are good club men and women at every club, and they are expected to do a great deal. It’s always the same people who get into it for their kids and then stay on because no one else steps up.

Clubs need more volunteers and they can only survive when people step up and make themselves available to help.

I’ve been working on a Coaching curriculum for the club for our Junior section. Working alongside club coach, Hunter Johnson, we are trying to make things so much easier for our volunteer coaches. It will have the skills we want to coach at this club and how we were going to put these skills into training sessions. It will be handy for those who are new to coaching and a manual for those who are into it already.

With some more work on it, I’m hoping to have it ready for the new season.

We are aiming to have Small Blacks and Rugby Smart here at the club on Sunday 19 for all our coaches. We are aiming to cover all our coaches on the same day. With some lecture and on the grass work to get you across the line.

We will be running another “Have a Go Day” at Elmwood this week from 9 to 3 with all their year 1 to 3 children. It has been a successful campaign so far, but the proof of the pudding will be if we get some of these children registered as players at our club.

Who knows, maybe in this group there may be a 100-game club player in the future.

Regards

Craig