Welcome to this week’s newsletter!

We are super stoked to be able to offer our very own CFC Croc Charms for sale. These will be available to purchase for $5 from our bar during opening hours. All proceeds are being used to assist with our fundraising targets to support gear, equipment and travel for our junior club members, so make sure to purchase before stock runs out!

The awesome jibbitz were desgined and made via our beautiful Micahleo, Hadassah and Honor Timo sisters, who all play for CFC.

The girls love being part of the CFC Aiga in the in the U17 and U12 all girls teams and we are so stoked have their support and help in bringing these cfc charms to life. We would LOVE you to support the girls emerging business in return. You can purchase your own crocs charms directly or design your own charms to promote your business, by visiting the girls website via the following link

Thank you Micahleo, Hadassah & Honor - we are so lucky to have you as part of our club Whānau!

This weekend we have the Nomads and Prems playing at home. It is also the last week of School holidays for our juniors, so while there are no official metro competition games this weekend, we are hosting some junior tournaments to include U12/U13 CFC vs Chatswood on Friday 14^th from 1pm and U11/U12 Girls Canterbury Tournament on Saturday 15^th from 9-11am.

Another big day on Sunday with the club hosting the Christ’s College vs Shirley Boys game. First XV games are always an exciting watch and we have enjoyed hosting these young men in their games so far this season.

 

 

The Eat Food Truck based out of the restaurant and Coffee van will be onsite on Sunday.

BAR OPENING HOURS –      Fri 14^th 1pm – 5pm

Sat 15^th 1pm - late

                                                Sun 16^th 1:30pm – 7pm

UPCOMING EVENTS

The annual Rugby and Netball Prizegiving is coming up on the 19^th August. This is an opportunity to celebrate the best of the best from across the club.

Tickets are $45 which includes DJ, Buffet meal and some drinks. Please see your coach/manager to register for tickets.

Should be a great night!!

THE DAVID BURKE MEMORIAL AWARD – Nominations open

The time has come again where we ask you all to consider nominations for the following award.

Doctor David Burke (Burkey) was the CFC Dr from 1992 until his tragic and untimely death in 2005. Burkey was a man that continually gave others his time and always, in a completely unselfish and unheralded manner, put the club and its players’ interests and concerns ahead of his own. Never once did he seek recognition or reimbursement for his services, which it mist be said went far beyond his professional calling. Indeed, he became a friend and confidante of many of his patients.

Burkey is certainly a man who should not be forgotten, and it is for reasons of honouring his memory that the David Burke Memorial Award has been commissioned by the club. The award is to be presented to a member or friend of the club who epitomizes the qualities most remembered to have been found in Dr David Burke. Someone who throughout the period of the preceding year has continually given their time, energy, services and support to the players of the club in a quiet, understated, and supportive manner.

The nominees should fit the following criteria:

1. A member or friend of the CFC (need not be a member per se).
2. Puts the club and players interests and time ahead of his or hers.
3. Understated, supportive, friend of the players.

Please submit your nomination(s) in writing to the club before the closing date by emailing rugby@christchurchpark.co.nz

Thank you 

CFC WEEKLY DRAWS

Official link to the Senior Draws click here

RUGBY REPORTS

PREMIER REPORT

8^th July

Burnside vs CFC Premier

Burnside Park 3pm

Final score: Burnside 20 – Christchurch 17

After finishing 11th in the round robin series, Christchurch were to play 10^th place Burnside for the chance to qualify for the Plate Semi-final.  The last result of 48-12 to an at home team certainly favoured Burnside. Just like Christchurch though, Burnside were having mixed results. Whilst recent results might not have showed it, a much-improved CFC team and muddy conditions were sure to make for a close match. A close one it was.

Christchurch used their strengths of a solid scrum, maul and lineout to effect against Burnside. They were rewarded early with an unconverted try to front rower Kalle Valimaki in the 8^th minute. Burnside then took a 7-5 lead shortly after with a converted try of their own. It wasn’t long before another of Christchurch’s front rowers, Charlee Barrett, dotted down taking the score to 12-7 in favour of CFC. Right on half time a nice try to inside back Kaleb Forde-Fraser gave Christchurch a 17-7 lead.

A lapsed moment by CFC at start of second half saw Burnside hit straight back and score a converted try to narrow the margin to 17-14. At the 60^th minute Burnside slotted a penalty to tie the game up 17-17 and at the 65^th minute slotted another to take the lead 20-17. Despites CFCs dominance of the last 15 minutes, this remained the score until the final whistle.      

Christchurch literally dominated the entire game across all areas except the one that counted, being the score board. It would be one of the better performances put together by this team of late. The forwards dominated scrums and lineouts. You would completely understand why, in the last 15 minutes, the team constantly asked for scrums or line outs as penalty after penalty was awarded to them, opposed to taking a shot for goal to tie the game up. This would have then forced extra time. You could sense the referee’s reluctance in such a close battle for him to go to the pocket for a yellow card or two or even award a penalty try. It was not to be and hats off to Burnside who hung in there to take the win.

This week it is the final game for Premiers. A home match for the dreaded wooden spoon (11^th/12^th playoff) against Belfast. Whilst beating Belfast earlier in the season they are a different and much improved side. So too is Christchurch and I am sure they will finish the season on a high.   

Tony Hussey

CFCPremier Manager

PREMIER RESERVES’ REPORT

8^th July

CFC Premier Reserve Mens v University of Canterbury Two

Christchurch Park 1pm

Final Score:
CFC Premier Reserve Crocs 20 - 0 UC 

This week had the potential to be an extinction level event. The Crocs had let the previous week's game slip through their webbed hands, putting them in a position that was less than desirable. All the hard work to end up second on the table was at stake after the preliminary final loss to New Brighton, it was now University of Canterbury that stood in the way of the Crocs and championship glory. 

Flashback to earlier in the season, the Crocs had to swim their way to victory over UC on a torrential day on arguably one of the boggiest pitches in Christchurch - Ilam Fields. Despite having a former Super Rugby player on their side, UC were no match for the forwards relentless physicality in the rain. 

This week's game had an eerily similar feel. The rain kept falling, the fields were in a less than desirable condition and it was obvious UC had recruited some fresh faces to keep their finals footy hopes alive (this time just regular rugby players, they certainly weren't super).

The Crocs knew the game would come down to the one thing that let them down the week prior against New Brighton; mindset. Whilst it wasn't in great abundance compared to the Sumner match, the Crocs were certainly more locked into the game plan.

The whistle blew, and it immediately became clear this game would be won at the breakdown and effort on kick chase/returns. The pouring rain made it difficult for both to be executed. 

It took a while for the Crocs to realise the urgency needed in those small moments. Uni were attacking the ball hard at the breakdown and very capable on counter-attack. Additionally, the ref being seemingly unaware that you aren't allowed hands in the ruck once it is formed favoured UC quite nicely...

Unsurprisingly, there were a number of handling errors from both sides, resulting in a number of scrums - making for a very happy Barney after a ridiculous number of Golden Oldies scrums this season. Cole and Barney were on fire in the first half, dominating the UC scrum, allowing for extremely clean ball in the backline. That dominance is what led the Crocs to their first try!

Clean ball from the scrum, a great line at 12 from Connor Mahan, off first-five Fish, into a hole, back inside to Fish who found Devin Lawson running another great line on the outside for the try. A try that both back and forward coaches dream off.

5 - 0 and the job was certainly not over, UC came back hard and fast. But just as they did when the meteor hit 66 million years ago the crocs survived, Holding UC out. from scoring after a long time spent in the Crocs 22, thanks in part to a slippery ball, but for arguments sake we'll say it was mostly the physical defence from the Crocs.

It was a long time before the Crocs would score again, but eventually the constant offensive pressure broke UC. After a number of penalties against UC, the Crocs rode the wave of Barney and Cole's dominance at scrum time and dotted over for a lovely try right under the sticks. Arthur 'The Chosen One' Gladstone off the back, short ball to Fish who was running a beautiful line. Won't mention Connor Mahan's charged down kick...

That pressure continued and culminated into arguably the try of the season off a scrum just inside UC's territory. The platform for a clean ball to the backs was beautifully set by another dominant scrum. Fish took the ball hard to the line, defenders were sucked in by a brilliant angle from Devin Lawson, Quinn Cochrane-Dyet at wing ran the back door, finding Connor Mahan outside who drew the last man to put Henry Bithray into a ridiculous amount of space for the try! 

Halftime and despite behind up 15-0, there was still a lot of working to do. This UC side wasn't going down without a fight. The aim was to keep UC at that same scoreline once the 80 minute mark was up, it wouldn't be easy but the Crocs showed in the first half it was certainly possible.

Bit of a dog fight in the second half, with some handling and disciplinary errors from both sides. Plus, due to a UC injury, the scrums had become non-contested... for the 1000th time this season. The Crocs did make it hard on themselves too, with a touch too much time spent in their own half and not exiting at the right time. 

It was UC who, fortunately, made a few too many errors and led to another great try off a mid field scrum five meters out, right in front of the posts. Score now with not long to go sitting at 20-0 (not a great day at the office for goal kicking).

The lineout this game showed an improvement throughout the season, particularly on defense with LeBrynn James disrupting and stealing a number of lineouts from UC throughout the game. 

Despite threatening to score for pretty much the entire last 10 minutes of the game, the Crocs D held strong and kept them to a donut! 

Now it's on to the semi-final against the only team the Crocs lost to in the round robin of the Premier Reserves Rua grade - Linwood at Linwood. It would be great to see some supporters there to get the boys across the line and into the final!! It's almost a certainty that longtime club supporter, Kyle Brewer and Connor Kitto's Nana, Gail Brewer will be there as she lives just around the corner!

Go the Crocs!

Player of the Day - Cole Mountford 
Defender of the Day - Bryn Watkins

Connor Kitto

Prem Reserves Crocs Manager

DIV 3 CHOPPERS’ REPORT

8^th July

CFC Choppers v University of Canterbury Tigers

Christchurch Park

Win By Default

This week saw the Choppers up against the UC Tigers at Ilam.  A game that the Choppers were looking forward to as we’ve had a run of four or five really tough games and it appeared that the Tigers weren’t having the greatest of luck so far this season.

Unfortunately we received notice late on Friday that the Tigers were going to default and therefore no Saturday footy for the lads.  A sobering reminder that there are only a few weeks left of Saturday footy!  Armed with five points in the bag and being the club men we are the Choppers set off on a crusade to support our Div 2 team against UC followed by the short trip up the road to watch the Prems take on Burnside.

Div 2 put on a solid performance and dominated UC in very challenged conditions.  A war of attrition out in the middle and some robust defence from both teams.  In the end CFC executed their game better and as a result came out on top.  Good sideline support in the dreary weather and lots of cheering as the final whistle blew.  Great effort team and best of luck for next week.

Heading over to Burnside the excitement was building and we were looking forward to having the luxury of watching our number 1 team. They definitely started well and got over the line shortly after the kick off.  A fairly even game ensued with both teams trading blows, some really good territorial kicking and the tackling was on point.  After about five minutes it was hard to tell which team was which as everyone was caked in mud.

The second half started with Burnside getting over the line with a really good team try which put them in the lead and piled the pressure on to our boys.  We responded incredibly well and had some great results from lineout drives, perfect conditions for it.

The game concluded with us pushing for the winning try, camped deep in the 22 and running a series of pick and goes and pod work.  It seemed only a matter of time before they were over the line.  The sideline was tense and the excitement levels high as the result truly was in the balance.  A series of penalties quickly mounted up for Burnside and the supporters were sure a card and penalty try couldn’t be far away if this pattern of play continued.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t to happen and Burnside ended up taking the win.  Definitely not the result we as a club were after but the players displayed a really classy performance out there and this bodes well for the future.

WHO ARE WE

Jez Cowburn

JUNIOR CORNER

With this weekend being the last week of the school holidays, we hope you’ve all had a wonderful break and been able to spend time with family and friends.

It has certainly still been busy at the club with tournaments being held here.

We were fortunate to have the U15 Noosa Dolphins here for a few days and they were able to play against a St Andrews U15 team and receive some training from Steph Te Ohaere-Fox and some of our Prems Mens and Womens players.

We also had Pirates Old Boys and Tokanui Rugby Clubs U12 and U13 teams up from Invercargill for a week and we held a fantastic day of fun for around 80 juniors players from our Under 12 and Under 13 teams, and an U12 team from Sydenham Rugby Club.

The day started with a mini tournament which split all kids into teams from all clubs.

The kids were challenged in a 4-sport competition: Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Rugby Tennis, and Rugby Netball.

After lunch it was tournament time with 4 games being played between all the teams. Well done to those that were awarded Skills and Sportsmanship Awards.

We have also been able to run a couple of quizzes for our Noosa tournament team, and also for the Marlborough Boys College team that sometimes stay in our Motel when they play in the regional competition.

This has been a great opportunity for club members to meet teams from other areas of the country and Australia.

This weekend, we are hosting Chatswood Rugby Club U12/U13 teams from Sydney on Friday 14^th Jul afternoon from 1pm and our CFC U12 Girls team are taking part in a Canterbury Girls tournament at Christchurch Park between 9-11am on Saturday 15^th. We conclude our junior and teenage activity on Sunday 16^th, with Christ’s College vs Shirley Boys High 1^st XV playing on Field 1 at 2:45pm – so come on down and support some great club rugby games before official games start up again next weekend – we’d love to see you and it’s a great way to socialise during the long weekend

GILBERT APPAREL – ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN!

Our online store can be accessed here

Article added: Thursday 13 July 2023