Football

Usually every month I write about the exploits and endeavours of our Junior and Senior teams for the past month.

Sadly after the events of the morning of Tuesday 30th July 2019, where some vandals have decided to use the Senior pitch as a burn out area for their vehicle, I could not bring myself to write about anything apart from the line below..

Disgusting and gobsmacking behaviour from an individual or individuals who have no respect for the local area and people who work tirelessly to keep their beloved sports up and running.

Paul

MARTINBOROUGH RUGBY CLUB

Our JAB teams have begun their season, full of energy and enthusiasm.  A huge thanks as always to all the parents, grandparents and caregivers  that give up a chunk of their weekends to transport our kids around.

Our Senior teams are just over half way through their competition, both our Premier and Reserve team are currently sitting in the Top 4, the second half of the competition will be very exciting as both teams strive to make their respective Finals on the 27 July.

Our Club Day is to be held on the 15 June with both Senior teams at home against Greytown.  We have continuous JAB games from 9.30am as well as off field activities such as a bouncy castle.  Our lunch for our Past Players/Members will be at 12.30pm, if you would like to join us for that please let Rachael know benview@xtra.co.nz.

Off the field a bit has been happening.  Thanks to Mitre 10 Martinborough for our new score board, we plan on using our old one on the No2 field.  No doubt the rain will come and we will have to move over there at some stage and its great to see score updates from the warmth of the Clubrooms.  Our Clubrooms is looking very smart with its new roof and spouting – no more leaking roof!  Thanks to Shane Hartnell and his team of helpers – Brad Hartnell, Clayton Hartnell, Richard Mills and James Pakoti.

Our JAB have had two very successful fundraisers recently, the Trail Ride and a Quiz Night, we appreciate the work that goes into these events and also the many people that support them.  Its a busy time of year for everyone involved with the Club so all support however large or small is much appreciated.

Wanting to have a drink in our Clubrooms?  Please make sure you have your membership card with you at all times.  Not a member not a problem! To be a financial member of MRFC it is only $20.  At every home game we have a members draw for a nights accommodation at Waimahea Camping Village or a sports umbrella from Susan Stephen.  Talk to one of the girls behind the bar about signing up at our next home game!

You can always keep up to date or contact us by visiting www.martinboroughrugbyclub.co.nz or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Martinborough Golf Round-Up for May

Goodbye autumn, hello winter.  We’ve been lucky this May compared with last year which was a lot wetter…and on the bright side, it’s only a couple of weeks until the shortest day…. then…slowly but surely the days will get longer!!  The course is still looking and playing brilliantly – ongoing thanks to the merry group of men who have been volunteering their time with woodwork around the course – the landscape has certainly changed with the various stands of trees gone.  There’s still cords available if you need it.  

Grumpies will kick us off as usual; winners this month have included Captain Morison, Roger Smeaton, Lachie McLeod, Bill Gordon, Frank Colton, Kris Chamberlain and Rick Hargreaves.  

9-holer winners have included Jane Fanselow-Price, Tingay Davidson and Jenny Tucker.

Ladies winners have involved Sue Dinnison, Alison Tipler, Marion McKenzie, & Julie Weber twice.  Towards the end of May they hosted the Rew & McCracken – a Wairarapa comp. with 6 players per team, our girls used their course knowledge and won the day!

Thursday club continues to pull in the big crowds – winners have been Derek Stephens, Ed Elworthy, George Kirk, Bob Tosswill and man-of-the-match-Millsy.  The inaugural ‘Friendship Tournament’ was held mid-May, a random draw to meet/make new (and old) mates – it was generously supported with donations from Gumboot (great lamb packs made up by Scotty), Jimmy at Cool Change & the Pukemanu; expertly run by Dougie and Sandra.   Bindy McLeod & Mariana McDermott jointly took out 1^st place and several of the minor prizes – nice work ladies!! … Continue Reading

Junior netball

The Southern Steel vis MIS. Photo courtesy Cory Coburn.

The Wairarapa junior netball competition has seen a greatly reduced entry from our southern areas this year. Out of a potential 9 teams made up from children across five Southern Wairarapa schools, the final figures saw only enough to tip the scales at a meagre four.

The reduction in numbers was largely attributed to a change in location and scheduling, which meant last years Saturday morning timeslot was ditched in favour of weekday games up at the Colombo Courts in Masterton. 

These changes sadly meant that a lot of rural families were unable to physically make it in time for the games. 

Those that were able to play were spread across 4 teams: A year 3-4 team (Southern Swans) who play on Monday night and three year 5-8 teams; The Steel, Sting and Storm, who play on Tuesday nights.

Following two weeks of grading games, which consisted of playing in a shorter format twice each night, Southern Steel and Southern Sting have landed in grade 2 and Southern Storm in grade 4. The youngest of our teams of course not in graded competition. 

Whilst the change in scheduling has introduced new challenges to the teams; playing in arguably colder conditions with reduced visibility whilst shooting into bright floodlights, all the teams have adapted well to the changes. 

Of note is the Southern Steel who are again proving to be the team to be reckoned with, convincingly winning all grading matches and the two round-robin games thus far.

We may be less in number this year, but we aren’t lacking for spirit. The teams are putting their all into each game, gaining skill and confidence as they go. We look forward to what the rest of the season has to offer.