Palmerston North
WRC Round three.
18th – 19th July
We were four referees down and hence most of us had back – to – backs, two of us refereed three games each day and critiqued on the game we did not referee as I had one referee who is unable to come to Nationals and wanted to give her a report that reflects her progress over this tournament and the year. Most of the referees have worked on their counting and being in the correct position, unfortunately some need more work in both areas.
A couple of points came out of the weekend; we need to revisit contact before the whistle, the differences between held balls and hands fouls. Some referees are waiting too long in calling hands fouls and then call a held ball. This is most frustrating for players. Most of the referees are making an effort to work on their fitness, realizing that this will be essential with the impending new rule changes intending to speed the game up. I also set a written exam; however I only had a few responses back. Some chose to work through it with me before we went to dinner.
New Zealand Rugby Foundation Wheelchair Rugby Competition
2008
WRC ROUND three- ding-ding final round!
The New Zealand Rugby Foundation Wheelchair Rugby Competition’s round three was held in Manawatu 19-20 July at Arena Manawatu.
All eight teams were ready to rumble once again after two rounds of intense games played over the last two months. All teams knew that this was no push in the park from the first day of competitions with some high scoring action.
The second day all teams had played all their remaining games with semi finals Manawatu and Canterbury playing off for third spot and two Auckland teams playing the final.
In the end Auckland White won the final 31-23 Auckland Blue second with Canterbury taking third over a hard fought game against Manawatu 39-38
All regions have stepped up to the mark with Wellington improving alongside Waikato. That’s got to be good for future NZRFWRC tournaments. With the new rules taking effect beginning of this year it’s going to be a more exciting game.
NZWR committee would like to congratulate Auckland White winners of “NZRFWRC Champs of 2008”.
All in all there was some awesome rugby played over the weekend making the series highly successful. NZWR committee would like to thank all three regions for hosting these outstanding events and also of course dedicated referees, bench officials, family and supporters. Without your support, NZRFWRC tournaments wouldn’t have been as successful. Congratulations to all of the regions who participated in the series, we look forward to next year’s New Zealand Rugby Foundation Wheelchair Competition 2009.
See you all at the NZWR Nationals 2008 in Christchurch.