Welcome to the Senior section of the HSOB RFC, affectionately known as the Polar Bears. We are one of the largest senior clubs in the Canterbury province and compete in all grades, Div 1, 2, 3, 4, Classics, Colts Premiers, Colts Reserves and Womens.
Photos by Bruce Wilson -
http://www.facebook.com/brucewilsonphotographynz
Polar Bear Coaches 2013
- Div 1 - Nathan Mauger (head) Joe Gee (assistant) Simon Livingstone (forwards)
- Div 2 - Jamie Livingstone (head) Gary McCann (assistant) Jared Mitchell (backs)
- Colts Premier - Paddy Blanchfield (head) Jeremy Griffiths (backs) Cam McLean (forwards)
- Colts U20 - Richard Sanders (head) Warwick Taylor (backs) Andy MacDonald (forwards)
- Div 3 - Al Newfield (forwards) Nick McLennan (backs)
- Womens - Tucker Kauri (head) Warick Reid (assistant)
The 2013 rugby season will see Nathan Mauger stepping into the head coaching role of the Polar Bears Div 1 side with the departure of brother Aaron who is moving on to be part of the Crusaders coaching team. Reuben Thorne is also moving on however both he and Aaron will remain as resource coaches for the club.
After a two year absence working with the Div 2 squad Joe Gee returns to the Div 1 coaching ranks and will add great value with his knowledge of the game and experience.
Simon Livingstone has been promoted to work with the Div 1 forwards for 2013 having worked with the colts premier side for the past two seasons. Simon is a coach of the future and with his continued passion for Polar Bears rugby since retiring as a Div 1 player he completes a well balanced look to the Div 1 coaching team for 2013.
Jamie Livingstone is staying on to coach the Div 2 side and will be joined by Gary McCann and player/coach Jared Mitchell. Big welcome back to Gary who coached the HSOB Colts U20 side in 2011 and has just returned from a year in Australia where he has been coaching at 2nd Grade level.
The Colts Premier coaching team has a strong look to it for 2013. Paddy Blanchfield will spend his second year in charge of the team and joining him will be Jeremy Griffiths (backs), Cam McLean (forwards) and Jamie Clarke (forwards). Jeremy is also a coach of the future who has spent the past season working with the Colts U20 side where he went on to receive the award for club coach of the year along with the U20 sides head coach Richard Sanders.
Cam McLean is a former Div 1 player and is no doubt someone many people at the club will recognise. It is always pleasing to see former players returning to the club to put some time into the players of the future - welcome back Cam.
Richard Sanders will be in charge of the Colts U20 side for the third year running and will be assisted by new comers Warwick Taylor and Andy MacDonald. Like Richard, Warwick is an Oldboys player from years gone by so it is great to see another former player back working with our younger players at the club. Andy MacDonald has spent a number of years working with junior grade metro teams and is another who comes to HSOB with a very good reputation.
With three coaches minimum working with each of the respective teams mentioned the players are sure to benefit from this as the coaches will have the opportunity to focus more on their specialised area of the game.
This bods well for the season ahead.................bring on the year of the Bear!