Thames Valley Rugby ready for busy season

Club contacts for Thames Valley Rugby, which is gearing up for the new season.

By Don Mackay

With demanding pre-season club rugby preparation underway, the Thames Valley Rugby Union has released its exciting plans for the 2023 season. There is a jam-packed season of rugby including senior club, secondary, junior and representative rugby to look forward to.

Thames Valley Rugby manager Scotty Day says the innovative senior draw includes double headers with each club’s A and B squads playing at the same venue. This will give more rugby, involvement and commitment.

Both the Senior A and B competitions have nine teams competing. Coromandel is promoted to Senior A and Tairua is welcomed back into action into Senior B. Most clubs now field B teams, which is fabulous progress.

Some dates to note:

Senior club rugby starts on Saturday, March 25, junior and secondary schools rugby starts on Saturday, April 29, and Heartland representative rugby Saturday, August 12.

Thames Valley Rugby promotes the wonderful game of rugby with many initiatives. Examples of these are Small Blacks, providing safe and enjoyable rugby for children aged 5 to 12; and Rugby Smarts, improving performance as well as preventing and managing injuries.

The junior rugby programme includes rippa rugby, primary school tackle festivals and development camps, as well as the traditional fifteen-a-side rugby. The secondary schools rugby plan also includes beach rugby 5s and sevens.

The draw for the first round of senior Thames Valley rugby is (home team named first): Senior A Mercury Bay v Paeroa and Senior B Mercury Bay v Ngatea, Senior A Coromandel v Waihou, Senior A Te Aroha v Waihi Athletic and Senior B Te Aroha v Waihi Athletic, Senior A Whangamata v Hauraki North and Senior B Whangamata v Hauraki North. Thames bye.