Rugby mentor has eye for skills

Stacey Grant is a man on a mission.

Just appointed to the position of rugby development officer for the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union, he is determined to enhance the skills of the region's players and coaches, starting from Junior Advisory Board all the way through to senior level.

Grant, 32, comes into his new job with a solid rugby background. As a player, he had more than a decade with the Greytown club's premier squad, had a couple of friendlies with the Wairarapa-Bush A squad and several games with the Bs.

And as a coach, he has been closely involved in recent times with the Wairarapa-Bush Bs and Wairarapa College first XV, while this season, he is officially the trainer - or conditioning guru - for the union's Heartland championship squad.

Nobody appreciates more than Grant the importance of JAB players having the benefit of good coaching regimes and one of his major objectives is to upskill coaches at that level.

"We need to ensure our younger players are given a good grounding in basic skills like catching and passing, and that they get enough enjoyment out of the game to want to stay part of it as they grow older. They are the future of the sport, simple as that."

Grant is keen also to build the profile of rugby at secondary school level, where numbers have been dropping, and sees the upskilling of those coaching in that area as a priority.

He also wants to offer help to clubs where coaches were often only too happy to have a new voice come in and perhaps offer something different.

"The big thing is to get all areas of the game working on the same wavelength, that's the best way for progress to be made," Grant said.

The draw for Wairarapa-Bush club rugby on Saturday is - Tui Cup premier division: Eketahuna v East Coast, Eketahuna at 2.30pm (S. O'Gorman; K. Lochhead and home team); Carterton v Greytown, Carterton at 2.30pm (S. Andrew; D. Whitcombe and home team); Pioneer v Martinborough, Memorial Park at 2.30pm (C. Jefferies; D. Goodin and B. Stewart); Gladstone v Bush Sports, Gladstone at 2.30pm (T. Roseingrave; B. Wills and home team).

Shannahan Cup senior seconds: Puketoi v Tuhirangi, Pongoroa at 2.30pm (B. Cottrill); Pioneer v Martinborough, Memorial Park No l at 1pm (D. Goodin); Marist v Rams, Memorial Park No 2 at 2.30pm (G. Hall).

Ryan Cup senior thirds: Eketahuna v East Coast, Eketahuna at 1pm (P. Weeks); Gladmarist v Greytown, Memorial Park No 2 at 1pm (V. Peterson); Rams v Carterton, Colombo Rd at 1pm (W. Jeffries); Bush Sports a bye.

Wellington women's premier: Eketahuna v Norths, Eketahuna at 11.30am (K. Lochhead).

Wairarapa College first XV will play Palmerston North BHS seconds at Wairarapa College on Sunday at 12.30pm. Referee will be Tom Roseingrave.