Nelson College has one of the best rugby teams in the country – soon it hopes to have the pitch to match.
The front field at Nelson College has had some of the best young rugby players in the country play on it, including almost a dozen All Blacks since the turn of the century, but the turf they play on has been notoriously poor. At times the pitch has resembled more of a mud pit than a rugby pitch.
Now a group of local businessmen, dubbed the ‘five with the drive’, are ensuring the next crop of All Blacks made at Nelson College don’t have to face the same battle.
Duane Whiting, Shane Drummond, Scott Gibbons, Gary Donaldson and Iain Graham have secured the funding to completely overhaul the turf. Work will begin on September 26 and will see the current grass ripped up and re-laid to a “high-use, high-ware” standard.
Iain says the idea to improve the turf isn’t new, with previous offers to help turned away by the college, but this time the group have been able to push it through.
“We struck a few brick walls, but we drove through them and in under 12 months we’ve gone from ‘I think we should do something’ to ‘the turf is going to be turned’.”
The total cost of the upgrade is expected to be north of $185,000, which has been totally underwritten by the group, including five years worth of maintenance costs.
“College is not putting a dollar into it and will not be exposed to a dollar,” says Iain.
The money will come from donations, sponsorship and via some fundraisers. One, to adopt a square, has proven to be successful with some current students even dipping into their savings to buy a $20 square for the cause.
Shane Drummond is also planning a charity lunch with guest speaker Sir Steve Hansen, the former All Black coach. There he’ll have the international playing jerseys of former players James Lowe and David Havili to auction.
Iain says the ground, while known for its rugby, will be multi use and there are plans to install ‘roll-on, roll-off’ football goals but with the school’s historic links to rugby in this country, the group are determined to ensure the school’s top team has the field to match.
“It is probably one of the picturesque grounds in the country. We want these Christchurch teams driving up, seeing our beautifully-marked field, all decked out and thinking ‘woah’.”
