The Tairawhiti XV's kicks off the local rugby seaosn this weekend with 6 teams contesting the title this year. Ngatapa are hosting the tournament for the first time as the Oval is out of action with reseeding taking place.

The Ngatapa club have done a great job of pulling together to host the tournament, said Dwayne Russell, PBRFU Club Liaison Officer.

Games will begin from 12pm at the Patutahi Domain and the BBQ and drinks will be sold throughout the day.

We hope the rugby public will come out and enjoy some early season rugby in the country. The beer will be cold and sausages as hot as the action said tournament co-ordinator Josh Willoughby.

Clubs will be holding their Junior Rugby Musters on the 20th March at various venues around the region. If you would like to register your kids for the season then the muster day is a must!

Poverty Bay Rugby wish you all a Happy and prosperous 2010. Make sure you mark the site as a favourite and visit us regularly to catch up on all the news from Poverty Bay Rugby.

The Tairawhiti Regional bid has been successful in securing a team base for RWC 2011. Namibia will be based in the region for a total period of 12 days. Tairawhiti is the region made up of the traditional rugby provinces of Poverty Bay and East Coast.

"This is fantastic news for our region and we look forward to being the best of hosts to our Namibian visitors", said Tairawhiti Regional bid co-ordinator, Neil Alton.

For more information on the tournament, Namibia's qulaification and team hosting information, click on the link below;

Rugby World Cup 2011

White Ribbon wants change not spare change

Volunteers handing out white ribbons on Wednesday want to change people’s attitudes about violence, not collect your spare change. White Ribbon Day is held each year on 25 November and is the international day when people wear a white ribbon to show that they do not condone violence towards women.

In New Zealand most violence by men against women takes place in the home – each year an average of 14 women are killed by their partners or ex-partners and more than 3500 convictions for assaults on women are recorded.

“Violence in our community is never acceptable,” says Bruce Pilbrow, Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Families Commission. “White Ribbon Day is an international day to recognise the issue of violence by men against women and children. But let’s not kid ourselves. Acknowledging the problem is just the first step. We need men to become part of the solution.

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It wasn't exactly a red carpet event, but there sure were a heap of sausages and potato salad eaten by the 150 plus who attended. The Poverty Bay Rugby Prizegiving was an excellent evening mixing the senior rep players with those from all the age group teams, volunteers, life members and parents. A new addition to the night was a series of volunteer awards, based on the unions values. The unions rep teams have had an outstanding year with alot of success to celebrate.