“If we can live and breathe, then we’re still in there.” That is the mentality of Shirley Rugby Club after a difficult Christchurch metro premier season on and off the field, according to chairman Matt Roberts.

Shirley’s premier side were winless this year, losing all 13 games and conceding nearly 1000 points — at an average of almost 70 a game.

They conceded 100 points in a match twice, against Marist Albion and the University of Canterbury.

Roberts said the club, which was forced to withdraw its colts side at the start of the season, had been hurt by a lack of numbers.

“I think generally the player pool in Canterbury Rugby is getting smaller and the clubs are fighting over a declining number of players,” he said.

“It’s something we’ve been experiencing since the earthquakes in our catchment area. There was quite a large adjustment of population in the eastern suburbs, particularly around the area we draw from.”

The player shortage forced several colts into the premier side, but despite the results Roberts said the team never gave up.

“The boys kept turning up, week-in, week-out. We were proud of them and told them as much.”

Shirley endured a difficult season in the premier competition, losing every game and conceding nearly 1000 points in the season. PHOTO: SHIRLEY RFC

He said improvement would only come with time and investment in building a team around head coach Ben Hitchcock, who Roberts described as having “blue blood” and a deep connection to the club.

“He creates the culture, he is well-respected and he actually won our club’s person of the year award. The boys all basically cheered the roof off for him.

“It’s hard to drag yourself out of being at the bottom, you’ve got to come up with compelling reasons why an up-and-coming player would come and play for you.

“Generally it’s someone that’s not going to get selected for the stronger clubs but they are good enough to play premier rugby.”

“We’ll try and encourage some players who are in division 2 who haven’t quite made the squads to come and join us and see what Shirley’s about, learn our culture and what we’re trying to do.”

Roberts said success would come gradually through improved performances.

“The reality is we won’t go from zero to hero overnight.

“Success looks like winning a couple of games, being more competitive, finishing above the bottom, somewhere towards the middle.”