With the Highlanders getting a much-deserved break this past week after being bashed around by those bloody Stormers, I thought it provided a great opportunity to let you in on what the lads have been up to aside from tearing apart the opposition and training the house down.
Not only are the Highlanders leading the way in many aspects, including their play, the experience of the fans at the games, but they also do plenty off the field.
Many of you will know that our boys spend a great deal of time in the community.
They spend this time out there doing various activities including voluntary work and fulfilling the needs and requirements of various sponsors. All of which is fitted around being a full time professional footy player. As part of a collective agreement between players, the New Zealand Rugby Union, and the Highlanders management, our lads have committed themselves to doing no less than 1000 hours of community work as a group.
So far this season the mighty 'Landers have been wielding axes out on the Taieri chopping wood (which is great cross training, I might add), tree planting in a joint venture with Oceana Gold, a beach clean-up project with St Kilda Surf Life Saving Club, and visits to many schools including Green Island primary and Flag Swamp School, to name a few.
Jamie Joseph has not only been instrumental in turning around a franchise that was on the verge of possibly being relocated before disappearing down the pipes, but he has also been active off the field amongst the locals. The coach's extra curricular activities include many speaking engagements and school visits where he inspires the next generation of 'Landers.
Some of your offspring may have had the pleasure of being developed by our boys in one of the numerous coaching clinics the Highlanders players and coaches have conducted. This is proving to be a great way of engaging the children of our community in all things 'Landers, which is contributing to the popularity of the Take a Kid to Footy packages on offer for each home game.
It is great that so many of our kids are getting behind the boys in blue and enjoying the games at Forsyth Barr Stadium this year.
Compared to days gone by at Carisbrook isn't it is so much easier and more enjoyable now to take the kids along to watch their heroes; what's more the family tickets are the best in the house. The players are absolutely blown away by the support they get from both the families and the animals bounding about in ‘the Zoo'.
Aaron Smith believes the noise and encouragement from the crowd is like having an extra man on the pitch, it gives the team a real boost, keep it up guys. Word from the inside - get your take a Kid to Footy tickets early as there are only limited numbers, you can't expect to turn up on the day and get these tickets, early birds get the worms.
This week our boys face the under fire Blues in what looms as a critical game if we want to stay near the top of the table. The Blues will be looking to turn around what has been a dismal year for them but the 'Landers will be refreshed after the week off and will be out to add to the Blues' misery before their trip to Africa. ‘The Zoo' will be rocking again with the return of the animals from a short break.