PHOTO
More Canterbury rugby clubs have joined the mission to get their members talking about mental health and to support those who are struggling.
It comes as Lyttelton Rugby Club is prioritising its members’ mental health, with support from New Zealand Rugby, after player Tama Hipango succumbed to his battle with mental illness in December.
Linwood and Rolleston rugby clubs are also on board, with New Zealand Rugby providing free well-being support and resources for the club as part of its HeadFirst programme.
The programme aims to get the rugby community talking about depression, anxiety and stress, and provide it with mental fitness tactics.
Linwood Rugby Club development officer Mike O’Donovan says the initiative is only in its early stages at the club and it was too soon to comment.
Rolleston Rugby Club intermediate club captain Wilson Ruki said he was asked by Lyttelton committee member Aaron Stevens if Rolleston would benefit from similar support.
Said Ruki: "Over the last couple of years, especially with Covid, the club sort of identified within our members that, hey, there are things going on behind the scenes that we’re not aware of, that maybe we should be aware of.
"Most males, big muscular men playing rugby, they often think you’ve got to be tough, you can’t be weak and that kind of stuff.
"Honestly, that’s sort of changing now.
"People are realising we’re not all tough, we all need help now and then, or even some discussion."
As well as Rolleston and Lyttelton, Linwood is also being supported by New Zealand Rugby to improve its members’ mental health.
New Zealand Rugby culture and well-being manager Nathan Price said the HeadFirst programme provides workshops and resources for club members to learn about their mental health and help others.
"They [the workshops] are about 90 minutes and they cover a range of things around mental well-being [and] what is it? Things around stress as well.
"Then we move into how do you look after your own well-being and we then go a little bit deeper into things around depression and anxiety to understand what the signs are, the symptoms of those, how to spot that in other people . . . [and] how to have a conversation with people who you think might be struggling.”
Said New Zealand Rugby mental health and well-being project manager Suzie McDonald: “They [the clubs New Zealand Rugby is supporting] are recognising that, within their rugby whānau, that there is need in this space.
"Rugby is a place they feel connected, but it’s also a place that they want to be able to reach out and have those conversations.”
Ellesmere Rugby Sub Union president Stuart Boon is aware of Rolleston’s well-being focus.
He said the union may discuss the potential of more clubs it represents running similar programmes if it is successful.