Wednesday, April 3, 2019 Wairarapa Midweek
25
MEET YOUR
LOCAL
RUGBY
CLUB Gladstone Rugby CLUB
The 2018 season followed the same pattern as the previous year with Gladstone successfully defending both the club rugby championship and the sevens title. This puts a large target on the team this year, as the other clubs in Wairarapa look to put an end to this period of dominance. The players are acutely aware that this is the case. Yet again under the astute coaching of Steve Thompson and led by an experienced core of players that have been part of the success of recent years, Gladstone are putting in place plans that will ensure they are part of the competition at the end of the season. Each year this becomes more and more difficult though, as the preparations that all clubs undertake has seen the quality and competitiveness of local rugby improve, so there is a need to continually improve performance to remain in the reckoning as the season progresses.
A pre-season trip to Hanmer Springs to play Hurunui was a great opportunity for this year’s team to bond early in the season, and this has galvanised all those involved as we move into the season proper.
The Senior Reserves have had a change in the coaching setup this year and Shaun Pollard is taking the reins with Louis Kjestrup assisting.
with players not in the Premier matchday 22 getting necessary game time in the Senior Reserves on a weekly basis.
With a large squad of premier players available, the reserves will be well served
This team has built a great culture over the past couple of years and this year the
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