To our Junior Rhinos

This week, the WRFU appealed a decision issued by an independent Judicial Committee in relation to a Stokes Valley player accused of kicking an opposition player in a Premier 2 match against Johnsonville RFC on Saturday 08 May 2021. 

The original 5-week suspension given to our Stokes Valley player was increased to a minimum 12-week suspension which now precludes the player from participating until the end of the WRFU Premier 2 grade this year. Over and above the judiciary hearing, our club is also dealing with this incident internally. 

We are also investigating an incident that occurred during a match between our U13 Rhinos and U13 UH Rams on Saturday 15 May 2021. Stokes Valley Junior Rhinos will not be making any further comment until the facts of these matters are established at the conclusion of the judicial process. 

As a club, we have always prided ourselves on fair play and under no circumstances would we ever condone violence in any form, be that verbally or physically.  

At the beginning of the season, a junior club code of conduct was developed and introduced to our players, coaches, managers and spectators. This code of conduct provided an agreed standard of behaviour for everyone to ensure that we can all enjoy the great game of rugby we all love. If this hasn’t been electronically signed by you yet, please click on the button at the bottom of this email and read carefully, then return as soon as possible. 

We will also be looking to have separate meetings with each team and their parents/caregivers over the next fortnight to go over the code of conduct together and provide some clear guidelines around a process for support from our junior club committee. Please expect to hear from your coach/manager as to when this will be.

A lot of hard work by a number of fantastic and passionate volunteers has gone into building our junior club this season. We implemented some exciting community initiatives which included a very successful Junior Rugby Open Day with special guests Ardie Savea, Neemia Tialata and Mayor Campbell Barry, a 10 week preseason fitness programme for our entire junior rugby club, 2 preseason rugby festival matches for our U12 and U13 teams, a reinvigorated social media platform, website and regular email newsletters to help boost our community profile. We have also onboarded 20 wonderful local business sponsors. 

Due to our club being one of the most progressive in Wellington in terms of increase in players numbers this year, it is more important than ever that the standard of behaviour expected from all associated with our club is known.  

We all need to do our part in moving forward together as a club. Continue to be proud of where we come from, wear the red and gold with pride, have fun, play hard, and most importantly play fair. We are all responsible for each other’s safety.

Thank you on behalf of our Junior Rhinos Committee