Mitchell Farr will be turning out for Mid Canterbury Combined 1st XV on Saturday before quickly packing his bags to head to the United Kingdom for a three-week Shakespeare tour. Photo Jaime Pitt-MacKayIn less than 24 hours, Ashburton College student Mitchell Farr is going from waiting on the wings to receive his cap for the Mid Canterbury Combined 1st XV, to waiting in the wings at the Globe Theatre in London.

A recurring shoulder injury has meant that Farr is set to receive his cap should he take to the field in their game against Timaru Boys’ High School today, but it has come with an unfortunate clash.

He departs for England with the Big Little Theatre Company trip on the same day.

“It is gonna be pretty tight,” he said.

“I will get home from the after-ball and try and get as much sleep as possible and get ready for rugby.

“I have got to be careful not to get injured as I don’t want to be injured before jetting across the world.”

The trip to the United Kingdom will see 15 members spending three weeks learning all things to do with Shakespeare, including a visit to the Globe Theatre in London, where they will perform on the stage.

While rugby and the theatre can often be seen as worlds apart, Farr says he thinks it is a strength to have a mix of both in his life.

“It is good to have a mix of keeping active and having a creative side,” he said.

“I have done plenty of Shakespeare in the past. I was part of a group a few years ago that was doing a grade six or seven exam in Shakespeare and we got a distinction and the highest result in that category in the world.”

While getting the chance to travel across the world and work with some of the best Shakespeare practitioners in the world was a massive achievement, Farr said receiving his cap would also be something memorable.

“It is something I have been working towards for two years and it is a big thing, but I am also fortunate to get the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world.”

Battling it out against some of the top schoolboy rugby teams in the country can be a challenge, but Farr said the team face the challenge with positivity.

“The team has gelled really well this year and everyone gets on,” he said.

“When you’re in a tough competition like that it could be easy to fall apart and take it out on each other.

“There are plenty of positives to take from each week and just as much to work on.”

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 29 June 2019

The Ashburton College ball committee has been busy sorting out tickets and decorations this week ahead of the ball tonight. Photo Jaime Pitt-MacKayOnce the finishing touches are complete, those attending tonight’s Ashburton College ball will be treated to an elegant, sophisticated night to enjoy.

This year’s Ashburton College ball is themed Olympus Awaits, and the venue, the Ashburton Trust Event Centre, will be decorated with classical Greek pillars, ivy, fountains and statues, with a strong use of white and gold as colours.

“There is a big variety of ancient Greek decorations and it is really enhanced from last year,” the committee said.

“It is very elegant and quite different from last year.”

It will be the fourth year the ball has been held at the Event Centre, and deputy principal Helen Shore-Taylor said the students are getting used to the environment they have to work with to prepare the ball.

“Everyone knows what they are doing and everyone has a part to play,” she said.

“The weather is also set to be great which is good.”

Shore-Taylor said the public were more than welcome to come along and watch the students as they made their way down the red carpet and into the venue after being dropped off.

“The event starts at 8pm and there will be tiered seating and lots of viewing for people to enjoy them walking down the red carpet along with the music and the decorations,” she said.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 28 June 2019

AshHutt’s Aidan Elvines hunts for a gap in the Craighead defence in Methven on Wednesday. Photo Matt MarkhamAfter copping a hiding from Timaru Girls’ High School (TGHS) a week prior, Craighead arrived at the Methven Domain a girls’ rugby team on a mission on Wednesday night.

They took their frustrations out on the AshHutt girls, handing the Ashburton College and Mount Hutt College combined side a 57-5 loss.

The night didn’t start so bad, though, coach Grant Elvines said.

For once, his side started well with a long period of possession and territory, but they found out just how good the Craighead backline was pretty quickly.

The Craighead backs taught the AshHutt girls a valuable lesson on straight, hard running, drawing and passing, and how to get the ball to the outside backs as quickly as possible.

“Our backs played well, but were no match for what was an exceptionally well-drilled group of girls,” Elvines said.

The AshHutt forwards had the measure of their counterparts, especially at scrum-time, and were more than competitive at rucks and mauls, but no matter how many tackles they made there was always another Craighead jersey on hand to carry the movement on.

Elvines said the midfield pairing of Olivia Bishop and Jorja Johnston produced a strong performance, especially on defence, and halfback Isabelle Talbot distributed the ball well, at times under a lot of pressure.

The AshHutt tight five had probably their best game of the season, shining in the set piece, and there was no loss of momentum when reserve locks Georgia Middleton and Margret Eli came off the bench, with Eli scoring AshHutt’s only try of the night.

Elvines said loose forward Grace Bleach was again like a puppy with two tails and her enthusiasm for the game was contagious, while captain Aidan Elvines led her troops from the front, again topping the tackle count.

“The pleasing thing as a coach is seeing an improvement from the girls every game they play, and it was just unfortunate we struck Craighead on a day when they were on fire,” coach Elvines said.

It was a sad night for the AshHutt side, as they said farewell to Mount Hutt College’s Tyla Harraway, who was playing in her final match for the side.

Elvines said Harraway had been a real warrior in the team for the past three years and she would be sorely missed, but the team wished her well.

Life wasn’t about to get any easier for AshHutt, with their next match being against the top of the table TGHS side.

That game will be played at the Ashburton Celtic grounds at 4.30pm this Wednesday.

Meanwhile Mid Canterbury Combined will run out onto the Ashburton College field for their final time in this year’s UC Championship today.

They’re playing Timaru Boys’ High School in the Crusaders region secondary schools’ rugby championship game, which will kick off at midday.

The Mid Canterbury Combined boys are yet to win a game this season, while TBHS haven’t fared much better, with just two victories from their eight outings.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 28 June 2019