Rugby: Concussion's a hot topic for NOBM

Caroline Lampp, general manager, Peter Flatt, business and finance manager, for Whatever It takes Trust with NOBM captain Chris Johnston and chairman Terry Gittings. Photo/Duncan Brown

It's fair to say defending champions Napier Old Boys Marist will attract plenty of attention when Hawke's Bay's Nash Cup premier club rugby competition begins today.

Fans will be keen to see whether or not the Chris Johnston-captained side which has won their last 34 games in Nash Cup and Maddison Trophy play will stay on target to match or better the Hawke's Bay record of 46 consecutive wins set by Clive from 1999 to 2001.

There will also be considerable interest in how head coach Craig Gowler and his support staff deal with concussion incidents in the wake of the club's partnership with Whatever It Takes Trust [WIT] which was announced earlier this week.

The partnership has been formed to highlight mental health and issues associated with concussion injuries. It's no secret all teams, including NOBM, have experienced incidents over the years when players should have been pulled from play after being concussed but they have continued playing either because vital competition points have been up for grabs or they felt they didn't want to let their teammates down.

One of the keys to NOBM's latest unbeaten streak has been their depth. Once again this season Gowler, Johnston and co have plenty of depth and they are unlikely to risk any of their players when a hint of concussion is suspected.

WIT is a community based peer support mental health service operating across Hawke's Bay and a number of their clients have mental health and brain injuries associated with trauma to the head such as concussion. The partnership with NOBM is a great way to highlight these issues according to WIT general manager, Caroline Lampp.

"At WIT we are very keen to highlight mental health issues and to make people more aware of the damage that can result from head injuries and concussion. We see the partnership with NOBM and the "Whatever It Takes" message on their new jerseys as a great way of doing this," Lampp said.

"Concussion can result in problems such as depression and anxiety long after the initial incident as players struggle to regain fitness and full mental capacity and wellbeing. We know the struggles that these issues cause and want to highlight the need for good care and support of those affected by head injuries such as concussion," Lampp said.

Napier Old Boys Marist club chairman Terry Gittings described the partnership as "a wonderful opportunity".

"We are fully aware that concussion that occurs in rugby can lead to mental illness. In our large NOBM family, from our juniors to our seniors, we aren't exempt. There is no difference from when you need to support players with physical injuries to ones with invisible injury," Gittings said.

"Our partners, the WIT Trust, will give NOBM a real opportunity to learn more about the wonderful work they do in the community," he added.

NOBM should win by at least 15 points when they host Tanalised Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports at Park Island today. The departure of last year's captain and hard-working loosie, Aaron McPhee, to Australia is a huge blow for the Hayden Hann-captained Pirate outfit.

Progressive Meats Havelock North first five-eighth J'andre Liebenberg thought his playing career ended when he experienced his fifth bout of concussion in 2015. He has obviously ticked all the necessary boxes and is on the villagers roster for the season.

Another key player returning to the Havelock North team is former Highlanders, Magpies and Southland speedster Ryan Tongia. Havelock North club life member and club captain Tom Blake was also happy to add United States loosie Tony Lamborn's and Spain inside back Dan Snee's names to his squad list after they both indicated they could fit club play around their international commitments.

Expect the villagers to win by nine points when they travel to Farndon Park to take on K9 Petfoods Clive. Former Magpie Simon Halford has returned as the villagers head coach and his forwards are likely to operate tighter, lower and with more cohesion under his watch than they did last season.

The Clive engine room will miss the services of prop Nathan Bruce and former Magpies hooker Jorian Tangaere who have both retired.

Expect Northfuels Central to improve on last year's seventh placings in both the Nash Cup and Maddison Trophy comps. Magpies locks Tom and Ben Parsons and former Manawatu hooker Travis Taylor as well as experienced loosie Warwick Slingsby have all returned to their home club.

Providing Central are at full strength they have the potential to pip Carters Frame and Truss Taradale by seven at the Tareha Recreation Reserve. Interesting additions to the Taradale squad include loosies Vinny Guildford and Kaleb Sweet and utility back Nathan Ramsay who played for Napier Tech last year and Taradale age group product Ashton Tuck who was one of the province's most gifted speedsters in his youth.

Altherm Window Systems Napier Technical and Hastings Rugby and Sports have made no secret of their desire to end NOBM's unbeaten streak and their Whitmore Park encounter has the potential to be the match of the opening round. If Hastings are close to full strength they will sneak in by six.

Jarks Tamatea head coach Matt Marsh has recruited well during the summer with former Hastings Boys' High School prop Kianu Kereru-Symes and first five-eighth Lincoln McClutchie and former East Coast lock Everard Reid among his key gains. Reid is a former MAC kingpin and it will be interesting to see how he is treated by his former teammates and supporters at Flaxmere Park.

While MAC will benefit from the addition of former Magpie and Maddison Trophy winner Jim Edwards to the coaching stuff they are likely to be on the receiving end of a close loss today.