Far North rugby invited to billet touring supporters

Buck Shelford has invited the Far North grassroots rugby community to jump on board the IRC's Bring Back Billeting campaign, an initiative which can be used to benefit local clubs.

Grassroots rugby clubs in the Far North have been given an opportunity to capitalise on a global initiative courtesy of a rugby website.

In answer to the accommodation shortfall during this June and July, the people behind International Rugby Club (IRC) have created a novel initiative which, they claim, will not only provide global rugby fans with a truly authentic Kiwi experience, but also raise sought after funds for local rugby clubs around New Zealand.

Bring Back Billeting is quite simply a throwback to the good old days when many of us stayed with local families while on sporting trips, IRC spokesman and co-founder Tony Molloy said.

As a fellow founding member of the IRC, All Black great Buck Shelford said some of his greatest memories were made when players stayed with host families on rugby trips.

"They welcomed us into their homes, fed us and we often became friends," Shelford said.
"It was just good old kiwi hospitality, or manaakitanga."

And, Molloy added, that is exactly what the IRC wants to showcase to the expected 20,000 visitors travelling to New Zealand in June and July, being able to offer "Kiwi hospitality and manaakitanga at its finest".

He said Bring Back Billeting allows rugby club members and their affiliates to register their available beds during the tour, and the IRC will match them with travelling rugby fans who have requested beds to put their heads on.

Nominated rugby clubs will be the happy beneficiaries of the agreed accommodation fee.

But it's not just about fundraising, said Molloy.

"While fundraising for local rugby clubs is core to everything we do, we also want to bring together like-minded - aka rugby mad people - and create some memorable experiences and hopefully long-lasting mateships" he says.

The IRC is taking Bring Back Billeting requests now at therugbyclub.co.nz/billeting.

- The International Rugby Club is an online club connecting the global rugby community through good times, goodwill and authentic experiences. The IRC's 2017 Rugby Safari NZ app - described as rugby fans one-stop-shop for all the cool stuff to do in and around the rugby in June and July - will be available for download from late March 2017.