Former Sevens star confirmed as speaker

Former All Black and New Zealand rugby sevens star, Eric Rush, has been confirmed as guest speaker for the Wairarapa Sports Education Trust's annual fundraising dinner to be held at the Genesis Recreation Centre on Masterton on Friday, September 26.
It will be a popular choice as not only did Rush make a huge impact in a playing sense but the qualified barrister has forged a reputation for his ability to both entertain and motivate through the spoken word. His Masterton address will centre on the parallels of coaching for excellence, in business and sport.
Rush started his provincial rugby career for Auckland as a loose forward and then transferred to the neighbouring union of North Harbour.
In 1992 he was shifted to the position of wing, the same season in which he made his All Blacks debut.
He played 28 times for them, including nine tests, the first of which came at the World Cup in South Africa in 1995.
Always a player with flair and a penchant for the unorthodox Rush became a household name as captain of the New Zealand rugby sevens squad.
He led them to the IRB world series sevens title in 2000 and again in 2001 and 2002 and he was also part of the team which won back-to-back gold medals at the Commonwealth Games
in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002.
In addition Rush also played for the New Zealand Maori rugby team, the New Zealand touch team and the New Zealand under-17 volleyball team while, as a boxer, he won the national amateur light heavyweight title as a teenager.
Rush has also managed to balance his very active rugby career he is still involved in coaching sevens at provincial and national level with an equally busy business life. He completed a Bachelor of Law degree and was admitted to the bar as a barrister and he is a director and co-owner of a successful corporate training company.
There he looks to use the principles of success he used on the rugby field to encourage businesses to fulfil their true potential.
Somehow too Rush has found time to be the author of three successful books & Gold Rush which was published in 1999, Rushie in 2002 and Adrenalin Rush in 2004.
The Wairarapa Sports Education Trust have been in operation for three-and-a-half years and in that relatively short time they have made a significant impact on sport in the local region through their support of all sporting codes, mainly in the area of coaching.
It is envisaged this year's dinner will draw an attendance of 500 and tickets will be available-at the same prices as last year- from this month onwards.