Stevenson resigns

Lofty Stevenson is off to Germany and will not be part of the Wairarapa-Bush senior rugby coaching regime next year.
Stevenson and Graham Cheetham were in their debut season as co-coaches of the Wairarapa-Bush side when they made the semi-finals of the Meads Cup section of the 2007 Heartland championship. But while Cheetham hopes to be back on deck next season Stevenson is leaving in February to take up a coaching appointment in Germany which will see him in charge of one of their top club sides in 1880 Sports Club, beaten finalists last year who have former Wairarapa-Bush reps in Sam Henderson and Bevan Gray in their line-up, as well as the German national sevens team.
It is a move which has prompted the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's board to advertise the senior coaching position for 2008, a decision taken on the basis that Cheetham and Stevenson were a dual appointment and that situation would now no longer exist.
And it also means the Wairarapa-Bush union will have to advertise for a new rugby development officer, a position Stevenson has held for the past six years.
Stevenson said he had thoroughly enjoyed the experience of co-coaching the Wairarapa-Bush Heartland team despite them being without the bulk of the previous season's championship-winning side. He said he and Cheetham had gone into the coaching role with a vision they knew would very probably upset some players.
"We basically said you are not going to get paid for playing for Wairarapa-Bush, you are going to play for us because you want to represent your union," he said. "We wanted players who would put the jersey first, that had to be the key element in the selection process. We weren't prepared to move from that and the flak we did get was something we expected."
Stevenson said he and Cheetham were also determined to give local players every opportunity to shine at a higher level.
"I guess you could say I was arrogant enough to think that we could bring them up to the required standards without going for imports," he said. "Again it was a risk worth taking because it boosted the profile of the club competition, players knew they had to perform well there to make the rep side."
Stevenson said he was "very excited" about Wairarapa-Bush's prospects in next season's Heartland competition and he expressed full support for Cheetham being named in the head coaching role. "Graham has been there, done that now and, like everyone, he will have benefited from the experience," he said. "He can do the business, no question of that."
Reflecting on his six years as rugby development officer, Stevenson he was happy with what he had achieved considering the "financial and directional" constraints placed on the position.
"It's always difficult for someone like myself who is a compulsive workaholic with a huge passion for rugby when you can't manage all your personal goals but that's something I have learnt to live with," he said. "Essentially rugby here is in good heart, a lot better than in many other centres, and I'm happy about that."