Three BOP nominees in Steinlager Rugby Awards

The Steinlager Rugby Awards will feature three Bay of Plenty nominees including Rotorua's Ray Watson, who is up for the Rugby Volunteer of the Year.

The annual awards, being held tonight in Auckland, recognise excellence in New Zealand Rugby.

Legendary sevens coach Gordon Tietjens, who grew up in Rotorua, will also be at the awards tonight, nominated for New Zealand Rugby Coach of the Year.

Alongside him, capping off the Bay of Plenty contingent, will be international referee Glen Jackson who is nominated for NZRU Rugby Referee of the Year.

Rotorua volunteer Watson was nominated for rebuilding Central Sub-Union junior rugby, by providing leadership to the club delegates that make up the JAB committee.

Watson has built important relationships with the two other Bay of Plenty Sub-Union Junior Rugby chairmen, leading to an integrated Baywide junior representative programme.

Tietjens needs little introduction.

He has won 10 IRB World Sevens titles and four Commonwealth Games Gold medals.

Referee Jackson has graduated quickly from Heartland representative rugby, taking his first international when England faced Fiji at Twickenham a few weeks ago.