Hurricanes Youth Council presents life awards

Above (L-R): From left to right: Kerry Kururangi, John Hornal, current Life Member Rex Kerr, David King and Evan Crawford.

At the Hurricanes vs Jaguares match at Westpac Stadium on Saturday evening, the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council Inc. presented Life Member Awards to four well-known rugby personalities, who have all made an outstanding contribution to the development of rugby talent in the Hurricanes region, over many years.

The award recipients were: John Hornal (Founding Applicant and Immediate Past President of Council, and the current President of the New Zealand Schools’ Rugby Union Inc.); David King (Founding Applicant of the Council, Representative Coach and Regional Selector); Kerry Kururangi (Founding Applicant of the Council and former Secretary to the Council's Executive Board); and Evan Crawford (former New Zealand Schools Coach, Provincial Union Academy Manager and experienced international coach).

In presenting the Awards, the Council recognised the significant contribution all the recipients have personally made to the successful realisation of the Council's Objects, over many years, in many areas.

2016 is the 10 Year Anniversary of the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council. A decade on from its formation, today the Council annually administers 38 Provincial Union Age-Group representative fixtures and 47 Regional Secondary School Fixtures. In its Age-Group programmes, the Council provides Provincial Union representative opportunities to over 600 players in the U16 to U20 age bands from its eight member Provincial Unions.

The Council partners with Hurricanes GP Limited in managing the high--performance development pathway in the Hurricanes region, with many current Hurricanes players having first been identified through the Council's programmes.