February 8 2017
Made in Selwyn
Your Local Dealership
Further AvonGo City Ford
Cnr Main South Rd & Epsom Rd Sockburn | Christchurch P 03 348 4129 or 0800 655 551 Rangiora Service Centre | 78 Ivory Street P 03 313 7059 | avoncityford.co.nz
11,994 copies distributed weekly to Rolleston, West Melton, Darfield and districts
Crusaders dazzle Darfield u by Kent Caddick
It wasn’t just on the field that the Crusaders were hailed as victors when the Super Rugby franchise descended on Darfield to do battle on Saturday evening. P4
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Lemonwood Grove up and running
Sean Bailey, principal of Rolleston’s newest primary school Lemonwood Grove, is delighted with the way the first week has gone …
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TPP withdrawal blow to farmers
President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is disappointing for farmers …
p There’s no doubt what team these Darfield youngsters were supporting when it came to the Farmlands Cup match at the local domain
In front of a Darfield Domain crowd of around 5,500, which included Prime Minister Bill English, the Crusaders kicked off their season with victory over the Highlanders in the annual Farmlands Cup clash. Local businesses reported significant increases in trading as supporters of both sides were drawn to the event, which was hosted by the Darfield Rugby Football Club for the first time. “It put us on the map,” Darfield RFC President James Scollay said. “I spoke to one business owner who said it was the biggest day they have ever had. Other businesses would also have benefitted from it, and that was something we wanted to see.”
He said it was probably the biggest single sporting event he had been to in Selwyn in his lifetime. “We knew it was going to be big but when you actually see 5,200 ticketholders plus all the volunteers, players and support crew in one place, it is pretty amazing.” The condition of the playing surface at Darfield Domain drew praise from many including the players and watching All Blacks. “A huge amount of effort went into this, starting in August of last year when work began with the planning and then on irrigation, seeding, fertilising and spraying,” Mr Scollay said. “The condition of the ground was a real
tribute to work of Jeff and the rest of the grounds committee crew.” Mr Scollay also paid tribute to what he said they called the ‘volunteer army’ which pitched in to make the day run smoothly. “We put out the word for volunteers and on that first day we had over 80 volunteers, which included people who had no direct link to the rugby club at all, just people from the community. “To those people who say community spirit is dying I can vouch that it is not. We wouldn’t have got halfway there if it wasn’t for the volunteer army… that was massive.” continued on page 3…
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