It can be said that many business deals are done on the golf course, but a local charity rugby match is aiming to help businesses make more connections.
The Charity Rugby Match at Newcastle No.2 Sportsground on Saturday, 24 October 2015 between the Emerging Wildfires and the Deadwood Rugby Club Barbarians provides a taste for the local business community of a potential representative team.
The Emerging Wildfires is a Newcastle-based development program designed, in part, to stop local rugby talent moving to Sydney to realise their true potential in the sport.
Corporate support of the Wildfires program not only gives talented Hunter sportspeople the chance to realise their dreams but the residual and spin-off effects for the region of a franchise in a national competition are tangible.
The feature match is the last game of a four-week schedule for the Emerging Wildfires and the intention is for the program to grow beyond this pilot. The event represents an opportunity for local business to see the talent and professionalism of the players and the program, and hopefully elicit a desire to get on board and help provide a pathway for local talent.
“The parallels between rugby and business are unmistakeable,” Andrew Fletcher, Principal Lawyer at Fletcher Pidcock Commercial & Property Law, said. “In this respect, anything that creates a new opportunity for the development and growth of Newcastle is something that should be supported, especially from within the community.”
“As an emerging Newcastle business ourselves we are inspired by the initiative of the Emerging Wildfires program and the opportunity it provides for the development of young rugby players from within the Newcastle and Hunter area.”
The 2015 Emerging Wildfires are the inaugural selection of locally based players who will be the region’s flagship in higher-level rugby. The proactive program also provides a unique opportunity to expose coaches and support staff to a level of rugby that will accelerate their development as well.
The aim is to put the players through a professional program that allows them to develop performance skills and professional preparation habits. Players, coaches and support staff accumulate the collective wisdom and disseminate it when they return to their respective clubs.
“The commitment to providing continuous improvement is something that all professionals should aspire to and is the reason that the Emerging Wildfires program will continue to be a success,” Andrew continued. “The Newcastle rugby community has a significant influence within local business and being a newly established law firm, Fletcher Pidcock is proud to be ingrained within each of these great cultures.”
Australia’s Deadwood Rugby was founded in 2009 as invitational Barbarian rugby club raising money and has so far donated more than $120,000 to children’s charities after participation in tournaments and feature matches.
Rugby offers players an unparalleled opportunity to tour the world. For the more talented, and dedicated types, it offers a pathway, particularly the Wildfires. Corporate Newcastle can help facilitate this.
Gate takings from the event go to worthy charities, Hunter Medical Research Institute and the Sydney Children’s Hospital.
