Blues Sr. Men's Development side to host the Indigenous Australian Invitational Rugby team on September 23
(OSHAWA, ON) - Rugby Ontario is excited to announce an upcoming touring game taking place at Oshawa Vikings RFC on September 23, 2018. An Ontario Blues Sr. Men's Development XV squad will host the Indigenous Australian Invitational Rugby (IAIR) team in Oshawa with kickoff set for 3:30pm ET.
The IAIR is an under-25 squad comprised of players of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders descent. The IAIR looks to empower and mentor young Indigenous men by assisting them with their rugby development, educational studies, employment options and social goals. They aim to develop future Indigenous leaders and take into account efforts made by applicants on and off the field when offering an invitation to tour. David John Conyers, who is the head coach for Austria, will coach the side.
Admission for the match in Oshawa will be $10 per person. Food and beverages will be for sale courtesy of the Oshawa Vikings Rugby Club.
IAIR Media Release:
Following the very successful 2015 tour of South West USA The Indigenous Australian Invitational Rugby (IAIR) team has selected its squad for the 2018 tour of USA and Canada.
The tour will take place in September 2018. It will consist of six games over two weeks and will include New York City, West Point Military Academy, Boston, Portland Maine, Toronto, Montreal, Denver and Long Beach California.
The IAIR looks to empower and mentor young Indigenous men by assisting them with their rugby development, educational studies, employment options and social goals. We aim to develop future Indigenous leaders and take into account efforts made by applicants on and off the field when offering an invitation to tour.
While on tour players will also participate in official functions, sightseeing, cultural exchanges and will be conducting coaching clinics in Ontario (Iroquois Rugby) and In Compton, Los Angeles. This continues from our volunteering efforts on our last tour at a food pantry in Gallup, New Mexico. The team will also spend time at the John Abbott University in Quebec with their Canadian Aboriginal Studies Unit and University of California - Longbeach’s Indigenous community.
A highlight of the tour will be when the team again play against an All Native American Representative team in Denver, Colorado. The home town of USA Rugby Head Quarters. This match is a follow up to the team’s historic match against an All Native American team in Gallup, New Mexico in 2015.
The team will gather in Townsville in September for a three day training camp before departing for New York.
Yours sincerely,
Darrell Morris
Manager
Indigenous Australian Invitational Rugby Team
The IAIR squad to tour USA and Canada in September
Captain Braeden Smith - Queanbeyan
Vice Captain Elliot Thompson - Barcaldine
Vice Captain Kai Lowah - Cairns
Leadership Group
Jerone Wills - Darwin
Daniel Rosendale - Cairns
Corbin Walters - Ourimbah
Full Team
1. Kai Lowah - JCU Mariners - Cairns
2. Jerone Wills - Waringha Rats - Darwin
3. Aaron Brown - Devonport Bulls - Davenport
4. Liam Bilston- Easts Rugby - Darwin
5. Elliott Thompson - GPS Brisbane - Barcaldine
6. Daniel Rosendale - JCU Mariners - Cairns
7. Braeden Smith - Queanbeyan Whites - Queanbeyan
8. Peter Fitzsimmons - Bathurst Bulldogs- Bathurst
9. Tirawa Gristwood - Bowral Blacks- Moss Vale
10. Aaron Williams - Orange City - Bathurst
11. Corbin Walters - Ourimbah Rugby Club- Ourimbah
12. Anthony Fuller - Warren Pumas
13. Isaiah Huet - Emerald Rams - Emerald
14. Ethan Wikaira- Noosa Dolphins - Noosa
15. Deon Evans-Ao - Southern Districts - Sydney
16. Connor Lynch - Griffith Blacks - Griffith
17. Bryce Adamson - Hamilton Hawks - Newcastle
18. Mitchell Hudson - Cloncurry Question Marks - Cloncurry
19. Josef Wilson - Uni Norths - Leeton
20. Leonard Snowball- Innisfail Vikings- Babinda
21. Shayman Shepherd - Cloncurry Question Marks - Cloncurry
22. Matt Saul - Queanbeyan Whites - Dubbo
23. Aidan Wikaira - Brisbane Brothers - Noosa
24. David Green - Bond University - Gold Coast
25. Reuben House - Queanbeyan Whites -Canberra
26. Joshua Smith - Narara
Support Staff
Manager: Darrell Morris - Townsville
Head Coach: John Browne - Townsville
Forwards Coach : Bernard Green - Townsville
Backs Coach and Technical Adviser: David Conyers - Bathurst
Assistant Manager: Kelli Smith - Queanbeyan
Head Trainer / Player Welfare: Wade Smith - Queanbeyan
Trainer: Faith Donahue - Queanbeyan
Physiotherapist: James Pearce - Canberra
Player Mentor: Peter Nugent - Bathurst
Team Doctor: Dr Ross Wilson - Bathurst
Team Patron: Sean Armistead - Melbourne
ABOUT THE ONTARIO BLUES
The Ontario Blues program is the high performance representative program for male and female rugby players in Ontario. Rugby Ontario is represented at the provincial level by the Ontario Blues. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens and Under-18 Men's and Women's Sevens. Specifically, the program is designed to develop and showcase rugby players for Canadian representative national teams.
ABOUT RUGBY ONTARIO
Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to establish a stronger identity for rugby in Ontario by promoting the sport’s core values and by fostering a culture of inclusiveness and excellence on and off the field of play.
To learn more, visit https://www.rugbyontario.com/
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Kevin Baxter
Communications and Marketing Coordinator - Rugby Ontario
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