31 March 2000 Lincoln Rugby Scholars off to Europe with NZ reps

The rugby revival at Lincoln University which has seen Lincoln students figuring prominently again at all representative levels up to and including the All Blacks, sees a strong University presence in the New Zealand Under-19 team which is off to France this week to defend the World Under-19 Championship title.

From having had two members in the team last year when New Zealand won the world title in Wales, Lincoln has now had four of its students selected to tour abroad for the competition.

All are Rugby Scholars at the University and they are winger/fullback Dayle Eathorne (ex-Christchurch Boys' High School), prop/hooker Daniel Somerville (ex-Napier Boys' High School), first five-eighth Shaun Webb (ex-Christchurch Boys' High) and flanker Jeffrey Wright (ex-Southland Boys' High School).

They have all played rugby overseas before with school teams (three in Australia and one in Samoa) but the tour to France to defend a world title is "something else", they say.

After the World Cup debacle they know they carry New Zealand's rugby reputation as the first wearers of the silver fern to play France since that fateful quarter-final day at Twickenham last year.

Two of the students, Shaun and Dayle, are doing the Bachelor of Social Science course, Daniel is doing Bachelor of Resource Studies and Jeffrey is doing Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture). They all know the importance of maintaining their academic progress in order to keep their scholarships, so they've made arrangements for covering assignment and other class commitments while away. For this they had a special session with Excellence Scholar and fellow national rugby representative Richard McCaw who was in the same situation last year when he was selected for the NZ Under-19s to go to Wales for the World Tournament.

Richard, who had a heavy rugby schedule yet ended the year on a highly successful academic note, encouraged them not to fall behind in their studies.

Although Dayle, Daniel, Shaun and Jeffrey say they all want to go as far as they can with their rugby playing, they also say they're committed to degree-based careers in their future lives.

This past week the students have been in training at Palmerston North with the other members of the Under-19 team to travel to France.

Lincoln University's rugby revival has been booted along dramatically by the University's Sports Scholarship Programme which brought 30 Rugby Scholars to the campus last year and has attracted 24 this year.

A review of the progress of last year's first group of 60 Sports Scholars (covering netball and cricket in addition to rugby) showed that the parallel development of sporting ability and academic ability at the tertiary level is possible. Students on the Lincoln programme continued to achieve both academically and in the sporting activities.

The 1999 Sports Scholars achieved an average academic pass rate higher than the overall average for first year students at Lincoln and all made considerable advances with their sports development. Several of the Scholars achieved national and Canterbury honours in their sports and all met the performance targets set for them by their sporting codes.

“The investment made by the University to introduce this scheme has already reaped rich rewards for the students, the sporting organisations that support them, and the community at large," says Lincoln's Vice-Chancellor Dr Frank Wood.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand