{"id":429115,"date":"2026-01-22T03:36:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T03:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429115\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T03:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T03:36:30","slug":"golfers-raise-funds-for-junior-rugby-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429115\/","title":{"rendered":"Golfers raise funds for junior rugby union"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gunnedah Junior Rugby Union (GJRU) club moved one step closer to securing a proposed tour of New Zealand, as $9555 was raised at last Sunday\u2019s charity golf event at the Gunnedah course.<\/p>\n

The 112 participants in the four-person Ambrose included local golfers, non-golfers and members from an array of local sports.<\/p>\n

Conditions were fine and somewhat breezy, while the course was in good nick despite an occasional damp patch.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

The Gunnedah Red Devils senior rugby union club was originally going to host the golfing event, until the occasion was gifted to the juniors to help their cause.<\/p>\n

The proposed tour of New Zealand is scheduled for eight days in April 2027, involving the GJRU Red Devils under 12 age group.<\/p>\n

Locations are likely to include Christchurch and Queenstown, with the Gunnedah squad set to play three matches against local clubs.<\/p>\n

Highlights of the tour will include the Red Devils U12s meeting professional players and coaches from prestigious Super Rugby franchise the Canterbury Crusaders before game one.<\/p>\n

The following morning, the Crusaders coaching staff who analysed the previous day\u2019s game will hold a training session with the Red Devils players and coaches, concentrating on areas of the game they think need improvement.<\/p>\n

Another highlight will involve participating in an Anzac ceremony in a country town on the outskirts of Queenstown on the day before returning home.<\/p>\n

GJRU vice-president Matt O\u2019Keefe said the idea of the tour came about via a discussion he had with the club president, Josh Leys.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,\u201d Matt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunities like this rarely come about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support and positive feedback we have had from the community and businesses has been amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that was proven at our golf day with local businesses sponsoring holes and the day, and the golfers making it the third largest charity day for 2025-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really beneficial for the Gunnedah Junior Rugby Union club.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll benefit us coaches too.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the record, the winning team in last Sunday\u2019s four-person Ambrose comprised Nathan and Cameron Marquett, Andrew Gorman and Lachlan King with a score of 53 7\/8.<\/p>\n

Runners-up Todd and Cody Smith, Mick and Sam Knight had 55 1\/4, while third placegetters Andy and Donna O\u2019Connell, Tina Germon and Niel Thomas had 55 3\/8.<\/p>\n

Nearest-the-pin winners were Lachlan King (twice), Casey Taggert and Wayne Mcintosh, while the straightest drives winners were Tony Clift and Kirby Insch.\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Ethan Kelly.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Jack Mackay.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Jake Strudwick sees the ball go into the hole.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Toby Morris, Zak Insch, Harley Hinchcliffe, Kirby Insch and Jamie Jaeger.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Tony Dillon.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Kelly Ewington, Mark Ewington, Andrew Osmond and Cam Waugh.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Rylee Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTo order photos from this page click here<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Gunnedah Junior Rugby Union (GJRU) club moved one step closer to securing a proposed tour of New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-429115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}