Kurow experience providing gapyear education
I think the speed of the game is a lot quicker here
WHAT did you do on your gap year?
Tom Furnival is spending part of it playing rugby for Kurow and the 18yearold hopes to help the team claim the Citizens Shield.
The club has not won the coveted trophy since 1982 but it showed last weekend it has the team to bring that long drought to an end.
It rolled Old Boys 1912. Until a few weeks ago, Old Boys appeared invincible.
But a loss to Valley and the resurgence of Kurow has injected some mystery into the tournament.
Furnival arrived from England about two months ago and works on a dairy farm when he is not helping hold up the Kurow front row.
The England age group representative is here for the rugby education but is happy to muck in.
He is from StokeonTrent and knows his way around both types of paddocks.
‘‘I think the speed of the game is a lot quicker here,’’ the teenager said.
‘‘I think I’m keeping up well and it is doing me good.’’
Furnival is the latest in a long list of Englishmen to pop up in North Otago. He is in the country until late October and is training with the Heartland team.
He hopes he will get an opportunity to represent the province.
‘‘I’m in the training squad at the moment and we’ve got our first warmup game in a few weeks’ time.
‘‘I think they will probably pick a main team after that.
‘‘Hopefully, I’ll be in the mix.’’
Club rugby is the focus at the moment, though. Kurow won five of its first six games but has lost four of its last six.
But the win against Old Boys is a fillip for the club with the playoffs nearing.
‘‘I think we could do very, very well. It is just we’ve got to put everything into it sort of thing.
‘‘We need to be a bit more consistent . . . and if we do that we have a chance of winning the whole thing.’’