After 24 years, Grant Scannell’s decided it’s time to hang up his rugby coaching whistle.
Instead, he’s going to focus his energy on fostering women’s rugby in the Whakatipu.
Scannell swapped his playing boots — donned for Invercargill’s Pirates and Southland’s Edendale — in the mid-’90s, starting out coaching with high school 1st XVs in Dunedin.
After he moved to Queenstown about 17 years ago, he took charge of ‘‘the wee fellas’’ at Wakatipu Rugby Club, and followed them through the grades.
But about five years ago, he saw a glaring gap when it came to the promotion of women’s rugby, so started fostering talent at Wakatipu High School.
For the past three years, he’s been coaching the Wakatipu women’s side, which includes ‘‘two or three’’ this year who’ve come through from the school.
While much has been done for women’s rugby — this year the side made the semi-finals in the Southland competition, but couldn’t play due to Covid taking out too many players — there is much more to be done, he says.
From a coaching perspective, Scannell says it’s time for some new blood to step into the role and take the players to the next level.
That means he’ll be able to get more involved with ‘‘growing the women’s game’’ in general.
Given the majority of the high school girls players leave Queenstown for tertiary studies, Scannell wants to be able to identify talent early and help connect them with clubs while they’re at university.
Here, he wants to create a stronger path for the high school girls to play for the Wakatipu women — four of whom this year made rep sides.
Lauren Brown made this year’s Southland women’s team, Erin Bennie and Tia Clark were named in the Otago women’s development squad, and Laura Sadler made the Otago Spirit squad.
‘‘When you look at that, from a small team, that’s pretty good odds,’’ Scannell says.
‘‘With the professionalism [in women’s rugby] now, it does give them something to strive for.’’
While he’d love to eventually see a Central Otago women’s competition established, ‘‘it’s the numbers’’.
‘‘Going back to the old days … we weren’t working seven days a week … and that’s the difference now, and that’s why your numbers are limited.’’
Scannell says he will miss coaching — the best part of that’s been the friendships he’s made, and seeing his players progress — but he’s excited to see what can be done for women in the sport.
‘‘It’s only just the start.
‘‘We’re only at the infant stage.
‘‘Another five to 10 years and Wakatipu women’s rugby could be huge.’’
