Overall for the 2021 season, we had an exceptionally good year with getting into the final once again. We had Wakatipu up for the final, and we had beaten them both times away and at home, but the final was a home game with a big crowd. We had a lot of pressure on us and Wakatipu came out with the win which they deserved and it was a tough game. With having a lot of newbies come into the team this year, we were well impressed with such young players talent and the future they have in rugby, hoping they carry on playing and take the w hopefully next year. 

With Aaliyah Fowler, Peta Smith, Grace Guyton, Pania Geary, Jazlyn Edmonds and myself lucky enough to make the Otago Country team and one of our players Grace Guyton-Voyce making Otago U19,we were very proud of our well-talented players in our team. We were also lucky enough to go down to Winton to play Central Southland, but unfortunately came away with a close loss. 

I’d like to thank Matt Fowler and Fiona King for taking the time out of their day to coach us and also Tash Kane for being an awesome manager for the second year in a row. Thank you for all the hard work you have put into our team this year - it really did pay off. Also thanks to all the parents and supporters for coming along to all our games and supporting us on the sideline.

After a cracking season in 2020 for the Dunstan 1st XV, it was going to be a big ask to back up the performances from the year before. We started our pre-season in February with plenty of young guns looking for a spot in the 1st XV  team. Pre-season games were a challenge finding the gel between the team but by the time the first round came we were ready. Due to our good season last year we were faced with the big dogs in the Top 6 yet again. Playing Otago Boys in our first game was one way to get the boys used to some 1st XV footy. In the Top 6 we were thrown around a bit and this led to some pretty decent injuries. A couple of good performances from the boys in the Top 6 was beating St Kevin’s in a tight battle up on their stomping ground and playing a tight game against Southland Boys only losing 24-9, which was a good effort from the lads considering last year's performances against them. We led at half time 9-7 but there was only a certain amount of time that we could hold them out for. 

Finishing 5th in the Top 6, we were forced to drop down and reassess our goals in the Bottom 6. The team was looking to finish at the top of the Bottom 6 to give ourselves a chance to win the Middle 4. This goal was something that the boys really wanted after a tough Top 6 session. We had St Kevin’s in our first game, this time playing at home. This game was also very close but we ended up losing 36-29, not the best for what was meant to be a fresh start. Heads up though, we moved onto Waitaki in Oamaru which was a must win. The boys started slow and forced the game to go right down to the wire. Waitaki Boys scored on full time and the game was over, we lost 26-22. It was fair to say that this was a hard pill to swallow as we knew it was now going to take a miracle for us to make Middle 4. Injuries have played a huge part in our season but we won 5 consecutive games convincingly and ended up winning the bottom 4 competition with a good win against Wakatipu, 24-12, in a tough final.

Unfortunately Covid arrived again, the Co-Ed competition was cancelled and our season came to an end.

I would like to say a huge thanks to the coaches Reon Smith, Dave Cockburn and Graham Johnson for giving up your time to make the team better. Also to Aidan Reilly for managing this year and Tash Kane for being team medic. It's always good to see the support on the side line and would like to thank everyone for turning up each week and supporting the boys.