Community Connection: Trist and Carter support telethon for Children’s Hospital

Pledge your support to the Sydney Children’s Hospital in next Monday’s gold week telethon and you could find yourself chatting to HSBC Waratahs pair Nathan Trist and Tom Carter.

The players have pledged their support to the Hospital’s efforts to raise $2,000,000 in one day and will join the celebrity phone bank live on Channel 9 this coming Monday afternoon.
 
A Sydney Medical Progam student, 29-year-old Trist had just completed his Child and Adolescent Health specialty block before joining the HSBC Waratahs.  And with his partner Simone a doctor in the Sydney Children’s Hospital oncology ward and Carter’s wife Petria soon to complete her medical studies, the pair have long been supporters of the work of the Randwick-based Children’s Hospital.  Trist last visited just two weeks ago, when he and team mates Lachie Turner and Pat McCutcheon spent some time with a 14-year-old rugby fan.
 
Last week also saw Pat McCutcheon head to Newcastle, where the Narromine-born HSBC Waratahs flanker showed his support for rugby in the bush by joining students competing in the Hunter round of the 2012 Waratah Cup. 
As well as watching the finals, Country Rugby ambassador McCutcheon presented the trophy to Hunter Valley Grammar School's captain James Margan after this team won the Hunter Secondary Sevens U16 Boys Division.

Said the region’s rugby development manager Matt Johnson, "Pat is a great ambassador for country rugby and the perfect role model for many of the students who took part.

"He did a tremendous job, answering questions about the life of a professional rugby player and the pathway from country rugby to NSW and Australian representation. Players and teachers were overawed by his interest in them and willingness to share his time and experiences."
 
His sentiments were echoed by Wayne Stacey, coach and teacher from Callaghan College Jesmond, who added, "It was fantastic for our students to hear from a fantastic ambassador like Pat and learn more about the opportunities available in both 15-a-side and Sevens Rugby."
 
Watch a video of McCutcheon in Newcastle on TahTv, the HSBC Waratahs’ YouTube channel, where you can also see him put his country ingenuity to the test, fixing TahMan’s quad bike.
 
The events were part of the HSBC Waratahs’ Community Connection program, an initiative aimed at bringing players and supporters closer together through a host of school, charity and community events planned for NSW across the season.
 
Last week, Drew Mitchell and Berrick Barnes attended Volvo Skills Challenge events at Burraneer Rugby Club and Curl Curl, where they joined local kids and families for an evening of rugby skills and drills before signing autographs. Also in May, McCutcheon and fellow former student Paddy Ryan eachreturned to their roots, visiting St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill to share their rugby experience with the next generation of pupils.
 
McCutcheon also accompanied Lachie Turner to Drummoyne’s recent Season Launch Luncheon, whilst Tevita Metuisela made a trip west to Prairiewood High School in Wetherill Park to join students for a training session.
 
Next Monday, June 11, Chris Alcock, Paddy Ryan, Damien Fitzpatrick, Greg Peterson, Lotu Taukeiaho and Nathan Trist will be heading over to the NSW Junior State Championship finals at Eastwood’sTG Millner Field, where they will be helping the teams from under 12s to under 17s.  Each will help the teams in their allocated age group prepare for matches before presenting the medals to the winning and losing finalists. With a number of the current crop of HBBC Waratahs including Tom Kingston, Bernard Foley and Benn Robinson having come through the junior ranks and played in the State Championships, this year’s event is sure to showcase a number of starts of the future, especially with surnames like Gregan, Poidevin, Kearns and Kafer reportedly amongst the 2600 juniors competing in the country’s biggest junior rugby tournament.
 
Photos from all events are posted on the Waratahs Facebook wall, with full details of forthcoming events available on our website at www.waratahs.com.au/CommunityConnection 
 
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