A fundraising evening for The Hawthorndale Care Village featuring Raelene Castle, ONZM and Dame Noeline Taurua takes place next Friday and the newest member, Joe Schmidt former Ireland rugby coach and All Blacks Assistant Coach, has committed to being in person at the event.

Schmidt was arranged as a guest speaker at the Mossburn event which was cancelled last year due to Covid.

More than 200 people were confirmed for the cancelled events to listen to Schmidt, who led Ireland to two victories over the All Blacks, speak about his international rugby career highlights which recently have seen him permanently moved into the Assistant Coach job.

Last week, Schmidt was officially promoted from his role as a selector to assistant coach for the All Blacks, where he'll be primarily tasked with overseeing the team's attack.

The Hawthorndale Working Group Member Paddy O’Brien said Schmidt was right behind the project and was really disappointed an alternative date could not be found last year but was delighted to be asked to join the Night on the Couch event and support the project.

Despite the All Blacks having a game next weekend Joe fully committed to the Night on the Couch event and insisted on being able to travel to Invercargill to take part in this special event.

FMG is the main sponsor of the event in September and Area Manager Carla Harper said:

“The Hawthorndale Care Village project aligned strongly with FMG’s vision to help build strong and prosperous rural communities”.

FMG is a major sponsor of the fundraising event in September along with Farmlands - and was delighted that this opportunity arose to show its support for the project, she said.

An auction is currently running online, and will transition to a live event on the night. Prestigious rugby memorabilia will be available along with adventure days, farming machinery, and hotel packages with further details to b

People wanting to support The Hawthorndale Village project can donate online at www.thehawthorndale.co.nz

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