PICTURE: Matt Kersten
Battle of the codes: the teams of Blaketown rugby coach Lontiga Vaaelua, left, and Suburbs rugby league manager Brendon Russ will be among those to go head-to-head in a rugby sevens tournament at Queen's Birthday weekend. It is an earthquake fundraiser for Christchurch, organised by rugby fans John Olsen and Adam Gilshnan, background.

Rugby and rugby league teams will unite on the field for a rugby sevens jamboree, in Greymouth at Queen's Birthday weekend, Monday the 6th of June, as a fundraiser for victims of the killer Christchurch earthquake.

West Coast rugby enthusiasts Adam Gilshnan and John Olsen came up with the idea of pulling together teams from both codes to show united support for those who suffered the 6.3 magnitude February quake.

Gilshnan said it would not be about rugby or league alone, but all Coasters showing unity for a cause. A Christchurch team has entered and a Nelson group will possibly travel down to Greymouth for the weekend.

The charity event will have a festival feeling to it, with activities planned to involve spectators.
The organisers invited anyone wishing to contribute to the event, financially or as a volunteer on the day, to do so.

"We want the whole community to get in behind this. It'll be family day with things for the kids. We'll have marquees set up and we have a few music artists lined up."
Thirteen business sponsors had jumped on board, showing the support that the June 6 event is already receiving.

"We've had an overwhelming response from players, teams and sponsors, particularly the small businesses, they've been great. We're halfway to where we want to be with sponsorships," Gilshnan said.

"There's been some good banter among the league teams about how they're going to beat the rugby teams, so the quality of play should be good."

More information is available on the West Coast Rugby Union website www. westcoastrfu.com.