Left to Right - Kerry Kururangi, John Hornal, Rex Kerr, David King, Evan Crawford

Rex Kerr

With the development of the five rugby franchises in New Zealand, the then Central Regions Schools Rugby Council in 2000 became known as the Hurricanes Secondary Schools Rugby Council and Rex Kerr in 2002, at a time when he was Principal of Otaki College, was appointed as its Chairman. When that body was dissolved to merge with the Hurricanes JAB and renamed the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council, Rex was, additional to being instrumental in leading the merger, appointed as its inaugural Chairman, a position he held until resigning in 2012.

Additional to his roles and leadership of the aforementioned bodies, Rex has been heavily involved in the activities of the NZ Schools Rugby Council as a Council member from 1982-2011; Manager of the National Schools Team in 1986 and 1987, Secretary from 1987-1989 and Chairman 1990-1995; this contribution being recognised by his Life Membership of that body in 1996.

John Hornal

John is the Council's Immediate Past President, Past President of the New Zealand Schools' Rugby Union Inc. and former Secretary of the Wellington Secondary Schools' Rugby Union Inc.

As the Executive Director of College Sport Wellington for 27 years, he has been at the helm during a time when rugby in New Zealand has undergone significant change, from being purely amateur, to becoming professional. A Founding Applicant of the Council, John continues to be a strong advocate for the development of local rugby talent for the Hurricanes region.

David King

A Founding Applicant of the Council, David taught at Wellington College for 13 years and then went into Rugby Coaching and Development full time, completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management at Massey University and an International Rugby Board Coach Educator qualification. During this time Dave spent some time in Wales coaching rugby and then returned to Wellington to work with Wellington Rugby for 13 years coordinating and running their player and coach development programmes and managing their development staff.

A Representative Coach and Hurricanes Regional Selector, David has an in-depth understanding of the rugby development pathway and has been instrumental in growing youth rugby in the Hurricanes region.

Kerry Kururangi

From Potaka on the East Coast, Kerry has been involved in various community organisations, including local marae, Mäori Women's Welfare League, Junior Rugby, TAG rugby, kohanga reo and school Board of Trustees.

A Founding Applicant of the Council and former Secretary to the Council's Executive Board, Kerry has been heavily involved in supporting Ngati Porou East Coast Rugby over many years.

Evan Crawford

A former Coach of the New Zealand Secondary Schools' team and teacher at St. John's College in Hastings, Evan established the Rugby Academy at Manawatu Rugby and was Development Manager for New Zealand Rugby before being appointed as Head Coach of Portugal in 1999, until September 2001. During this time he increased the results of the Portuguese side, improving his standings in the IRB World ranking from 33 to 15.

Evan was Head of Coaching Development at the RFU, in Twickenham, England, before returning to New Zealand where he was appointed as High Performance Manager at the Wellington Rugby Football Union. Many past and present Hurricanes players have been involved in development programmes provided by Evan.

Haig Elgar

Haig Elgar, as CEO of the Wanganui Rugby Union in 2004, was initially involved with the Central Region JAB (Junior Advisory Board), later to become the Hurricanes JAB. Haig was instrumental in forming the Council through the amalgamation of the JAB and the Secondary Schools Council.

He played an important role in the drawing-up of the original Constitution and Rules and Regulations governing the Tournaments, Coaching School and teams which were to come under the authority of the new body. Haig was the Youth Council’s first Treasurer until his resignation from the Wanganui Rugby Union and the Youth Council in 2008.

Tony Bedford

Tony Bedford, during his time as Manager of the Hurricanes team and later as Operations Manager of the Hurricanes, encouraged the formation of the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council. He played a key role in uniting the Provincial Unions within the region, promotion of the organisation and the development of elite players to go on and play for the Hurricanes and the All Blacks.

His support was total, by attending Council Meetings and the Coaching School, Provincial Under 18 Secondary Schools Tournament and Regional Under 18 team and by sharing his wealth of knowledge. In a more practical way he promoted the Council within the franchise and saw that the resources of the franchise were available to meet the Council’s needs, wherever possible.

Jono Phillips

Jono Phillips, following his appointment as Hurricanes Academy Manager, set about working tirelessly with the Coaches and Rugby Development Officers in the Provincial Unions within the franchise region to build a "Hurricanes Family Culture". He worked closely, co-operatively and productively with College coaches at the school, union and at regional levels.

In his role as Academy Manager, Jono actively encouraged the support of the Hurricanes Board for the newly formed Hurricanes Schools Council, in establishing the Operations Committee in 2008. Jono laid the foundations for the manner in which the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council works to promote rugby at the teenage level today and the recognition of talented players.

Grant Gilbert

Grant Gilbert was elected to the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council in 2006 having been involved with the Hawke's Bay Secondary Schools Committee and Central Region Junior Rugby Council. He subsequently served as the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council President for six years. Ashburton-born and an Old Boy of St. Andrew's College in Christchurch, Grant pursued a career in education as a teacher, with his first coaching experience at Teachers College in Christchurch in 1969.

From 1985 to 2015, he was teacher at Lindisfarne College where he coached the College 1XV for 20 of the 31 years he spent at the school. A former New Zealand Under 20s, New Zealand Secondary Schools and New Zealand Under-16 team selector, Grant also coached and selected Central Region Secondary School teams during his coaching career. He has been a Hawke's Bay Rugby Union Director since 1999 and he is the Board's current Secretary.