The Star: January 25, 2018

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday January 25 2018 3
News
Quake rattles Irish Crusader
• By Gordon Findlater
IRISH RUGBY superstar Ronan
O’Gara will front the media for
the first time today, just days
after getting his first taste of a
now traditional Christchurch
aftershock.
The Munster man has spent
the past five years coaching at
Racing 92 club in France and
this month has uprooted to
Christchurch with his wife
Jessica and five children Rua,
Molly, JJ, Zak and Max.
The Crusaders new backs
coach hasn’t taken long to
display his sense of humour
in Christchurch. On Saturday
O’Gara took to twitter in cheeky
fashion after a 4.2 magnitude
earthquake.
He tweeted: “The bed was
rattling in the middle of the
night and it wasn’t what you’re
thinking!! 4.2 Mag Earthquake
in Christchurch. #allisgood.
In typical style his good friend
and the man that took his no 10
spot in the Irish team Johnny
Sexton quipped back saying “No
6 on the way.”
O’Gara is Ireland’s second
most-capped player behind Brian
O’Driscoll and the sixth most
capped in rugby union history.
His is the all-time highest points
scorer for Ireland and is the
fourth highest in international
history.
The 40-year-old is also a keen
racehorse fan and owner. He
tasted victory with Bachelor last
week at Kempton Park, England.
NEW BEGINNINGS: After a 128 test career with Ireland and five-year coaching spell in France
Ronan O’Gara is now becoming accustomed to aftershocks in his early Crusaders tenure.
Bachelor is trained by Joseph
O’Brien, the son of famous Irish
trainer Aiden O’Brien.
Following the win Joseph
O’Brien tweeted: “I just had a
very happy owner on the phone!
Big congrats toRonanOGara10
on his win with Bachelor at
Kempton this evening.”
O’Gara replied: “Owner will be
even happier the next time when
trainer tells him he’s fancied !!
Big party on the hill tonight . . .
10s into 7s !! Someone knew!!
Joseph O’Brien is only 24
but has already established
himself as a world-class trainer
after seeing Rekindling to victory
in November’s Melbourne
Cup.
Bus lounge troublemakers disappear
ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour at the
Riccarton bus lounge has slowed
down according to community
constable Aaaron Thorn.
Constable Thorn said they were
expecting “things to ramp up
over the school holidays.” But it
hadn’t.
He was unsure why troubled
groups don’t crowd the bus lounge
anymore but says he still patrols
the area “just about every day.”
Rekindling is owned by Melbourne’s
Crown Casino founder
Lloyd Williams, who holds the
record as a thoroughbred owner
to have won the Melbourne Cup
on the most occasions.
O’Gara will be introduced
to the media by the Crusaders
at Malvern Park today at
12.30pm.
Delay at Aurora Centre
UPGRADE AND repair work on the
Aurora Centre at Burnside High is likely to
be finished a month after it was due to be
completed.
The performing arts centre has been
undergoing a $2 million upgrade for
weather tightness and earthquake damage
repairs since the start of the month.
However, due to the complexity of the
work, the building, which was expected to
be completed by February, won’t be open
until at least March.
ON THE DOMAIN LINCOLN
3 MARCH 2018
In Brief
Tickets
ON SALE
NOW
DR BASHFORD SERVICE
A service will be held
tomorrow to farewell a leading
obstetrician who delivered
more than 10,000 babies during
his career. Harry Bashford
passed away earlier this month
after a long illness aged 76.
Dr Bashford graduated from
Otago Medical School in
1966. He was a tutor specialist
at Christchurch Women’s
Hospital and obstetrics and
gynaecology clinical director.
The service will be held at St
Barnabas Church, Fendalton.
INJURED GIRL RESCUED
An injured 10-year-old girl and
her mother were airlifted from
rocks in Little Akaloa, Banks
Peninsula, on Monday. The
girl was fishing with her family
when she slipped and dislocated
her left knee at about 4pm.
Police said the rescue was urgent
due to the incoming tide.
BURNSIDE ALUMNI PLAN
Former Prime Minister John
Key, rugby player Andy Ellis
and author Eleanor Catton
could soon be part of an alumni
association at their old school,
Burnside High. The second
biggest school in the country is
investigating the possibility of
establishing an association for
past students. The alumni could
include up to 450 students per
year, totalling about 26,000
former students.
SAFER HOMES
More than 4200 Housing New
Zealand properties in the city
have had new, photo-electric
smoke alarms installed as part
of a $2 million investment into
Christchurch’s social housing.
It has also installed more than
1100 more secure driveways
as part of the driveway safety
programme, which began in
2013. It aims to reduce the risk
of children being run over in
the driveways of state homes, by
installing fencing, self-closing
gates with child-resistant
latches, speed restriction signs,
speed humps and convex
mirrors where appropriate.
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