Jodi’s big heart and workload lifts tiny club

2026-03-09 - 17:37

When Jodi Taylor won the Charles Monro Volunteer of the Year award at the latest New Zealand Rugby Awards, no one was happier than Jacinta Stevenson. “She holds everything together, my husband included,” laughed Stevenson, a farmer and mother of three. Jacinta’s husband, Jim Stevenson, isn’t ready to retire. Even in his 40s, Jim still anchors the scrum for the only senior team at Strath Taieri Rugby Club in Middlemarch, a rural town 80km southeast of Dunedin. Depth of talent isn’t a luxury. The last census counted just 153 people, so Stevenson battles on, strapped up and primed for battle by Taylor, who also serves the club as medic, chief, administrator, recruiter, cleaner, media manager, scorer, and laundromat. “She does it all without any fuss,” Jacinta said. “Living in a rural area, we can feel quite isolated. The club is so important for bringing everyone together. After practice and games, everyone gets a meal; sometimes Jodi cooks a dozen legs of lamb for free. Jodi Taylor with her award, and family. Photo: Supplied “The night Jodi won the award, the local pub put on a few beers and a spread; the place was packed.” “It’s out the gate to be nominated, let alone win,” Taylor enthused. “Otago loaned the Ranfurly Shield for the night, too.” Strath Taieri plays in Division III of the Dunedin Metro competition, facing 11 other teams, including fancied city clubs like Kaikorai, Dunedin Sharks, Pirates, and Green Island. Sometimes only six players show up for practice, and there are games where they play with just 14. Even so, Strath Taieri has won the Division III competition five times since 2012, including back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. “It’s never about just one person. It’s a team effort,” Taylor said. “We’re lucky to have great sponsors who support us. We work hard for everything we have. Every year we go tailing – on the North Island, they call it docking. “We help with the farm muster, bringing in the sheep and taking the tails off the lambs. This year, we tailed 24,000 lambs. We get a dollar for each one, so that’s $24,000 for the club. We may not have big numbers, but our group is active and full of character.” Hay-roots rugby, southern style. Photo: Supplied Barry Williams, a life member in his early seventies, hasn’t missed a game in decades. He always has a new yarn to tell on every bus trip. Matt O’Connell played for Southland and was part of the famous 1998 Otago NPC-winning team. Centurions Jakob Scott and Angus Trimble are “absolute good times.” Warhorse Jim “The Ram” Stevenson has a reputation that precedes him. Formerly a Kaikorai “Demon,” the “Town teams hate it; he hasn’t retired yet.” Bevan “Abbo” Wilson, now in his 40s, says he won’t retire until he gets to play with his sons, who aren’t even teenagers yet. On the field, their bushy-haired captain, “Big Will” Gibson, runs a tight ship. “We don’t realise how lucky we are,” Gibson said. “Jodi’s award reminds us of that. We don’t have to worry about anything. We get to do what we love – play rugby, have fun, and catch up with friends.” Taylor says she would “hate to calculate” how many hours a week she spends “doing rugby stuff,” but the whole family is involved. Born and raised in Timaru, Taylor played for the Harlequins rugby club, the same club as Black Ferns ace Jorja Miller. The rigorous forward made South Canterbury representative teams but lamented the lack of pushing in the scrums. Her life changed forever when she was 21, studying at Otago University. She was offered a chance to run a cafe in Middlemarch. That’s where she met her husband, Shane “Shaky” Taylor. “He was handsome. That was 20 years ago,” Taylor laughed. “He was a Strath Taieri junior; now he’s a life member and President. As soon as I set foot in the place, I haven’t left.” Taylor’s three children—Lexi, 12, Henry, 10, and Chloe, 8—help with club duties and have played in the junior teams. Jodi works six days a week as a rural delivery driver for New Zealand Post and also coaches netball. In 2027, Strath Taieri Rugby Club will celebrate its 125th anniversary. P.S. The name of the district, Strath-Taieri, is a combination of the Scottish word strath, meaning a wide river valley, and a misspelling of the te reo Māori word Taiari, meaning spring tide. 1950s All Black prop Frank McAtamney was born in Middlemarch, where some of The Hobbit was also filmed.