In the North of the Union, alongside the Hibiscus Coast highway, you will find an incredibly special rugby club. Silverdale United Rugby Club has always been in the rugby landscape of North Harbour, with links to the Orewa team that first started playing in 1887, and it has been through the ups and downs that make the life of a club.

Silverdale first started playing in the Auckland competition in 1963, with home games taking place at the Silverdale War Memorial Park. After the formation of North Harbour Rugby Union in 1985, the club has experienced difficulties and success has never been taken for granted; the challenging times are what make the good ones even more special.

On and off the field, belonging to Silverdale is about the smile on players' and volunteers faces.

The central role of the culture

To talk about all these moments, we had the chance to meet Glen Donovan, who currently is the Director of Rugby Development at Silverdale. As a player, he played 124 games in the green jersey, joining a special list of club centurions. He keeps holding high the “culture” that he values so much within the club.

Glen would describe himself as a busy man, doing everything, trying to help as much as possible and add value wherever he can. He is one of these people that you do not necessarily hear a lot about, but whose role is crucial for rugby to develop within the Union. He noticed a lot of changes in the last five years on the mindset around performance and development. Glen believes that the strength of the club is to have successfully built a culture, “where we're going with our development is now good person first, good rugby players second.”

From head to toe, Glen Donovan has always embraced the Silverdale culture.

He adds, “everyone talks about culture and not necessarily everybody knows what that means or how to build it. And I feel like we are building a really good culture where you go down to the gym and there are 20 guys here working out and the first thing the guy does when he turns up is he goes and shakes 19 hands and the last thing he does before he leaves, he shakes 19 hands.” For him Silverdale, “isn’t just about the rugby, it's more about what happens off the field, which is growing really fast at our club now.”

The structuring of the Dale Development Program

The reason players’ development is such an important matter at Silverdale is that it is the biggest club in the country in terms of registered junior players (over 720 this year). To support all these young players, the club has implemented the Dale Development Program, that is “giving these players the opportunity to prepare and be ready for whether they are coming out of high school when they are ready to play 21s or transitioning from 21s to the Prems,” says Glen.

This programme makes a real difference in the structure of the club. “It's not just me, it’s other people as well, who contributed and supported it to happen.” When asked if he realises how crucial his commitment is, Glen insists on what fuels him. "I am not a hero. You do it because you love it and you are passionate about it. You do not do what you do for the accolades.”

Glen and Silverdale Rugby Club are optimistic regarding their future. “I feel like this year we're going to start seeing some of the fruits from the labour and the success will come over time.” The mindset within the club is to value your success even if you do not win a championship. At Silverdale, success is about how many players will show up the next year, how many smiles they will see on kids’ faces, and how strong the commitment to that culture gets year after year.

A relentless commitment through the ups and downs

Glen knows something about success. He was playing on the team that won Silverdale its very first championship in 2003, beating North Shore 25-23 in the final. Retrospectively, he gives a lot of credit to the amount of effort the team had to put in, but also to the people behind the scenes. He knows how to value these moments, as he has been through the bad ones as well. “Some years there, we were losing by 80 points. We still turn up on a Tuesday and I think back then, it was because the culture was good.”

Today, Glen appreciates looking back at his career, and he says that his best memory is probably becoming a centurion. “They got my dad to present the blazer. It was awesome. It made it feel like the whole family was involved because my dad, he played 30 or 40 games for the club as well. And you kind of go; wow, this is what it is all about, linking everybody together as a family.”

Since he finished playing, Glen started realising how much he would enjoy wearing the jersey one more time. He embodies the Silverdale culture, and he has been able to carry it from the field to other management functions. His commitment, work and passion show how things are done within the club, how important the jersey and the institution matter to the players, fans, or volunteers.

“One jersey, One club” is a motto that is epitomised by people like Glen Donovan, who put their hearts into what they do for this sport, and make it possible for everyone to grow on and off the field.

From left to right: Don Douglas (Life member), Michael Wilson (Centurion), Glen Donovan (Centurion & Board Of Directors Member), Tom Rawiri (Life Member). Glen is honored to wear his blazer alongside other Silverdale legends.

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