​Always a highlight on Christchurch’s rugby calendar: The Lions are coming!
 
The best the British Isles has to offer versus our local, homegrown talent. And this year is extra special. Not only will the whole Heat Pumps NOW team be cheering our boys in black, we’ve also got a chance to watch the mighty Crusaders in action against the great multi-national team.
 
It goes without saying we’ll be backing red and black, but Heat Pumps NOW always likes an underdog, which is why we see some similarities between ourselves and the British Lions.

It used to be one of New Zealand’s biggest party weekends, but now the Wellington Sevens are looking a little sad. 

Gone are the days when shots of the vibrant crowd would hold as much action as rugby field. Tickets used to sell out within minutes! Many groups dressed in matching costumes, with some reports of up to 10,000 people per day filing into the Cake-Tin to cheer on their team. 2017 marked the biggest decline, with former New Zealand Coach Sir Gordon Tietjens claiming “There was just no atmosphere and no people there.”
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Clearly, the days of the Wellington Sevens are over, so what’s the solution?

If you thought comparing Heat Pumps NOW to the Black Caps after the 2015 Cricket World Cup was a stretch, then get a load of this.

Well done the mighty Otago Highlanders. Big congratulations to our southern cousins on bringing the Super Rugby Cup back to the Mainland! The Highlanders’ victory is due to more than their outstanding play in the Super Rugby final against the Hurricanes on Saturday night, this entire season has been the tale of the underdog.

Cantabrians have become pretty good at community.

After the earthquakes shook Christchurch we started looking over our neighbour’s fences again and asking, “Are you ok?” If there were problems, we pitched in to lend a hand. We didn't do it for our own gain, but because we knew we were all in the same boat and being there for each other made us stronger.

Four years on from those big quakes, we are heartened to see people still pulling together to help someone out, because they believe in what it means to be a community. Lilian Exton is a beautiful and bright 13 year old, about to start year 10 at Avonside Girls High School. Like any teenager, she wants a bit of freedom to go to the mall, hang out with her friends and see a movie. 

However, Lilian faces more challenges than most with her everyday mobility. She has otospondylomegaepiphyseal dysplasia, an extremely rare disorder affecting her growth and joints. She uses a power chair to help with getting around, but her family currently don’t have a vehicle large enough to transport her chair. This means Lilian’s not able to easily go out with friends, without help from her parents, or older sister Melissa.

When Heat Pumps NOW saw how Lilian’s community was helping the Exton family to fundraise for a new car that would be able to transport Lilian's power chair, we wanted to be involved.

On Sunday March 29th, a group of regulars from the Endeavour Tavern, the Exton’s local pub, held a fundraising tournament at the Everglades Golf Club. The weather looked a little grey at first, but the clouds gave way to a beautiful sunny day.