At a fundraising dinner and auction in Queenstown on Thursday night, which also honoured Wakatipu Rugby Club president and Otago rugby volunteer of the year Damien O'Connor, the first scholarship recipients - Blair Tweed (Waitahuna), Jayden Spence (Alexandra) and Matt Faddes (Balclutha) - were acknowledged.
Good Group chief executive Russell Gray said the scheme was established last year to help the Otago Rugby Football Union keep young talent in the area.
"It's a scholarship programme that a number of the rugby unions and franchises have, but this one is primarily focused on the Southern Lakes.
"We just got a bit concerned that there were young guys coming through that weren't getting identified and were being lost to Otago and ending up somewhere else."
The two-year scholarships were worth about $5000 a year for each player, with the money able to go toward accommodation and travel costs, or tertiary or trade fees.
With some of the financial burden removed, the future rugby stars could concentrate more on training, Gray said.
"If they continue to develop the way they're supposed to and there's a bit of pressure taken off them financially ... they'll be able to achieve their goals of making an ITM Cup ... the Highlanders and whatever else after that."
The scholarships were for amateur players, so if a recipient landed a professional contract, the scholarship finished, he said.
"A guy like Jayden, for example, his first year he managed to get himself [selected] for Otago.
"[The scholarship] gave him time to train full-time and he ended up with an ITM Cup slot, so he moves out and someone else like Blair will move into his second year and somewhere he'll get an ITM contract."
Thursday night's auction raised $17,000, which will help provide up to six scholarships for 2012. The top item, sold for $5000 to an anonymous bidder, was a three-day pig-hunting excursion with former All Black prop Kees Meeuws.
Gray said the trust hoped to expand the scheme to include courses at the International Rugby Academy New Zealand and to offer coaching development within the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes areas.
