Support for the Kurow Rugby Club has been ''coming from all directions'' after five players and one supporter were involved in a serious crash early on Sunday.
Canterbury police yesterday confirmed none of the occupants of the silver 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser were wearing seat belts when it left the road at 12.15am, rolling several times and coming to rest in a paddock off Hakataramea Valley Rd, just east of Cattle Creek.
All six occupants, including the driver, were thrown from the vehicle.
Two passengers, aged 23 and 25, remained in a critical condition in Dunedin and Christchurch Hospitals yesterday.
The 23-year-old is believed to be a Kurow man and the 25-year-old had recently arrived from the UK to play rugby for Kurow and had been living in the Kurow area.
He is understood to be on life-support and his family were flying from overseas to be with him.
The 39-year-old male driver was flown to Dunedin Hospital by helicopter with a fractured skull and was yesterday in a serious but stable condition.
A 22-year-old female passenger was taken to Christchurch Hospital by helicopter and was yesterday being treated for moderate injuries.
The other two male passengers, aged 38 and 22, were taken to Timaru Hospital by ambulance and were yesterday being treated for moderate injuries.
All the male occupants of the vehicle were members of the Kurow Rugby Club.
On Saturday, they all played for either the premier or president's grade teams.
Senior team coach Kevin Malcolm will be running practice as normal tonight, assisted by a support team.
"We'll work through things as they come to hand,'' Mr Malcolm said.
"I'm having a support team to help me coach them.''
It was a ''difficult time'' for everyone in the community and the club was doing as much as it could to offer support, he said.
"At the moment, we're in limbo, working very closely with the families of the injured team members and, indeed, with all the team members that are affected,'' Mr Malcolm said.
He was grateful for the support being offered to him and the club.
''A lot of people are ringing me, not even associated with Kurow ... [support] is coming from far and wide,'' he said.
On Saturday, the Kurow Rugby Club held a club day and junior, president's and senior grade games were played at the Kurow domain.
The premier team beat Maheno 42-0, the win being described by some Kurow rugby identities as ''the best game Kurow has played in 20 to 30 years''.
A private meeting would also be held, with police present, this week.
''By [tonight] we'll know a lot more about the event and what action we need to take ... what support is needed,'' Mr Malcolm said.
Kurow Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer John Sturgeon said it had been a ''traumatic'' callout for the team.
Members of the Kurow and Duntroon Volunteer Fire Brigades were at the scene for about six hours.
Following the crash, Canterbury police issued a statement urging all road users to ensure they used appropriate restraints or, if riding a motorbike or bicycle, to wear appropriate safety gear.
Sergeant Mike van der Heyden, of Waimate, said it appeared the vehicle failed to take the moderate left-hand bend and the driver lost control. Police had completed their scene examination, but it was still too early to say what caused the crash.
Speed and alcohol were factors being investigated, he said.
Police were waiting to take statements, including from the victims, and were yesterday offering support to the families.
