SOUTH CANTERBURY - THE BEGINNING
The first recorded match 'resembling rugby' in South Canterbury took place at ‘Arowhenua’ (Temuka) on October 15th 1867. The teams consisted of the townships of Timaru and Temuka, the Timaru Herald report on the spectacle described the rules as “as confusing for the spectators as it was for the players”, the rules were a blend of Victorian and Christ College rules, and there didn't appear to have been a return match played. After the Nelson incident of 1870 interest in the game in South Canterbury began to grow again. The charge was led by Christ's College old boys A.E. Rhodes (Timaru), Robert & John Rutherford (Albury), E.C. Studholme (Waimate) and C.S. Barker (Winchester), with the Raine Brothers (Sherwood Downs) and a certain Harry Potter also from Timaru joining in. This particular group held the supporters of Victorian rules at bay until the cavalry arrived.
In 1874 English gentleman, soldier, entrepreneur and Rugby international Alfred St George Hamersley arrived in Timaru. Hamersley was an Oxfordshire native who attended Marlborough College and the Military Academy at Woolich, were he learned the Rugby game. Hamersley played for Marlborough Nomads in London when he was selected to play for England in the first International Rugby Test match, against Scotland at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in 1871. He continued to play for in England until 1874 when he captained his side against the Scots. Soon after that match he left for New Zealand and took up the position of Barrister & Solicitor in Timaru. Hamersley immediately busied himself with an array of sports and military activities, establishing athletic, cricket, shooting and racing clubs (including New Zealand's first Steeple Chase meeting at Willowbridge, 1875). George Hamersley's first effort in regard to Rugby was a match at Green's Paddock (at the top of Elizabeth St) in 1874. The match was played according to the recognised RFU rules (of which Hamersley was familiar) between 'Hamersley's team' and 'Rhodes' team', this was the true beginning of the Union game in in South Canterbury.
Hamersley then organised a Town v Country match in April 1875, George captained Town, and Robert Rutherford Country. It was after this event that Hamersley established the province's first Rugby Club, at the Clarendon Hotel (later Empire), Church St, on April 23rd. The South Canterbury F.C. was on its own for only a few days, later that week the Temuka F.C. was formed at the Crown Hotel, followed in June with the Burkes Pass F.C. (by his shooting friends the Rutherfords). For the next 35 years new clubs were established on a regular basis. These early clubs combined to make a 'South' team, which regularly played 'North' (ie Christchurch and nearby towns), the first of which was played at Ashburton on May 24th 1875, which in turn introduced the game to that area. After one of these matches, played at Timaru in 1879, the Nation's first provincial Union was formed, at the Grosvenor Hotel on July 26. Hamersley was elected Vice Chairman of the new Canterbury RFU, a position he held until 1884.
During the mid-1880s there was rebellion in the air, as the local clubs became despondent with rule from Christchurch. Hamersley again came to the fore, and at a meeting on the 8th of May 1888 at his Legal Offices in Church St, The South Canterbury RFU was formed. The Clubs in attendance were; Fairlie Creek, South Canterbury, Temuka, Waimate, Geraldine Wanderers, Winchester and Pirates (formed by amalgamation of Crusader and Invincibles Clubs, and later became Star). The Union's boundaries were; the Rangitata River in the north, and the Waitaki River in the south.
The Geraldine and Winchester clubs combined soon after to form Waihi, and South Canterbury changed to Timaru, to avoid confusion with the new Union.
The Union's first mission (inaugural 1st class match) was to meet Warbrick's Native team at the Athletic Grounds (later Fraser Park) played on July 24th 1888. The Native team won the encounter 9- 0. The Union also organised its first Senior Club Championship in that first year, but unfortunately no trophy was presented until 1911, but in those early days the championship was known as the 'senior flag', even though none existed.
The 1890s were steady on the club front, but more notable was the fact that the SCRFU became a member of the NZRFU in 1892, one of the few to do so from the outset. South Canterbury, as a result produced their first national representatives; J.H. Gardiner (Union), C.N. McIntosh (Union) and D. Stewart (Waihi). The Rep. side also recorded their first win (Hawkes Bay) in 1893. Few rep matches were played that century, but notable victories were over Canterbury in 1898 and Nelson in 1899, both of those matches were played at the Temuka Domain.
The new century saw a considerable increase in popularity of the game nationwide, The 'All Black' tour of the United Kingdom in 1905 and the Anglo- Welsh tour of NZ in 1908 were largely responsible. The introduction of the Ranfurly Shield in 1902 did much to improve the inter- provincial interest in Rugby and in turn South Canterbury's own record improved as regular matches were arranged. 1904 saw rugby in Ashburton become properly organised with the establishment of the Ashburton County Rugby Sub- Union, affiliated to the SCFRU. This was followed by the MacKenzie RSU in 1907 and Waimate RSU in 1908, which more than doubled the number of clubs in the province. South Canterbury also played it's first 'International', against the visiting Anglo- Welsh in 1908, the British team victorious by 12- 6.
The beginning of the next decade was very successful, but in the end was a difficult one, with no first class matches being played between 1915 and 1919 because of the Great War (WWI). The loss of young men from South Canterbury was to devastate the ranks to the extent that most clubs didn't recover until the early 1920s. The first visit of the South African Springboks in 1921 started a revival that saw South Canterbury rise to one of the 'top ten' NZ provinces, a position they held until the Second World War, with a number of All Black selections and major provincial scalps such as Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago. The British Lions tour of 1930 and the Springbok's second visit of 1937 to Timaru capped off what was probably South Canterbury's most successful era.
The Second World War halted progress, but effects were not as severe as the First War. The three Military camps in South Canterbury enabled the club competition to continue and some first class representative matches were played. The late 1940s and early 1950s saw another golden era for the province. The introduction of the Hanan Shield in 1946, to be played for on a challenge system between Ashburton County (Mid Canterbury), South Canterbury and North Otago lifted the local exchanges. The lifting of the Ranfurly Shield at Masterton 16th September 1950, against Wairarapa was their greatest achievement, although the reign was short lived, that victory gave South Canterbury a new identity, even non rugby folk no longer considered themselves 'Cantabrians', they were now 'South Cantabrians'. The 1961 season was another mile-stone with South Canterbury's first victory over a visiting International side. On August 15th the French team were expected to beat South Canterbury but for reasons only known to themselves decided to play a negative scrappy game and came off second best 14- 17. The match was also made famous when a Mrs Madson from Oamaru ran onto the field of play and clouted one of the more troublesome Frenchmen with her fist, the crowd of 17,000 enjoyed that as much as the victory itself. The 1960s also marked a milestone when Mick Casey of Albury, and later the MacKenzie Club became the province's first centurion, playing 102 matches for South Canterbury between 1950 and 1962.
The decade of the 1970s were again successful, South Canterbury winning the Ranfurly Shield for the second time, over Marlborough at Blenheim on the 17th of August 1974. The green & blacks also won the first defence over neighbours North Otago, but succumbed to Wellington 3- 9, four days later (after the NZRFU ruled that the match must be played for the Shield). Three International scalps were also taken that decade, California (1972), Romania (1975) and Japan (1979).
Provincial Rugby changed forever in 1976 when the National Provincial Championship was introduced. Although many felt that this would eventually weaken the likes of South Canterbury, there was little evidence of such in the first ten years of the new competition. South Canterbury were promoted to the First Division for the 1978 season, and remained there for three years. As the larger Unions became better organised and professionalism became more mainstream the writing was on the wall, South Canterbury was never again going to compete with the top shelf.
The 1980s saw glimpses of the past, an 'almost victory' over Australia in 1982, and victory over Tonga in 1983 were the highlights of that decade. South Canterbury did win a the inaugural NPC Division III title in 1986, but thoughts of returning to Division 1 were a fading dream. The 1991 season was again a Div III title winning one, and promotion to Div II brought about success, with the finals system being introduced in 1992, South Canterbury reached the semifinals in 1993, but the feat wasn't to be repeated at that level. The green & blacks were relegated in 1997 and never returned to Div II. The introduction of the Heartland Championship in 2006 had a stablising effect on the twelve Unions that take part. Strictly an amateur competition, the unions involved are financially sound, unlike their professional cousins in the Premier Division (ITM Cup). Professionalism has brought some advantages to South Canterbury, the 'Super Rugby' competitions have enabled Timaru to host a number of Crusaders matches, and the financial benefits of belonging to the Crusaders Franchise has also aided the SCRFU greatly since 1996. At the end of the 2010 season South Canterbury was the eleventh New Zealand Union to reach their 1000th first class match, and the fourth in the South Island to do so.
South Canterbury's own club competition saw some changes because of the professional era, in 1995 the 85 year old Skinner Cup was discarded in favour of a 'commercially sensitive' trophy, ie a trophy that could be named according to the sponsor. This 'Club Shield' became a victim of its own rule when in 2009 a sponsor couldn't be found. The debates of 1995 re surfaced, and at the end of it, it was decided to separate the sponsorship of the competition from the trophy itself, resulting in a new trophy, the Hamersley Cup. This Cup was named after rugby pioneer Alfred St George Hamersley, and its engraving included the names of all the championship winning clubs from 1888- to date.
SOUTH CANTERBURY RFU FACT FILE
SCRFU, est. 1888 (original member of NZRFU).
HQ, Alpine Energy Stadium (Fraser Park) Church St, Timaru.
Ground capacity; 17,000, revised to 12,000.
Colours, green & black hoops.
Mascots; Tim & Ru
Ranfurly Shield; 1950, 1974.
Hanan Shield; of the 181 matches played (1946- 2015) South Canterbury have won 91, Mid Canterbury 59 and North Otago 31.
NPC titles; Division II, South Island 1976, 1977, 1981.
NPC Div III, 1986, 1991, 2001.
Heartland titles: Lochore Cup, 2013
All Blacks; G.D. Adkins 1935, A.E. Budd 1910, E.A. Cockcroft 1913-14, T.D. Coughlan 1958, J.H. Gardiner 1893, J.W. Goddard 1949, M.P. Goddard 1946- 47, 49. L.A. Grant 1947, 49, 51. G.P. Lawson 1925, T.W. Lynch 1913-14, T.C. Morrison 1938, C.M. McIntosh 1893, C.K. Saxton 1938, A. Spillane 1913, A.J. Stewart 1964, D. Stewart 1894, R.T. Stewart 1923-24, 26, 28, P.W. Storey 1920-21, W.A. Strang 1928, 30-31, T.N. Lister 1968-71, J.L. Jaffray 1979,
International Victories; France 1961, California 1972, Romania 1975, Japan 1979, Tonga 1983.
First Class matches; 1,041 (1888- 2014)
More History Click Here
CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS
SENIOR
1888 - 2015
The Union Flag
1888 - Waihi
1889 - Waihi
1890 - Timaru
1891 - Waihi
1892 - Union
1893 - Union
1894 - Timaru/Union
1895 - Waihi
1896 - Star
1897 - Waihi
1898 - Colonial
1899 - Colonial
1900 - Waihi
1901 - Temuka
1902 - Temuka
1903 - Temuka
1904 - Temuka
1905 - Star
1906 - Temuka
1907 - Temuka
1908 - Pirates
1909 - Pirates
1910 - Temuka
Skinner Cup
1911 - Celtic
1912 - Zingari
1913 - Celtic
1914 - Zingari
1915 - Temuka
1916 - No competition (WW1)
1917 - Geraldine
1918 - Star
1919 - Temuka
1920 - Temuka
1921 - Zingari
1922 - Old Boys
1923 - Zingari
1924 - Old Boys
1925 - Old Boys
1926 - Zingari
1927 - Old Boys
1928 - Old Boys
1929 - Star
1930 - Old Boys
1931 - Star
1932 - Star
1933 - Star
1934 - Star
1935 - Star
1936 - Star
1937 - Temuka
1938 - Temuka
1939 - Temuka
1940 - Temuka
1941 - Celtic
1942 - Army "A"
1943 - No competition (WW2)
1944 - Makikihi
1945 - Temuka
1946 - Temuka
1947 - Old Boys
1948 - Celtic
1949 - Geraldine
1950 - Zingari
1951 - Zingari
1952 - Celtic
1953 - Celtic
1954 - Zingari
1955 - Celtic
1956 - Temuka
1957 - Celtic
1958 - Waimate
1959 - Geraldine
1960 - Waimate
1961 - Zingari
1962 - Old Boys
1963 - Old Boys
1964 - Temuka
1965 - Temuka
1966 - Temuka
1967 - Temuka
1968 - Temuka
1969 - Zingari
1970 - Zingari
1971 - Old Boys
1972 - Star
1973 - Zingari
1974 - Old Boys
1975 - Old Boys
1976 - Old Boys/Temuka
1977 - Temuka
1978 - Temuka
1979 - Old Boys/Temuka
1980 - Temuka
1981 - Temuka
1982 - Temuka
1983 - Old Boys
1984 - Temuka
1985 - Temuka
1986 - Temuka
1987 - Star
1988 - Star
1989 - Star
1990 - Waimate
1991 - Temuka
1992 - Temuka
1993 - Temuka
1994 - Waimate
1995 - Waimate
SCRFU Shield
1996 - Temuka
1997 - Temuka
1998 - Harlequins
1999 - Temuka
2000 - Harlequins
2001 - Temuka
2002 - Harlequins
2003 - MacKenzie
2004 - Harlequins
2005 - Pleasant Point
2006 - Celtic
2007 - Harlequins
2008 - Harlequins
2009 - Celtic
The Hamersley Cup
2010 - CELTIC
2011 - CELTIC
2012 - CELTIC
2013 - CELTIC
2014 - CELTIC
2015 - CELTIC
2016 - CELTIC
2017 - CELTIC
SENIOR 'B' CHAMPIONS
1891 - 2015
(Originally 'Junior' (second grade), then Senior B, Senior Reserve, 'B', and Development Grade)
Junior Flag
1891 - UNION
1892 - TEMUKA
1893 - UNION
1894 - STAR
1895 - TIMARU
1896 - TEMUKA
1897 - TEMUKA
1898 - TEMUKA
1899 - TIMARU
1900 - TEMUKA
1901 - STAR
1902 - STAR
1903 - TEMUKA
1904 - STAR
1905 - STAR
1906 - TIMARU
1907 - TEMUKA
1908 - TEMUKA
1909 - ZINGARI
1910 - TEMUKA
1911 - ATHLETIC
1912 - TEMUKA
1913 - TEMUKA
New Banner, donated by Mr J.P. Murphy
1914 - ZINGARI
1915 - PLEASANT POINT
1916 - WW1, NO COMP
1917 - TEMUKA
1918 - ZINGARI
1919 - TIMARU B.H.S.
1920 - ZINGARI
1921 - PLEASANT POINT
1922 - PLEASANT POINT
1923 - STAR
1924 - PLEASANT POINT
1925 - ?
1926 - ?
1927 - STAR
1928 - ?
1929 - STAR
1930 - OLD BOYS
1931 - PAREORA
1932 - PAREORA
1933 - PAREORA
1934 - PAREORA
1935 - STAR
1936 - ZINGARI
1937- OLD BOYS
1938 - OLD BOYS
1939 - OLD BOYS
1940 - OLD BOYS
1941 - 1945, WWII - NO COMP
1946 - PAREORA
1947 - OLD BOYS
Jack Glover Memorial Trophy
1948 - TEMUKA
1949 - OLD BOYS
1950 - CELTIC
1951 - GERALDINE
1952 - TEMUKA
1953 - ZINGARI
1954 - TEMUKA
1955 - PAREORA
1956 - PAREORA
1957 - PAREORA
1958 - PAREORA
1959 - PAREORA
1960 - WAIMATE
1961 - WAIMATE
1962 - WAIMATE
1963 - PLEASANT POINT
1964 - PAREORA
1965 - PAREORA
1966 - OLD BOYS
1967 - TEMUKA
1968 - PAREORA
1969 - TEMUKA
1970 - PAREORA
1971 - PAREORA
1972 - OLD BOYS
1973 - STAR
1974 - TEMUKA
1975 - STAR/PLEASANT POINT
1976 - OLD BOYS
1977 - MACKENZIE
1978 - GERALDINE
1979 - GERALDINE
1980 - TEMUKA
1981 - TEMUKA
1982 - OLD BOYS
1983 - PLEASANT POINT
1984 - PLEASANT POINT
1985 - CELTIC
1986 - CELTIC
1987 - PLEASANT POINT
1988 - PLEASANT POINT/TEMUKA
1989 - PLEASANT POINT
1990 - TEMUKA
1991 - TEMUKA
1992 - TEMUKA
1993 - TEMUKA
1994 - ZINGARI
1995 - TEMUKA
1996 - TEMUKA
1997 - CELTIC
1998 - HARLEQUINS
1999 - OLD BOYS
2000 - OLD BOYS/WAIMATE
2001 - HARLEQUINS
2002 - TEMUKA
2003 - OLD BOYS
2004 - CELTIC
2005 - OLD BOYS
2006 - HARLEQUINS
2007 - CELTIC
2008 - CELTIC
2009 - GERALDINE
2010 - CELTIC RED
2011 - OLD BOYS
2012 - TEMUKA
2013 - CELTIC
2014 - WAIMATE
2015 - TEMUKA
2016 - TEMUKA
2017 - TEMUKA
- The 1925, 1926 & 1928 champions were probably pareora, but this is yet to be confirmed.
- The orginal Banner (Flag) is on display at the Temuka RFC Clubrooms
- The second Banner is on display at the Speight's Lounge, Alpine Energy Stadium, Timaru
ALL BLACKS WITH SOUTH CANTERBURY LINKS
George Thomas Augustus Adkins
b. 21 August 1910 in Timaru d. 24 May 1976 in Timaru. Attended Timaru Boys High School. Played for Star. He toured England with the All Blacks in 1935 playing 10 games.
Walter "Wally" Garland Argus
b. 29 May 1921 in Auckland Wing three-quarter. Attended Pleasant Point District High. Wally played 10 games for the All Blacks between 1946-47, including 4 tests. He scored 42 points in total for the ABs.
Edward "Ned" Fitzgerald Barry
b. 3 September 1905 in Temuka. d. 12 December 1993 in Auckland. Attended Pleasant Point District High. Ned played 10 games for the All Blacks between 1932-34, including one test.
John Edwin Black
b. 25 July 1951 in Timaru. Attended TBHS. John played 26 games for the All Blacks between 1976 and 1980, including 3 tests.
Alfred Budd
(Timaru Star) Represented South Canterbury and played 3 games for the All Blacks in 1910.
Eric Arthur Percy Cockroft
(Timaru Pirates)Cockroft played 7 games for the All Blacks between 1913-14, including 3 tests. He joined the Timaru Old Boys club in 1918, following discharge from the army, and coached their senior team from 1920-25, whilst a master at TBHS.
Thomas (Tom) D. Coughlan
(Temuka) Tom played one test against Australia in 1958. His uncle was Tom Lynch, a prolific scoring All Black three quarter in 1913-14 and his first cousin was the 1951 All Black midfield back of the same name. His brother Frank also represented South Canterbury as did his nephews Tim and Gerard. Tom Coughlan's son, also Tom, was a New Zealand colts and New Zealand Universities lock.
Phillippe S. De Q Cabot
attended Timaru Boys High School.Cabot played one game for the All Blacks in 1921.
David McKee Dickson
was born 25-Sep-1900 in Temuka . Dickson was playing for Otago when he was selected to play 7 games for the All Blacks in 1925. He died 19 April 1978 in Christchurch.
John Henry Gardiner
(Union Club) He was one of the first players chosen to play for the country before appearing for their province. Gardner was in the 1893 team which toured Australia and played in four games. He made the South Canterbury representative side on his return home and played for the union for the next two seasons.
William David Gillespie
b. 6 August 1934 in Cromwell. Flanker. Attended Waimate District High. Played 22 games for the All Blacks between 1957-58, including one test.
Maurice Patrick Goddard (“Morrie”)
b. 28 Sept.1921 at Timaru. d. 19 June1974 at Christchurch. Centre three-quarter. Attended TBHS, played for Zingari and South Canterbury. Morrie played for the Combined Services team during the war and for the All Blacks post-war. He played 20 games between 1946 and 1949, including 5 tests.
John Wood Gogdard (“Jack” )
b. 31 Jan.1920 at Timaru. d. 22 Oct.1996 at Timaru
Fullback, attended TBHS, played for Celtic, and South Canterbury.Toured South Africa in 1949 and played 8 games for the All Blacks. Morrie is his brother, 20 months, younger.
Lachlan Ashwell Grant (L A "Lachie" or "Goldie" Grant )
b. 4 October 1923 in Temuka d. 27 April 2002 in Timaru. Attended TBHS. Lachie played for the NZ Army "Kiwis" at lock/loosie prior to post war selection for the All Blacks playing 23 games between 1947 and 1949, including 4 tests. Grant was a farmer from Orton, near Temuka, and served the Temuka club and South Canterbury rugby with distinction.
David Norman Hewett
All Black prop Dave Hewitt (24 games between 2001-2003), had played 8 games for South Canterbury as a loan player in 1997, when the province was in the second division.
Alister Ernest Hopkinson
Played for Timaru Old Boys in the early 1960s before transferring to Nth Canterbury where he was selected for the All Blacks. He played 35 games, including 9 tests between 1967 and 1970.
L. (Lyn) J. Jaffray
23 All Black matches including seven tests and major tours to South Africa in 1976 and Britain in 1978. In 1979, his last in first class rugby, he represented South Canterbury, captaining the union.
Gordon Pirie Lawson
Attended TBHS and played for HS Old Boys club. He played two games for the All Blacks in 1925. An auctioneer, Gordon Lawson was one of four brothers who represented South Canterbury.
David (Dave) Frederick Lindsay
Born 9 Dec 1906, Studholme, Died 7 Mar 1978, Timaru. As a 21 year old fullback Lindsay played 14 games, including 3 tests for the All Blacks on tour in South Africa in 1928. He was educated at TBHS and was selected from Otago where he trained as a dentist, a profession he later practised in Timaru.
Thomas (Tom) Norman Lister
A South Canterbury product he was selected out of Wellington and played 26 All Black matches, between 1968 and 1971 including 8 tests. Lister's younger brother, John, was a professional golfer.
Tom W. Lynch II
(Celtic) 23 matches for the All Blacks between 1913-14. Tom Lynch II was the first of his family to become an All Black and in 1951 he was followed by his son, who also had the names of Thomas William. His father also carried the same names.
John Eaton Manchester (“Jack”)
23-Jan-1908 at Waimate d. 6 Sept.1983 at Dunedin. Flanker. Attended TBHS and played 36 games for the All Blacks between 1932 and 1936, including 9 tests. He captained the ABs in 4 test matches.
Charles Nicholson McIntosh
(Attended TBHS and played for Union) McIntosh played for South Canterbury between 1888 and 1893 and was selected to play 4 games for the All Blacks in 1893.
Duncan McGregor
27 All Black matches. b. 16 July 1881 in Kaiapoi. d. 11 March 1947 in Timaru. A speedy wing three-quarter who earned 31 caps, including 4 tests, between 1903 and 1905. Played in the 1905 Originals team which toured Great Britain. Was destitute in later life and buried in Timaru. In 2006 his headstone was replaced with one which paid full tribute to his All Black status.
Donald Gregory Macpherson
b. 23 July 1882 in Waimate. d. 26 November 1956 in Waimate. Macpherson played one game for the All Blacks against Australia in 1905.
Neville Alfred “Brushy” Mitchell
Was selected for the All Blacks from Southland, but later played for and coached Timaru Old Boys. He played 32 games for the ABs between 1935-38, including 8 tests and captained the test team on two occasions. He was coach of the 1950 South Canterbury team which won the Ranfurly Shield.
Thomas (Tom) Clarence Morrison
(Timaru Star). Attended Main School. A player, coach-selector and administrator of the SCRFU. Member of the NZRU for 22 years. He played 5 games for the All Blacks on their tour of Australia in 1938, including 3 tests. War service interrupted his AB career.
Murray James Pierce
b. 1 November 1957 in Timaru. Lock, a key lineout man, Standing 1.98 metres tall Pierce played 54 games for the All Blacks including 26 tests, between 1984 and 1989. Murray still has family in South Canterbury.
Isaac Ross
b. 27 October 1984 in Ashburto. Ross attended Timaru Boys High School, playing for the First XV and subsequently for NZ U19, NZ U21 and NZ Maori. Standing 2.01 metres tall, in 2009 Ross played 8 tests for the All Blacks, at lock. Isaac is the son of Jock & Christine Ross of Ashburton, both of whom have represented their country in rugby.
C. (Charlie) K. Saxton
(THS Old Boys) 7 matches for the All Blacks in 1938. He was president of the NZRFU in 1974 and elected a life member in 1976. He wrote, in conjunction with the Rugby Union The ABC of Rugby, a coaching book that stressed the three Ps, Position, Possession and Pace. Awarded the MBE.
Ross Mervyn Smith
b. 21 April 1929 in Ashburton. d. 2 May 2002 in Auckland. Wing three-quarter. Attended TBHS and played in one test match against Australia in 1955.
Wallace Frankham (Frank) Snodgrass (attended TBHS) Played 3 games for the All Blacks in 1923.
Augustine "Gus" Patrick Spillane
b. 10 May 1888 in Geraldine d. 16 September 1974 in Timaru. Played 2 games for the All Blacks in 1913. Three of his brothers also represented South Canterbury.
Allan James Stewart
Hailed from Timaru (Timaru Technical College 1st XV 1956-57) and as a 19-year old first played for South Canterbury, making 11 appearances for that union in 1960. He returned to teach at Timaru Technical College and played for the Old Boys Club. He played 26 matches for the All Blacks between 1963-64, including 8 test matches.
David “Dick” Stewart
(Waihi) Played for South Canterbury from 1890 – 1896. He played one game for the All Blacks v NSW in 1894.
Ronald (Ron) T. Stewart
(attended TBHS and played for Timaru HSOB)
He was only 17 when he first appeared for the South Canterbury representative side in 1921 (versus the Springboks) and 19 when he made his All Black debut. He played 39 games for the ABs between 1923 and 1930, including 5 tests.
Percival Wright Storey
(Zingari) Percy was born 11 February 1897 in Temuka. Attended Waimate School. Wounded at Passchendale. A wing in army matches in England in 1918. From there he was in the New Zealand Services team which in 1919 won the King's Cup and then later that year he was in the New Zealand Army team which toured South Africa. Died Saturday, 4 October 1975 in Timaru. It was not until the end of the 1920 season that he first appeared in New Zealand provincial rugby and over the next four seasons he played in only 10 games for South Canterbury. He Played 12 All Black matches between 1920-21, including 2 tests.
William Archibald(Archie) Strang
b. 18 October 1906 in Invercargill, d. 11 February 1989 in Tauranga. Five-eighths and halfback Attended TBHS, played for Timaru HSOB, Temuka and South Canterbury. Went on the All-Black Tour of South Africa in 1928 and played for the All Blacks against the 1930 British touring team in NZ. He played 17 games between 1928-31, including 5 tests, and captained NZ on one occasion.
Saimone Taumoepeau
Taumoepau emigrated from Tonga to Fairlie in 2000 making a big impression on club debut. He played for Mackenzie and was also in the South Canterbury Development team that season. He moved to Auckland and has played 4 games for the All Blacks between 2004-05, including 3 tests.
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