Wikipedia

South Canterbury Rugby Football Union

The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at Fraser Park located in Timaru.

South Canterbury Rugby Football Union
Club information
Full nameSouth Canterbury Rugby Football Union
ColoursGreen and Black Hoops
Founded1888
Websitescrfu.co.nz
Current details
Ground(s)
CompetitionHeartland Championship

History

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Club rugby in South Canterbury predated the formation of South Canterbury RFU by at least two decades. The first recorded club rugby match in South Canterbury was played on 15 October 1867 between The Timaru and Temuka Clubs at Arowhenua. Eight years later, in 1875, the South Canterbury Football Club was formed, founded by Alfred St. George Hamersley the former captain of the England national rugby union team and resident of Timaru. Soon after on 24 May 1875 a match was played between North and South Canterbury at Ashburton that resulted in a draw. More clubs were formed, such as the Waimate Football Club on 24 May 1876, and Christchurch are recorded as playing Temuka in 1876. On 26 July 1879, a meeting was held in Timaru at the instigation again of Hamersley, at which delegates representing the clubs Christchurch, Christ's College, Temuka, North Canterbury (Rangiora), Eastern (Christchurch), South Canterbury (Timaru), Ashburton, and Southbridge agreed to form the Canterbury Rugby Football Union.

The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) was formed in 1888 when it broke away from the Canterbury Rugby Football Union. A meeting of delegates from football clubs in South Canterbury was held at the office of "Messrs Hamersley and Wood, Timaru, to consider the advisability of forming a Rugby Football Union in the district."[1] Once again, Hamersley was involved in a pivotal point in the history of rugby in the region and his role was commemorated in 2010 with the introduction of the Hamersley trophy, a 186 cm tall silver trophy, for the winners of the senior rugby competition (the Personnel Placements club rugby championship).[2] This meeting was attended by delegates from the South Canterbury, Pirates, Temuka, Waimate, Geraldine, Winchester and Fairlie Creek clubs and as a result of the union the South Canterbury club agreed to change its name to the Timaru Club.[3] Formal association with the Canterbury RFU was broken and it was established that the boundaries of the South Canterbury union were to be the Rangitata and Waitaki rivers, and the headquarters was Timaru. Soon after, a representative match was played on 24 July 1888 against the New Zealand Native Team on the Athletic Grounds, Timaru.

South Canterbury has produced a number of All Blacks and are one of the few unions to have played in all three Divisions of the NPC. South Canterbury has also had some notable victories over touring international sides including the 1961 French team. In 2011 the South Canterbury Heartland team played the 2011 Russian World Cup team who toured New Zealand before the 2011 Rugby World Cup at Fraser Park. Also 2011 saw two sell out Super 15 games played at Fraser Park in Timaru - the Crusaders vs the Bulls and Crusaders vs The Blues.

Representative Rugby

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The South Canterbury Rugby team play from Fraser Park, Timaru and they play their rugby in the Heartland Championship. They also compete against Mid Canterbury and North Otago for the Hanan Shield.

South Canterbury in Super Rugby

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South Canterbury along with Canterbury, Tasman, Buller, Mid Canterbury and West Coast make up the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise.

Championships

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South Canterbury 2001 NPC 3rd Div Champions

South Canterbury won the 2nd division South Island in 1976, 1977, 1981 and the 3rd division in 1986, 1991, 1998, and in 2001. And the Lochore Cup in 2013.

Heartland Championship placings

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Heartland Championship results[4][5][6][7]
Year Pld W D L PF PA PD BP Pts Place Playoffs
Qual Semifinal Final
2006 8 3 0 5 28 102 −74 2 14 5th No —
2007 8 4 0 4 139 173 −34 3 19 2nd Lochore Cup Won 31–23 against West Coast Lost 35–38 to Poverty Bay
2008 8 3 1 4 181 167 +14 4 19 4th Lochore Cup Lost 30–43 to Poverty Bay —
2009 8 5 0 3 169 198 −29 2 22 4th Meads Cup Lost 17–19 to Mid Canterbury —
2010 6 4 0 2 121 119 +2 1 17 5th No —
2011 8 4 0 4 239 187 +52 6 22 6th Lochore Cup Won 30–27 against Thames Valley Lost 22–49 to Poverty Bay
2012 8 5 0 3 265 227 +38 4 21 6th Lochore Cup Won 48–20 against Mid Canterbury Lost 28–31 to Buller
2013 8 4 0 4 246 202 +44 7 23 5th Lochore Cup Won 14–18 against Thames Valley Won 17–10 against Buller
2014 8 4 0 4 202 165 +37 5 21 6th Lochore Cup Lost 12–16 to North Otago —
2015 8 7 0 1 346 162 +184 7 35 1st Meads Cup Won 25–21 against Wairarapa Bush Lost 11–28 against Wanganui
2016 8 7 0 1 324 162 +162 7 36 2nd Meads Cup Lost 6-16 against Buller

Sevens

South Canterbury hosted the 2010 and 2011 South Island Sevens Tournament at Fraser Park in Timaru, A Provincial qualifier to the New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament in Queenstown South Canterbury has qualified and competed at a number of New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament the last been in 2011.

Ranfurly Shield

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South Canterbury has held the Ranfurly Shield twice, in 1950 and 1974.

1950

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Matches played:

 
1950 South Canterbury Team

Team members:

1974

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1974 South Canterbury Team

Matches played:

Team members:

  • Captain: Ken Milne

Hanan Shield

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The Hanan Shield is one of the most prestigious trophies in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1946, the Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played between North Otago, South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury. South Canterbury are the current holders of the Shield after beating Mid Canterbury 17–15 on 13 October 2012.[8]

International Victories

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Victories by South Canterbury versus International Tourists; France 1961, California 1972, Romania 1975, Japan 1979, Tonga 1983.

Club Rugby

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Current Clubs

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South Canterbury Rugby Football Union is made up of nine clubs:

Club Championship Winners

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South Canterbury Club Championship Winners[10]
Year: Club: Year: Club: Year: Club: Year: Club: Year: Club: Year: Club:
1888 Waihi 1912 Zingari 1936 Star 1960 Waimate 1984 Temuka 2008 Harlequins
1889 Waihi 1913 Celtic 1937 Temuka 1961 Zingari 1985 Temuka 2009 Celtic
1890 Timaru 1914 Zingari 1938 Temuka 1962 Old Boys 1986 Temuka 2010 Celtic
1891 Waihi 1915 Temuka 1939 Temuka 1963 Old Boys 1987 Star 2011 Celtic
1892 Union 1916 No competition (WW1) 1940 Temuka 1964 Temuka 1988 Star 2012 Celtic
1893 Union 1917 Geraldine 1941 Celtic 1965 Temuka 1989 Star 2013 Celtic
1894 Timaru/Union 1918 Star 1942 Army 'A' 1966 Temuka 1990 Waimate 2014 Celtic
1895 Waihi 1919 Temuka 1943 No competition (WW2) 1967 Temuka 1991 Temuka 2015 Celtic
1896 Star 1920 Temuka 1944 Makikihi 1968 Temuka 1992 Temuka 2016 Celtic
1897 Waihi 1921 Zingari 1945 Temuka 1969 Zingari 1993 Temuka 2017 Celtic
1898 Colonial 1922 Old Boys 1946 Temuka 1970 Zingari 1994 Waimate 2018 Celtic
1899 Colonial 1923 Zingari 1947 Old Boys 1971 Old Boys 1995 Waimate 2019 Temuka
1900 Waihi 1924 Old Boys 1948 Celtic 1972 Star 1996 Temuka 2020 Temuka
1901 Temuka 1925 Old Boys 1949 Geraldine 1973 Zingari 1997 Temuka 2021 Temuka
1902 Temuka 1926 Zingari 1950 Zingari 1974 Old Boys 1998 Harlequins 2022 Celtic
1903 Temuka 1927 Old Boys 1951 Zingari 1975 Old Boys 1999 Temuka 2023 Temuka
1904 Temuka 1928 Old Boys 1952 Celtic 1976 Old Boys/Temuka 2000 Harlequins 2024 Harlequins
1905 Star 1929 Star 1953 Celtic 1977 Temuka 2001 Temuka
1906 Temuka 1930 Old Boys 1954 Zingari 1978 Temuka 2002 Harlequins
1907 Temuka 1931 Star 1955 Celtic 1979 Old Boys/Temuka 2003 MacKenzie
1908 Pirates 1932 Star 1956 Temuka 1980 Temuka 2004 Harlequins
1909 Pirates 1933 Star 1957 Celtic 1981 Temuka 2005 Pleasant Point
1910 Temuka 1934 Star 1958 Waimate 1982 Temuka 2006 Celtic
1911 Celtic 1935 Star 1959 Geraldine 1983 Old Boys 2007 Harlequins

Total Championships By Club

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South Canterbury Club Rugby Premierships (as of end of 2022)[11]
Club Total Titles Outright Shared Last winning season:
Temuka 43 41 2 2023
Celtic 20 20 2022
Old Boys 15 15 1983
Star 14 14 1989
Zingari 12 12 1973
Waihi 6 6 1888
Harlequins 7 7 2024
Waimate 5 5 1995
Union 3 2 1 1894
Geraldine 3 3 1959
Timaru 2 1 1 1894
Colonial 2 2 1899
Pirates 2 2 1909
Army 'A' 1 1 1942
Makikihi 1 1 1944
MacKenzie 1 1 2003
Pleasant Point 1 1 2005

High School Rugby

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Notable players

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All Blacks

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There have been 22 players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in South Canterbury.

Name, All Black No. & Year:

To view player profile, go to allblacks.com

Super 12/14

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References

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  1. ^ Otago Witness, 16 March 1888, Page 27
  2. ^ Official site reporting Hamersley Cup Unveiled & New Sponsor Welcomed – from Jacob Page, Founder remembered in senior trophy, The Timaru Herald 19 March 2010
  3. ^ South Canterbury RFU Official Site – History
  4. ^ "Standings (2006–present)". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Fixtures and Results (2006–present)". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Finalists found in Lochore and Meads Cups". Newshub. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  7. ^ "2010 Lochore and Mead Cups finals wrap". Heartland Championship. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  8. ^ Jonathan Leask (13 October 2012). "Rugby: South Canterbury claim Hanan Shield". nzherald.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Harlequins RFC - Home".
  10. ^ "South Canterbury Rugby Union".
  11. ^ "South Canterbury Rugby Union".
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