Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Their headquarters are at

Rugby Park Stadium Rugby Park is a sports venue in Invercargill and the home ground for the Mitre 10 Cup and Southland. Rugby Park is located on the corner of Elles Road and Tweed Street. The ground has a regular season capacity of 18,000. It has a safe tempo ...

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, which is also the home ground of the union's professional team, the Southland Stags who compete in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division and challenge for the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

. Despite their proud history, no Southland team has ever won the top division of the New Zealand National Provincial Championship since organised competition began in 1976. However, they have won the NPC second division title five times and held the Ranfurly Shield seven times, most recently in 2011 where they defended the shield twice before losing it to

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

. Southland also plays for the Donald Stuart Memorial Shield against rivals Otago in what is the longest tenured provincial rivalry in New Zealand first-class rugby, with 229 matches.

History

Formation and early years

Founded in 1887 after splitting from Otago, Southland and its former stablemate went on to forge what is New Zealand's longest inter-provincial rugby rivalries. The two sides have played more games against each other than any other representative teams in New Zealand. They played their first game against Otago, losing in a close affair. The Southland region already had strong club rugby teams with

competing in the

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

based competition. The Invercargill club had already produced two All Blacks. They were outside back, Henry Braddon and wing forward, James O'Donnell. In 1885 these two players were recognised as Otago

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

as they played their rugby for neighbouring province. It was not until 1896 when Southland hooker, Nisbet McRobie was selected in the New Zealand team to play

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. The side won 9-nil and it was McRobie's only game in the 'black jersey', however he occupies a special place in Southland Rugby history as the provinces first of over 50 All Blacks. Billy Stead became the provinces first test All Black in 1903 and also captained the All Blacks 12 times.

Production of talent

Southland is renowned for producing a high number of quality players despite the small population of the province shown by the over 50 All Blacks who have come from Southland. This continued following the war with players such as Leo Connolly and Jack Hazlett followed by Leicester Rutledge and Frank Oliver. But as rugby in New Zealand was organised into structured annual competition to replace tours and series which Southland had played in previously Southland Rugby struggled to retain their local talent. With Southland in the NPC Second Division from 1976, talented Southlanders began heading north in search of top level rugby. Southland continued to produce homegrown talent over 1980s and 1990s which led them to five Second Division titles, namely

Brian McKechnie Brian John McKechnie (born 6 November 1953) is a former " double All Black" - representing New Zealand in both rugby union and cricket. Rugby career He played 26 matches for the All Blacks as a first five-eighth and fullback, most memorably be ...

, Steven Pokere, Geoff Valli, Paul Henderson and Simon Culhane who was the shining light for Southland over this period, it was the talent that was lost that continues to haunt Southland fans. Southland at this time was used as a kickstart for many successful players careers. Valli moved to North Auckland in 1981, Pokere left Southland for Auckland in 1984 and Henderson spent what most consider to be his best years as a footballer in Otago from 1987-91. This worsened as Southland neared the millennium and led to embarrassing results where victories were few and far between as Southland was promoted to the NPC First Division after their 1996 championship. Considered one of Southland's best ever athletes, it pains many Southland fans to think that Jeff Wilson played only a season for Southland whilst still attending Cargill High School before heading to Otago to attend university and play his provincial rugby and cricket both of which he would represent New Zealand in before turning 20, going on to play 60 tests for the All Blacks.

Justin Marshall Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005. Marshall played for the in the Super 12 from 1996 to 2005, winning the competit ...

who was Southland's halfback left after the winning the 1994 Second Division title and went on to become one of New Zealand's greatest halfbacks playing 81 All Black tests from 1995-2005 and winning every major trophy in New Zealand rugby excluding a

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

. 2002 Southland captain

Corey Flynn Corey Robert Flynn (born 5 January 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for West Coast in the Heartland Championship. He plays in the position of hooker. Career Club career Flynn previously played provincial for Sou ...

left the province for Canterbury and the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in 2003 and went on to play 70 games for Canterbury, 150 for the Crusaders and 15 for the All Blacks which would have been far greater if not for multiple broken arms from 2003-2014. Others who kickstarted their career in Southland before moving where they became All Blacks

Norm Hewitt Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the envir ...

, Pita Alatini, David Hill and Paul Miller. All Blacks such as Anton Oliver, Damian McKenzie and

Mils Muliaina Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...

(with the latter going on to become the second ever All Blacks centurion), who left the province for their schooling would not return with rugby's increasing professionalism to represent the province like their family had in the past. In recent years such as 2021, Ethan De Groot has played three tests for the All Blacks

Southland vs international teams

For a province of its size, Southland's record against international teams is unmatched. Rugby Park has not been a happy hunting ground for foreign sides many of whom have come to grief at the hands of determined Southland sides over the years. Australian national and state sides have had a particularly miserable time in Invercargill, losing on 13 occasions. The British Lions were defeated in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

and 1966 and France were put away in 1979 and 1989 along with Italy more recently in 2003.

Ranfurly Shield

Southland were the first South Island province to win the coveted

in 1920 when they beat

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. Their first shield reign was brief, losing the Shield back to Wellington in 1921 after two defences. They next won the Shield in 1929 off

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

, this time defending it four times before again losing to Wellington. Southland then won the Ranfurly Shield in 1937 and 1938 when they retained the Shield for 12 challenges before losing it to bitter rivals Otago in 1947. With Ranfurly Shield rugby not played from 1939 to 1945 due to World War II, Southland's nine years with the Shield remains the longest in terms of time period although it did reside under a bed for much of this time. The Southland side during this period boasted All Blacks George Purdue, Bill Hazlett, Art Wesney, Les George and All Black Captains Frank Kilby and Brushy Mitchell in the Shield winning sides. Their next Shield victory over Taranaki in 1959 would be their last for 51 years before the 2009 Southland side broke the drought by beating

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

9-3 in Christchurch. Their six defences of the Shield proved to be some of the more iconic Shield games in the professional era including a 16-12 victory over arch-rivals Otago in front of a sold-out Rugby Park, and a 9-6 victory over

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

days after the biggest snow storm ever recorded in the province led to fans having to shovel snow off the field the day before the game. After losing the Shield to Canterbury, the Stags again claimed the shield from their South Island rivals in 2011 in their most recent tenure which lasted two games. These Southland sides were not headlined by regular All Blacks like the teams from the 1930s and 1940s, instead they were made up mostly of locally grown talent educated at

Southland Boys' High School Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982. History SBHS was founded in 1881 an ...

such as captain

Jamie Mackintosh Jamie Mackintosh (born 20 February 1985) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player currently playing for the Austin Gilgronis in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for Section Paloise in the French Top 14 competition. He wa ...

, centurions

Jason Rutledge Jason Rutledge (born 15 December 1977) is a New Zealand rugby union player who played provincial rugby for Southland, and was in the Super Rugby team the Highlanders. Rutledge is widely known as New Zealands best hooker to have never played fo ...

, David Hall,

Josh Bekhuis Joshua Bekhuis (born 26 April 1986) is a professional rugby union player who plays at lock for Honda Heat in the Japanese Top League competition. Playing career Provincial Rugby Bekhuis began his career with Southland in 2006 after a success ...

and Tim Boys, and future

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

international John Hardie.

Name change

In 1998 the Southland Rugby Football Union Incorporated changed its name to Rugby Southland Incorporated

Club rugby

When Robert Galbraith stepped down as the Southland Rugby Football Union secretary the union handed him a donation which the long-serving Southland rugby administrator promptly spent on a shield he donated back to the union as a prize for Invercargill's top club rugby competition. The Galbraith Shield has been the prize for Southland's premier club rugby competition since 1908. There are six teams currently in Southland's premier competition; Marist, Blues, Pirates-Old Boys, Star,

Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

and the Eastern Northern Barbarians whose players come from the clubs in the Eastern/Northern sub union. Current Senior Clubs: * Albion Excelsior * Balfour/Lumsden * Bluff * Central Pirates * Collegiate * Drummond Limehills Star (DLS) * Eastern Northern Barbarians * Edendale
Invercargill (Blues)
* Marist * Mataura * Midlands * Mossburn * Ohai-Nightcaps * Otautau * Pioneer * Pirates-Old Boys * Pukerau * Riversdale * Riverton * Star * Te Anau * Tokanui * Waiau Star * Waikaia * Waikaka White Star * Waikiwi * Wakatipu Wanderers ¹ * Woodlands * Wrights Bush ² * Wyndham ¹ Wakatipu play in the Otago Country competition, however due to lack of suitable competition their B team play in the Southlandwide competition as the Wakatipu Wanderers. Wakatipu High School also compete in Southland competition as it involves less travel than the corresponding Otago competition. ² Wrights Bush do not currently have their own senior team, instead playing as ''Bush Pirates'' in a combined venture with Central Pirates.

Galbraith Shield Champions

The Galbraith Shield is the Southland club rugby premiership competition. For most of the shield's history only town (Invercargill) clubs have contested it, until 1990 when town and country clubs came together for a Southland-wide competition.

High Schools Rugby

Aurora College Aurora College, formerly Arctic College, is a college located in the Northwest Territories, Canada with campuses in Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. They have learning centres in 23 communities in the NWT. The head office for Aurora Colleg ...

* Central Southland College *

Gore High School Gore High School is one of two secondary schools in Gore, New Zealand, the other being St Peter's College, Gore. It is located on Coutts Road in the west of Gore. Notable staff *Johnny Borland – high jumper, athletics official *George Jobbern ...

* James Hargest College * Menzies College * Northern Southland College *

* Southland Girls' High School * St Peter's College, Gore * Te Wharekura o Arowhenua *

Verdon College Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 15 (ages 11–18). The college is named after Bishop Michael Verdon (1838–1918) who was the second Catholic Bishop of ...

Wakatipu High School Wakatipu High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 13 to 18), a total of students attend the school as of The school was originally located at 68 Fryer Stre ...

Bunnings NPC

Southland in Super Rugby

Southland are one of three home unions to make up the Highlanders Super Rugby team, the other two unions being Otago and

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

. There is currently an agreement in place for the Highlanders to play one regular season game per year at

. Despite their interests in the Highlanders, Southland players are free to play for whichever Super team contracts them, with those who aren't contracted often representing the Highlanders development team known as the Bravehearts. This has seen players such as former player

Wharenui Hawera Wharenui K. Hawera (born 22 May 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Kubota Spears. His position of choice is fly-half. Hawera has previously played in Super Rugby for the Brumbies and in the Mitre 10 Cup for Southland and Wa ...

represent the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

. The players from the 2021 Stags squad with Super Rugby experience are: * Ethan de Groot ** Highlanders: 2020–present (14 caps) * Greg Pleasants-Tate ** Blues: 2015 (1 cap) ** Highlanders: 2016-18 (18 caps) * Marty McKenzie ** Blues: 2013 (3 caps) ** Chiefs: 2015, 2018-19 (20 caps) **

: 2016-17 (9 caps) *

Tony Lamborn Tony Lamborn (born 31 July 1991) is a New Zealand-born American rugby union player who plays as a flanker. He currently plays his club rugby for Southland in the Mitre 10 Cup, and the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He also played for th ...

** Blues: 2020 (9 caps) * Lisati Milo-Harris ** Chiefs: 2020 (3 caps) * Josh Renton ** Highlanders: 2015-18 (6 caps) * Marty Banks **

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

: 2014 (5 caps) ** Highlanders: 2015-17, 2019, 2022–present (40 caps) * Solomon Alaimalo ** Chiefs: 2017-20 (44 caps) ** Highlanders: 2021–present (1 cap)

Honours

* NPC South Island Second Division **Champions: 1982, 1984 * NPC Second Division **Champions: 1989, 1994, 1996 *

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

**Semifinalists: 2008, 2009 *

**1920, 1929, 1937, 1938, 1959, 2009, 2011

Captains

Southland's Captains since 1976 are: *D Saunders 1976, 1978–79 * Frank Oliver 1977 *

1979, 1982–83 * Ken Stewart 1980-81 *Paul Macfie 1984-85 *Trevor Bokser 1986-87 *Murray Brown 1988-90 *David Henderson 1991-92, 1994–95 * Paul Henderson 1993 * Simon Culhane 1996-97 *Davin Heaps 1998 *Brett McCormack 1999 *Brendon Timmons 2000-01 *Steve Jackson 2002-03 * Clarke Dermody 2004-07 *

2008–15 *

Brayden Mitchell Brayden Mitchell (born 21 January 1989 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays as a hooker for Southland in the Mitre 10 Cup. Playing career Provincial Rugby Mitchell, a product of the Southland academ ...

2016–17 * Flynn Thomas &

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada *James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...

2018–19 *

2020–present

Coaches

Southland's Coaches Since 1976 are: *Bob Donnelly 1976 *Jack Smith 1977-79 *Robin Archer 1980-82 *Jack Borland, Harold Miller & Kevin Laidlaw 1983 *

Laidlaw Laidlaw (), organized as Laidlaw International, Inc. (with corporate headquarters in Naperville, Illinois) was the largest provider of intercity bus services, contract public transit and paratransit, and contract school bus service in both ...

1984-85 *John McAlley 1986-87 *Barry Leonard 1988-92 *Keith Robertson 1993-97 *Robert Telfer 1998-99 * Leicester Rutledge 2000-01 *Phil Young 2002-04 * Simon Culhane & David Henderson 2005-11 *Henderson 2012-13 *Brad Mooar 2014-15 * Hoani MacDonald 2016–17 * Dave Hewett 2018–19 * Dale MacLeod 2020—present

Rugby Southland centurions

The following players have played over a hundred games for the Southland senior team. Listed in chronological order from Ack Soper in 1966 to most recently Tim Boys in 2014 the 15 are: *Ack Soper - Country Pirates (103 games) *Greg Spencer - Pirates (107 games) *Gerald Dermody - Tokanui (120 games) *Lin Booth - Star (100 games) *Phil Butt - Star (100 games) * Leicester Rutledge - Wrights Bush (113 games) *Paul Laidlaw - Nightcaps (105 games) *Brent Shepard -

(103 games) * Simon Culhane -

(105 games) *

(138 games) * Jimmy Cowan - Mataura (111 games) *

(123 games*) * David Hall - Pirates-Old Boys (108 games) *

- Star (115 games) * Tim Boys - Midlands (120 games) * denotes player has not yet retired

All Blacks

There have been 58 players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in Southland. The first being Nisbet McRobie in 1896 and the most recent being Ethan de Groot in 2021. *N McRobie * CA Purdue * JW Stead * GF Burgess * E Purdue *E Hughes * DC Hamilton * AJ Ridland * J McNeece *WG Lindsay *DL Baird * A White * JR Bell *JA Archer * WE Hazlett * GT Alley *JH Geddes *J Howden *TC Metcalfe * GB Purdue * NA Mitchell * RH Ward * VL George *JA McRae * TA Budd *LS Connolly *TRD Webster * WA McCaw * CE Robinson *AL Wilson * AJ Soper * JR Watt *DL Ashby * KF Laidlaw * EJ Hazlett * KW Stewart * RJ Barber * FJ Oliver * BJ McKechnie * LM Rutledge * AA McGregor * GT Valli * ST Pokere * PW Henderson * NJ Hewitt * SD Culhane * QJ Cowan * C Dermody * JL Mackintosh * LZ Sopoaga * EC Dixon * E de Groot

Other notable players

* Edward J Kavanagh *

Adedayo Adebayo Adedayo Adeyemi Adebayo (born 30 November 1970 in Ibadan, Nigeria) is a rugby union footballer, who played on the wing for England 8 times between 1996 and 1998. He played club rugby for Bath and Parma and then went on to coach the Scottish-ba ...

* Pita Alatini *

Seremaia Bai Seremaia Baïkeinuku (born 4 January 1979) is a retired Fijian rugby union player who played most recently for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership, and represented Fiji at a National level. He plays at both Fly-half and Inside Centre. Car ...

* Graeme Bond * Lex Chisholm * Eion Crossan * Gus Dermody * Mal Dermody * Lio Falaniko * Philippe Farner * Pailate Fili *

* Simon Forrest * John Hardie *

* Ben Herring * David Gannon * Les George * David Hill *

Damian Hopley Damian Hopley (born 12 April 1970) is a former rugby union player for London Wasps and England. His position of choice was on the wing or in the centres. Background Born in South London, Hopley attended St Benedict's School in Ealing West ...

* George Konia * Kevin Laidlaw * George Latu * Norman Ligairi *

* Joe McDonnell * Jack JT McKenzie * Harold Miller * Paul Miller * Wayne Miller * Bobby Murrell * Roger Newell * Matt Philip *

Peni Ravai Peni Ravai Kovekalou (born 16 June 1990) is a Fijian rugby union player, who currently plays at hooker and prop for the Flying Fijians and the in Super Rugby. He previously played for in the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand, Aurillac in the Pro ...

* Peter Ryan *

Charlie Saxton Charles Saxton (born November 7, 1989, in Bristol, Pennsylvania) is an American film, television and voice actor. He had a supporting role as Bug, one of the band members, in ''Bandslam''. He was featured in ''Hung'', an HBO comedy-drama ser ...

* Mark Seymour * Brent Shepherd * Alando Soakai * Jeremy Spence * Billy Stead * Ack Soper * Hale T-Pole * Kel Tremain * Talemaitoga Tuapati * Joe Tuineau * Des Tuiavi'i *

Earl Va'a Earl Va'a (born 1 May 1972)
Scrum.com is a former

Geoff Valli * Jeff Wilson

References

External links

Official siteSouthland rugby
(NZHistory.net.nz) {{Authority control New Zealand rugby union teams New Zealand rugby union governing bodies Sport in Southland, New Zealand