The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at

Fraser Park Fraser Park is Lower Hutt's largest recreational sportsground, at 27 hectares it is the biggest sporting ground in the lower North Island. It is home to the Ricoh Sports Centre, a multi-use venue, as well as sports like rugby, rugby league, fo ...

located in Timaru.

History

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 Alfred St George Hamersley (8 October 1848 – 25 February 1929) was a nineteenth-century solicitor and entrepreneur of great renown, an English MP, and an English rugby union international who played in the first ever international match. He ...

the former captain of the

England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasion ...

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

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 Canterbury Rugby Football Union (also referred to as "Canterbury" or "CRFU") is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the ...

. The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) was formed in 1888 when it broke away from the

. 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."'' 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). 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. 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 Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

and Crusaders vs The

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

Representative Rugby

The South Canterbury Rugby team play from

and they play their rugby in the

Heartland Championship The Heartland Championship competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the countr ...

. They also compete against

Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury (also spelt Mid-Canterbury and mid-Canterbury) is a traditional, semi-official subregion of New Zealand's Canterbury Region extending inland from the Pacific coast to the Southern Alps. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of C ...

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 ...

for the

Hanan Shield The Hanan Shield is one of the most prestigious trophies in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1946 after being presented by the Mayor of Timaru, A.E.S. Hanan. The Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played ...

South Canterbury in Super Rugby

South Canterbury along with

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, 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, Kent, River Stour. ...

, Tasman, Buller,

and

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

make up 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 ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

franchise.

Championships

South Canterbury won the 2nd division South Island in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, 1981 and the 3rd division in 1986, 1991, 1998, and in 2001. And the Lochore Cup in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Heartland Championship placings

Sevens South Canterbury hosted the 2010 and 2011 South Island Sevens Tournament at

, A Provincial qualifier to the

New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament The National Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament for New Zealand provincial teams. It is held annually and features a men's event and a women's event. The best teams in the country compete over two days for the respective men's and women's titles. ...

in Queenstown South Canterbury has qualified and competed at a number of

the last been in 2011.

Ranfurly Shield

South Canterbury has held 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 ...

twice, in 1950 and 1974.

1950

Matches played: *Sth Canterbury 17 vs

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 ...

14,

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

, *

North Auckland The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā ...

20 vs Sth Canterbury 9, Timaru, Team members: *Coach: Brushy Mitchell (centre, second row) *Captain: Morrie Goddard (third from left) *Vice Captain:

Lachie Grant Lachlan Ashwell Grant (4 October 1923 – 27 April 2002) was a New Zealand rugby union player. Born in Temuka, Grant is regarded as that town's finest rugby product. A flanker and lock, Booth represented at a provincial level, and was a membe ...

(third from right)

1974

Matches played: *Sth Canterbury 18 vs

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

6, Blenheim on 17 August *Sth Canterbury 9 vs

3, Timaru on 31 August *

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 me ...

9 vs Sth Canterbury 3, Timaru on 3 September Team members: *Captain: Ken Milne

Hanan Shield

The

is one of the most prestigious trophies in New Zealand's domestic

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

competition. First played for in 1946, the Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played between

, South Canterbury and

. South Canterbury are the current holders of the Shield after beating Mid Canterbury 17–15 on 13 October 2012.

International Victories

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

Club Rugby

Current Clubs

South Canterbury Rugby Football Union is made up of nine clubs: * Timaru Celtic RFC * Geraldine RFC *

Harlequins RFC Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

(Amalgamation of Zingari and Star in 1998) * Mackenzie RFC * Old Boys RFC * Pareora RFC * Pleasant Point RFC * Temuka RFC * Waimate RFC

Club Championship Winners

Total Championships By Club

High School Rugby

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At th ...

and

Roncalli College Roncalli College is a Catholic college in Timaru, New Zealand. It was named after Pope John XXIII, whose birth name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. It is a co-educational college with approximately 500 students from Year 9 to Year 13, and it is sit ...

1st XV play in the Crusaders Region Secondary Schools' Rugby Championship "The Press Cup"

Notable players

All Blacks

There have been 22 players selected for the

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 ...

whilst playing their club rugby in South Canterbury. Name, All Black No. & Year: * John H. Gardner, No.25, 1893 * Charles N. MacIntosh, No.39, 1893 * David Stewart, No.54, 1894 * Alfred Budd, No.160, 1910 *

Thomas W. Lynch Thomas W. Lynch (born February 25, 1956 in Los Angeles, California) is an American television series creator and executive producer who is the head of his own production company, Tom Lynch Company (previously Lynch Entertainment which is owned b ...

, No.177, 1913 * Augustine P. Spillane, No.200, 1913 * Eric Cockroft, No.203, 1913 * Percival W. Storey, No.224, 1920 * Ronald T. Stewart, No.288, 1923 * Gordon P. Lawson, No.320, 1925 * Archie Strang, No.342, 1928 * Thomas C. Metcalfe, No.384, 1931 * George T. A. Adkins, No.409, 1935 * Tom Morrison, No.441, 1938 * Charles Saxton, No.443, 1938 * Maurice P. Goddard, No.467, 1946 * Lachlan A. Grant, No.471, 1947 * John W. Goddard, No.499, 1949 * Thomas Coughlan, No.592, 1958 * Allan J. Stewart, No.638, 1963 * Tom N. Lister, No.673, 1968 * Lyn Jaffray, No.711, 1972 To view player profile, go t
allblacks.com

Super 12/14

Brendan Laney Brendan James Laney, (born 16 November 1973 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a former professional rugby union player who represented Scotland. Nicknamed "Chainsaw" for the way he cut through defences, he was also a good goal kicker. From South ...

Otago Highlanders The Highlanders (formerly the Otago Highlanders) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Dunedin that compete in Super Rugby. The team was formed in 1996 to represent the lower South Island in the newly formed Super 12 compet ...

Graham Dempster Graham Dempster (born 14 January 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Sydney Swans, South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s. Recruited from Victo ...

Canterbury Crusaders The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the mos ...

References

External links

NZrugbynet
Official Website
SCRFU.co.nz
{{Rugby union in New Zealand New Zealand rugby union teams New Zealand rugby union governing bodies Sport in Canterbury, New Zealand Sports organizations established in 1888 1888 establishments in New Zealand