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

. 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 tem ...

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 ...

, 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 challen ...

. 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 Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

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

, 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

, 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 Sir Henry Yule Braddon (27 April 1863 – 8 September 1955) was an Australian diplomat, businessman and rugby union player who played for Otago, New South Wales and New Zealand. The position he generally played in was fullback. He is list ...

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 Billy Stead, born John William Stead, (18 September 1877 – 21 July 1958) was a rugby union player born in Invercargill who played for New Zealand, the All Blacks, on their 1905–06 tour. Stead also played provincially for Southland, and lat ...

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 Leicester Malcolm Rutledge (born 12 April 1952) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A flanker, Rutledge represented Southland at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1978 to 1980. ...

and

Frank Oliver Frank Oliver may refer to: * Frank Oliver (American football) (born 1952), American football player * Frank Oliver (footballer) (1882–?), English footballer *Frank Oliver (politician) (1853–1933), Canadian politician *Frank Oliver (rugby union) ...

. 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 Steven Tahurata Pokere (born 11 August 1958) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A second five-eighth and centre, Pokere represented Southland, Auckland and Wellington at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national ...

Geoff Valli Geoffrey Thomas Valli (born 3 November 1954) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A full-back, Valli represented Southland and North Auckland at a provincial level. He played a single game for the New Zealand national side, the All Blac ...

Paul Henderson Paul Garnet Henderson, (born January 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A left winger, Henderson played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Fla ...

and

Simon Culhane Simon Culhane (born 10 March 1968 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a former rugby union player who won six caps playing at fly-half for the New Zealand rugby union side (the All Blacks). Culhane made his international test debut at the age of 2 ...

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 ...

. 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 So ...

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,

Pita Alatini Pita Faiva-ki-moana Alatini (born 11 April 1976 in Nukualofa) is a Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union footballer. Alatini is a midfield back who played in 17 tests for the All Blacks between 1999 and 2001, scoring 6 test tries. Alatini playe ...

, David Hill and Paul Miller. All Blacks such as

Anton Oliver Anton David Oliver (born 9 September 1975) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Previously, he played as a hooker for Marlborough (one of the predecessors to today's Tasman side) and Otago in the National Provincial Championship and ...

Damian McKenzie Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays fullback or First five-eighth for Waikato in the Bunnings NPC competition and Chiefs in super rugby . McKenzie has played 40 tests for New Zealand sinc ...

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 and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

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 ...

. 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 Francis David Kilby (24 April 1906 – 3 September 1985) was a New Zealand rugby union player and administrator. A halfback, Kilby represented , , and briefly and at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the Al ...

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 t ...

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 I ...

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 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 ...

, 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 succes ...

and Tim Boys, and future

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

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 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 ...

, Pirates-Old Boys,

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, Woodlands 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 *

Central Southland College Winton is a rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is located close to the east bank of the Ōreti River, 30 kilometres north of Invercargill and 50 kilometres south of Lumsden. The town is named after Thomas Winton, a local stockman who liv ...

Gore High School Gore High School is one of two secondary schools in Gore, New Zealand Gore ( mi, Maruawai) is a town and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Geography The town of Gore is located on State Highway 1 64 ...

James Hargest College James Hargest College is a large school of about 1,950–2,000 students, in Invercargill, New Zealand. The school caters for students from year 7–13. The school is divided into two campuses, known as James Hargest Junior Campus (Year 7–8) an ...

Menzies College Menzies College is a Year 7 to 13 school in the South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is b ...

Northern Southland College Northern Southland College (NSC) is a secondary school for students from year 7 to 13 in Lumsden, New Zealand. NCS has students from Mossburn Mossburn is a small town in the northern Southland region of New Zealand. It is situated 113&nb ...

* Southland Boys' High School *

Southland Girls' High School Southland Girls' High School is a state girls' Year 7–13 secondary school in Georgetown, Invercargill, New Zealand. The school was established in 1879. It is a single-sex state school for years 7 to 13 with a roll of students as of From the ...

St Peter's College, Gore St Peters College is an integrated state secondary school in Gore, Southland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1969 as a private co-ed school and was the first Catholic co-educational boarding school established in New Zealand. History The idea ...

Te Wharekura o Arowhenua Te Wharekura o Arowhenua is a Māori high school (wharekura) located in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 1–15 (aged around 5 to 18 years old). The school has pupils, all of whom are Māori. Information The school is o ...

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 o ...

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 Stree ...

Bunnings NPC

Southland in Super Rugby

Southland are one of three home unions to make up the Highlanders

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 ...

team, the other two unions being

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 gli ...

. 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 Ethan de Groot (born 22 July 1998 in Australia) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the in Super Rugby. His playing position is prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by ...

** Highlanders: 2020–present (14 caps) *

Greg Pleasants-Tate Greg Pleasants-Tate (born 12 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who has played as a hooker for Bay of Plenty, North Harbour, Auckland, Canterbury and Southland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Blues and Highlanders in t ...

: 2015 (1 cap) ** Highlanders: 2016-18 (18 caps) * Marty McKenzie **

: 2013 (3 caps) ** Chiefs: 2015, 2018-19 (20 caps) **

: 2016-17 (9 caps) * Tony Lamborn **

: 2020 (9 caps) *

Lisati Milo-Harris Lisati M. Milo-Harris (born 5 October 1996) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for in the Bunnings NPC Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has b ...

** Chiefs: 2020 (3 caps) *

Josh Renton Josh Renton (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a halfback for Valorugby Emilia in Italian Top10. Early career Born and raised in the southern New Zealand town of Dunedin, Renton attended the prest ...

** Highlanders: 2015-18 (6 caps) *

Marty Banks Martin Banks (born 19 September 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for in the Bunnings NPC and the in Super Rugby. His position is First five-eighth and occasionally Fullback. Career Banks was playing for the Takapuna Rugb ...

** Hurricanes: 2014 (5 caps) ** Highlanders: 2015-17, 2019, 2022–present (40 caps) *

Solomon Alaimalo Solomon Alaimalo (born 27 December 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as an outside back for Southland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and for the in the international Super Rugby competition. Senior career ...

** 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 *

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 *

1993 *

1996-97 *Davin Heaps 1998 *Brett McCormack 1999 *Brendon Timmons 2000-01 *Steve Jackson 2002-03 *

Clarke Dermody Clarke Dermody (born 22 April 1980, in Invercargill) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who has gone on to coach professionally. Dermody was born in Invercargill, New Zealand, and attended Southland Boys' High School. Dermody's great gr ...

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 acad ...

2016–17 *

Flynn Thomas Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish ''Ó Floinn'', meaning "descendant of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname rather than a first name. A ...

& James Wilson 2018–19 * Tony Lamborn 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 Kevin Francis Laidlaw (born 9 August 1934 at Nightcaps) is a former All Blacks rugby union player from New Zealand, and is the only All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), rep ...

1983 * Laidlaw 1984-85 *John McAlley 1986-87 *Barry Leonard 1988-92 *Keith Robertson 1993-97 *Robert Telfer 1998-99 *

2000-01 *Phil Young 2002-04 *

& David Henderson 2005-11 *Henderson 2012-13 *Brad Mooar 2014-15 *

Hoani MacDonald Hoani MacDonald (born 21 August 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union player and current coach. He played provincial rugby for Southland, and for the Highlanders in Super Rugby. In September 2008, he joined Welsh side the Newport Gwent D ...

2016–17 *

Dave Hewett David Norman Hewett (born 14 July 1971) is a former rugby union player from New Zealand, currently working as coach, whose usual position was prop. Rugby union career Player He played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for Canterbury in th ...

2018–19 *

Dale MacLeod Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia *The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada *Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *Da ...

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 -

(100 games) *Phil Butt -

(100 games) *

- Wrights Bush (113 games) *Paul Laidlaw - Nightcaps (105 games) *Brent Shepard - Woodlands (103 games) *

(105 games) *

- Woodlands (138 games) *

Jimmy Cowan Quinton James Cowan (born 6 March 1982) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He first played for the All Blacks – New Zealand's national team – during the 2004 tour to the United Kingdom and France, and played his last Test match for ...

- Mataura (111 games) *

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

(115 games) * Tim Boys -

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

(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 Edward James Kavanagh (3 July 1888 – 16 March 1960) was a New Zealand Rugby Union and cricket player who captained the Southland Rugby Football Union and Southland cricket team. Kavanagh became one of Southland's finest all-round sporting so ...

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 ...

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. Ca ...

* Graeme Bond * Lex Chisholm *

Eion Crossan Eion Crossan (born 10 May 1967 in New Zealand) is a New Zealand former Rugby Footballer who played Rugby Union for Southland and Bay of Plenty between 1987 and 1996, and Rugby League for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Cronulla-Sutherland ...

* Gus Dermody * Mal Dermody *

Lio Falaniko Filiga Lio Falaniko (born Apia, 17 September 1970) is a Samoan former rugby union player and boxer. He plays as a lock. Currently, he works as personal trainer. Career His international debut in 1991, against Tonga, at Apia, on 17 June 1990. Des ...

* Philippe Farner * Pailate Fili *

* Simon Forrest * John Hardie *

Ben Herring Ben Herring (born 14 March 1980) is a professional rugby coach, and served as head coach of the Otago rugby team until the 2020 season. Herring has coached two national sides, Canada and Japan, and two super franchises Highlanders and Sunwo ...

David Gannon Dave Gannon (born 11 February 1983) is a rugby union player from Republic of Ireland, Ireland. He primarily plays as a Lock (rugby union), lock, but has also played in the Back row (rugby union), back row. Gannon currently plays with Rugby Unit ...

Les George Victor Leslie George (5 June 1908 – 10 August 1996) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He was born in Winton, New Zealand. His playing position was Prop. Les or 'Tussock' as he was known, played 3 tests for the All Blacks The Ne ...

* 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 *

George Latu Matafeo George Latu (born January 1, 1965) is a Samoan lawyer and former dual international rugby union player who has played as a prop for both the Samoa national rugby union team and the Tonga national rugby union team. Since ending his rugby ...

Norman Ligairi Norman Armstrong Senibici Ligairi (born 29 January 1976 in Nadi) is a Fijian rugby union player who usually plays as a fullback. He represents Fiji at international level in both the 15-a-side and 7-a-side game. Ligairi is to date the only Fiji ...

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

Matt Philip Matt Philip (born 7 March 1994) is an Australian rugby union footballer who currently plays as a lock for the Melbourne Rebels. He previously played for the Western Force and also the Perth Spirit in Australia's National Rugby Championship. Phi ...

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 Alando Soakai (born 11 May 1983 in West Auckland) is a former professional rugby union player from New Zealand best known for his time with the Highlanders in Super Rugby and Otago in the ITM Cup, and as captain of Otago in their 2009 and 201 ...

* Jeremy Spence *

* Ack Soper *

Hale T-Pole Tevita Hale Nai Tu'uhoko, often known simply as Hale T-Pole or Hale T Pole, (born 30 April 1979) is a Tongan rugby union footballer who plays as a flanker or number eight for the Ricoh Black Rams in the Top League in Japan. He has also played i ...

Kel Tremain Kelvin Robin Tremain (21 February 1938 – 2 May 1992) was a New Zealand rugby union player and administrator. A flanker, he won 38 full caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, between 1959 and 1968, scoring nine tries. During th ...

Talemaitoga Tuapati Talemaitoga Tuapati is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays hooker for the Woodlands rugby club and for Southland in New Zealand. Tuapati's selection to the Fijian squad came in 2010 after impressing selectors on the watch at the Pacific ...

Joe Tuineau Joseph Mark Laifone Tuineau (born 18 August 1981) is a Tonga international rugby union footballer. He plays in the lock position for the France based Pro D2 side, Dax. Tuineau also represents Tonga at international level. Tuineau is a former A ...

* Des Tuiavi'i * Earl Va'a * To'o Vaega *

* 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