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 name	South Canterbury Rugby Football Union
Colours	Green and Black Hoops
Founded	1888
Website	scrfu.co.nz
Current details
Ground(s)	Fraser Park
Competition	Heartland Championship

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 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

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.

Championships

National Provincial Championship (NPC)

South Canterbury 2001 NPC 3rd Div Champions

In the NPC South Canterbury won:

• the 2nd division South Island in 1976, 1977 and 1981
• the 3rd division in 1986, 1991, 1998 and 2001

Heartland Championship placings

In the Heartland Championship South Canterbury have won:

• the Meads Cup in 2021, 2022 and 2023
• the Lochore Cup in 2013 and 2019.

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	—
2017	8	7	0	1	273	190	+83	8	36	1st	Meads Cup	Lost 24-29 to Wanganui	—
2018	8	6	0	2	341	151	+190	8	32	2nd	Meads Cup	Won 58-21 against King Country	Lost 12-17 against Thames Valley
2019	8	4	1	3	237	176	+61	7	25	7th	Lochore Cup	Won 56-24 against Buller	Won 23-19 against West Coast
2021	8	8	0	0	365	124	+241	8	40	1st	Meads Cup	—	Won 35-16 against Thames Valley
2022	8	8	0	0	368	122	+246	7	39	1st	Meads Cup	Won 76-9 against King Country	Won 47-36 against Whanganui
2023	8	8	0	0	341	180	+161	8	40	1st	Meads Cup	Won 34-17 against Ngati Porou East Coast	Won 40-30 against Whanganui
2024	8	8	0	0	327	214	+113	8	40	1st	Meads Cup	Lost 16-17 to Mid Canterbury	—

There was no Heartland Championship in the 2020 season due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Ranfurly Shield

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

1950

Matches played:

1950 South Canterbury Team

• Sth Canterbury 17 vs Wairarapa 14, Masterton,
• North Auckland 20 vs Sth Canterbury 9, Timaru,

Team members:

• Coach: Brushy Mitchell (centre, second row)
• Captain: Morrie Goddard (third from left)
• Vice Captain: Lachie Grant (third from right)

1974

1974 South Canterbury Team

Matches played:

• Sth Canterbury 18 vs Marlborough 6, Blenheim on 17 August
• Sth Canterbury 9 vs North Otago 3, Timaru on 31 August
• Wellington 9 vs Sth Canterbury 3, Timaru on 3 September

Team members:

• Captain: Ken Milne

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, 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

South Canterbury has recorded wins versus international tourists:

• 17 - 14 against France in 1961
• California 1972
• Romania 1975
• Japan 1979
• Tonga 1983.

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 being in 2011.

Club Rugby

Current clubs

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

• Timaru Celtic RFC
• Geraldine RFC
• Harlequins RFC (Amalgamation of Zingari and Star in 1998^[9])
• Mackenzie RFC
• Old Boys RFC
• Pareora RFC
• Pleasant Point RFC
• Temuka RFC
• Waimate RFC

Club Championship Winners

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

South Canterbury Club Rugby Premierships (as of end of 2022)[10]
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

Timaru Boys' High School and Roncalli College 1st XV play in the Crusaders Region Secondary Schools' Rugby Championship.

In 1995 Timaru BHS made the Top 4 of the National First XV Championship losing 22-27 to Kelston Boys' High School but winning the 3rd v 4th play off against Southland Boys' High School by 25-10. In 2017 Timaru BHS made the Crusaders final but lost to Christchurch Boys' High School by 10-18.^[11]

Notable players

All Blacks

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

Name, All Black No. & Year:

• John Gardner, No.25, 1893
• Charles Macintosh, No.39, 1893
• David Stewart, No.54, 1894
• Alf Budd, No.160, 1910
• Tom Lynch, No.177, 1913
• Gus Spillane, No.200, 1913
• Eric Cockroft, No.203, 1913
• Percy Storey, No.224, 1920
• Ron Stewart, No.288, 1923
• Gordon Lawson, No.320, 1925
• Archie Strang, No.342, 1928
• Tom Metcalfe, No.384, 1931
• George Adkins, No.409, 1935
• Tom Morrison, No.441, 1938
• Charles Saxton, No.443, 1938
• Morrie Goddard, No.467, 1946
• Lachie Grant, No.471, 1947
• Jack Goddard, No.499, 1949
• Thomas Coughlan, No.592, 1958
• Allan Stewart, No.638, 1963
• Tom Lister, No.673, 1968
• Lyn Jaffray, No.711, 1972

To view player profile, go to allblacks.com

Super Rugby

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

South Canterbury players in Super Rugby:

• Graeme Dempster - 4 games for the Canterbury Crusaders (1996)^[12]
• Brendan Laney - after having representing South Canterbury (1991-94) Laney played for Otago (1995–2001), 44 games for the Otago Highlanders (1997–2001) and 20 games for Scotland^[13]