Rugby clubs, the tradition that's long been about more than rugby

Friday, 21 June 2019

Are Southland rugby clubs still the important community meeting points they once were? Stuff videographer Kavinda Herath spent Saturday at the Marist Rugby Cub and journalist Logan Savory at the Star club to capture the long-standing Southland pastime.

Rugby clubs have long been about more than rugby itself.

For more than 140 years rugby clubs have provided a destination for many Southlanders to connect.

A meeting point where the conversation starts with what had just unfolded on the rugby field but drifts to life in general.

Rugby clubs have been churches for people who have adopted rugby as a religion.

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However, many say that humble New Zealand tradition is under threat.

Rugby clubs are going the way of landline telephones, video stores, and CDs they say.

It is a message which gets plastered about when the modern-day sporting landscape is put under the microscope and competitor trends assessed.

In many ways the notion is right.

Attracting and retaining rugby players has become more challenging by the year. 

But amongst that gloomy talk, for the moment at least, rugby clubs still provide the aforementioned benefits to their communities, and there is a group of people eager for that tradition to continue.

Last Saturday at Waverley Park, Invercargill, provided an ideal example. The home base for the Star Rugby Club was one of the many fields throughout Southland which come alive on a Saturday for rugby.

It started at 9.30am with under-6 games and finished at 4.40pm when the final whistle was blown on the Star and Eastern-Northern Barbarians premier fixture.

All up 15 games of rugby were played at Waverley Park and, in fact, it didn't finish at the fulltime whistle of the premier game.

For some, that special part of grassroots rugby had just begun, the post-match camaraderie inside the clubrooms.

Kids roamed the clubrooms building friendships, some still in their playing kits from their games in the morning, while adults searched for the few spare seats to sit at and have a drink.

The walls of the clubrooms provide a glimpse into the club's history with almost every spare inch filled with memorabilia highlighting the various achievements during the past century or so.

Callum Rutledge grew up in and around club rugby.

His father Leicester was an All Black, while Callum himself played many years of senior club rugby.

It's in his blood.

He is now helping to foster the next generation of grassroots rugby goers through his role as convenor of the Star Rugby Club's junior committee.

At 260 players, Star has the highest number of junior players in Southland.

Rutledge believes rugby's point of difference, compared to many other sports, is that club camaraderie which comes from the traditional clubrooms.

It is a tradition he is eager to see continue by encouraging kids and their parents to take in senior games in the afternoon and spend time in the clubrooms afterward.

'Rugby is a big part of who we are as New Zealanders,' Rutledge says.

'Some of those kids won't keep playing after primary school but it is important we provide them with those opportunities. They will remember those times [at the rugby club] forever.'

There is another unique aspect to clubs which Rutledge believes is important for the kids playing the game.

While some sports are aligned to schools and driven within the school system, Rutledge believes having kids play at rugby clubs provides an opportunity for them to meet new friends outside of their school environment.

Rutledge acknowledges player numbers throughout in Southland are on the decline and it is concerning.

However, he doesn't think there needs to be any sort of radical overhaul of grassroots rugby which some have suggested.

He believes the survival of rugby clubs will simply come down to having passionate people willing to roll up their sleeves to provide the current day players with the same opportunities to ensure the tradition continues.

Rutledge himself has put his hand up.

'There are a lot of people who have done the job before me. They did it when I was a kid playing, it's my time now.'

The Marist Rugby Club provides another shining example as to why rugby clubs are more than rugby itself.

Marist has arguably the biggest support base out of any club in Southland. For many, the Marist club simply provides a reason to catch up with mates.

Marist has a supporters club with 120 members, and on the field, the club's senior team has won back-to-back Galbraith Shield titles and leads the competition this year.

Marist Rugby Club president Bill Dowling is one of those people who have remained attached to the rugby club well beyond his playing days.

He joined Marist straight out of school in 1979, played through to 1990 before the focus then switched to coaching and administrative duties.

'I'm under no illusions how hard it is [to run a rugby club]. If it wasn't for the ILT [funding] I'm not sure where we would be,' he said.

Like Rutledge, Dowling believes the survival and success of rugby clubs comes down to the people driving it and the culture created.

He points to premier coach Marty Smith who he says has played a lead role in fostering a family environment at the club in recent years.

It has helped deliver on-field results and ensured the clubrooms were a buzz each weekend during the winter.

'On Sunday night after our women's team won we had a great night at the club. There were kids running around enjoying themselves, there was that real family atmosphere in the club. It's great.'

Southland club rugby's Galbraith Shield has be played for since 1908 and Marist captain Scott Eade says winning it still means a lot.

Its suggests there was still life in club rugby if the players themselves view it as prestigious.

'Grassroots rugby in New Zealand is still a special thing. It might not be what it was a few years ago but it still has that special place in people's hearts, especially in smaller communities.'

Former All Black prop and current Southland Stags coach Dave Hewett says the clubs remain a an important cog in the wheel that is New Zealand rugby.

Although, Hewett takes it one step further and believes clubs are vital for communities in general.

'Maybe I'm being old school but I still think it is very important. '[Rugby clubs] are an important way for people to connect.

'You might be on the farm all week and the rugby club is a place where you can go have a beer and connect with people who are in a similar position.

'It's a little bit different in town because you might see them more frequently, but the principle still applies.

'I still think it is important today and I think it's a reason why the focus needs to continue to be on the grassroots level. You start losing that and you start losing your community culture.'

Can and will the long-standing club rugby tradition survive in the years to come?

Only time can probably answer that question.