Otago Rugby Football Union
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial competition. The union was to have been liquidated in March 2012. However a deal involving the Dunedin City Council allowed it to keep operating. Otago have won the Ranfurly Shield on eight occasions. They were the National provincial championship winners in 1991 and 1998. They have a proud record playing international teams, having defeated South Africa and the British and Irish Lions.
History (1881–1975)
The Otago Rugby Football Union was founded in 1881 and celebrated its 125th year in 2006.Ranfurly Shield
Otago held the Ranfurly Shield between 1935 and 1938 and successfully defended it eight times, and then again in 1938 for a further five defences. They had a successful run between 1947 and 1950 defending the shield on eighteen occasions before losing it.Otago then won it in 1957 and defended it once before losing it to Taranaki 11–9, after leading 9–0 earlier in the game. Afterwards the Otago coach Charlie Saxton told the Taranaki captain Peter Burke that 'the better team lost'. Burke replied: 'Charlie, you can say what you like, we've got the shield.'
Otago victories over the Lions (1950, 1959 and 1966)
Otago has had a good record against the British and Irish Lions having beaten them in 1950 and 1959. In 1966, Otago again defeated the British and Irish Lions 17–9. On that day Carisbrook was full with 25,500 fans attending the game. Dave Edwards, playing on the wing, scored one try and Maurie Collins, playing on the opposite wing, scored two tries for Otago to help seal the victory.The 1975 Otago rugby team was recognized as one of the greats as it won 15 games and only lost two games all season. They beat Scotland 19–15, Auckland 22–4 and went undefeated on their North Island tour.
National provincial championship (1976–2005)
After the success of the 1975 team, a number of players left the team and performances slowly went downhill in the late 1970s. Otago came 7th in 1976; 9th in 1977; 9th in 1978 and 11th in 1979 in the national provincial championship.Lee Smith was appointed the Otago coach in 1980 and coached the team for three years including against the 1981 South African team who Otago lost to 17–13 in a close game. During his coaching reign Otago played 52 games for 25 wins and 27 losses. Lee Smith was replaced by Laurie Mains as Otago coach for the 1983 season as the Otago team had narrowly avoided relegation from the first division in 1982 after coming in 10th place with 2 wins from 10 games.
1983 Laurie Mains appointed coach
In 1983, Otago provided an improved performance coming 7th in the National Provincial Championship. Captain Wayne Graham led the team to 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.1984 provided the best performance from an Otago team for some years as they achieved third place with seven wins and three losses. They also played France losing the game 20–10.
Laurie Mains appointed Mike Brewer when he was 20 years old as captain of Otago in 1985 to take over from Wayne Graham. Otago played a very structured game with the forwards attempting to dominate and Dean Kenny, John Haggart or Lindsay Smith kicking for position and attempting to force the opposition to make errors. Mike Brewer and Laurie Mains worked on a plan for Otago to improve with the aim to win the National Provincial Championship by 1992. Otago finished 5th in the National Provincial Championship in 1985. They defeated Auckland at Carisbrook 12–10, one week after Auckland had lifted the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury. Otago also played England at Carisbrook losing by 25 -16.
In 1986, Otago finished one better coming 4th in the National Provincial Championship. Outside of the NPC, Otago played East Coast winning a one sided game 91–10. Paul Turner scored two tries, kicked 14 conversions and one penalty.
Otago had had a good year in 1987 coming third in the National Provincial Championship. Otago won six games and lost four games. They played a further seven non championship games in 1987, winning all of them including a 51–7 victory over Sydney.
The following year was also good for Otago. They finished third in the National Provincial Championship winning eight games and losing only two games, one to Wellington and a close game in a Ranfurly Shield challenge to Auckland. The Otago team had a forward pack including Gordon Macpherson, Richard Knight, Paul Henderson, Mike Brewer, Arran Pene and Brent Pope. On the wings were John Timu who scored 16 tries and Noel Pilcher who scored 15 tries respectively that season for Otago. Otago played Wales and almost beat them 13–15 in a close match at Carisbrook in May 1988. They had a short tour to Australia, defeating the Australian Baabaas 32–16, ACT 50-3 and drawing with Sydney 11-11.
Otago came 5th in the 1989 edition of the National Provincial Championship. They also toured Argentina and played three games defeating San Isidro 28–15; Banco Nacionale 37-27 and a Mendoza Selection 25–21.
Otago came 3rd in 1990 in the National Provincial Championship. They won eight out of their ten games only losing to Waikato and Auckland They also toured Canada, winning all three games, against Canada 23–6; British Columbia 20-9 and the University of British Columbia 36-12. Otago played Australia at Carisbrook losing 20–24 in a close match. John Timu scored two tries and Paul Cooke one try for Otago in the game.
1991 National Provincial Championship Victory
The Otago team captained by Mike Brewer and coached by Laurie Mains won every game that season bar the second game of season against Counties in the National Provincial Championship. The crunch game was against Auckland at Carisbrook where Otago won 17–6 with tries from Greg Cooper and Jamie Joseph. The final game of the season was against North Harbour at home with Otago winning 26–10. Marc Ellis, Paul Cooke and John Haggart all scored tries. Of the 1991 team, eleven of the regulars ended up playing more than 100 games for the province and the other eight played more than 50 games. The team had a great culture and Steve Hotton commented that "There were country guys, town guys and university students and we all got on really well".1992 Second place in National Provincial Championship
1992 was the year that playoffs were introduced into the National Provincial Championship. The Otago team, now coached by Gordon Hunter, reached the semi-final against North Harbour which was played at Carisbrook. At half time, Otago led 13-3 thanks to a Paul Cooke try, a John Timu drop goal and Greg Cooper's goal kicking prowess. In the second half, North Harbour pulled the score back to finish with a 16 -16 draw prompting extra time. In extra time, Frank Bunce scored a try for North Harbour and then Greg Cooper kicked a penalty and scored a converted try in the corner for Otago to win 26–23.The final was played in Waikato and was a disappointing game for Otago who lost 40–5. Waikato had a dominant forward pack in the game. The game is of note as Richard Loe was suspended for six months for eye gouging Greg Cooper.
1993 Second place in National Provincial Championship
Otago defeated Waikato in the semifinal with a solid 36–22 victory at Carisbrook. The final was against Auckland in Auckland. Unfortunately, it started badly and by halftime, Auckland was ahead 20–3. Otago came back in the second half to score two tries but by this stage it was all over. The final score being 27–18. Josh Kronfeld ended up going off with a smashed cheekbone. and Jason Chandler from Auckland was sent off as a result.1993 Otago victory over the Lions
Otago played a high tempo game against the touring British and Irish Lions in 1993. Otago scored five tries in their 37–24 victory. Paul Cooke scored twice and David Latta, John Leslie and John Timu all scored tries against the near-full strength team which was preparing for the first test against the All Blacks. The BBC said that "In scoring five tries and 37 points, Otago gave the tourists a record kicking".The Lions were expected to dominate the tight five but could not match the mobility of the Otago pack. Stu Forster commented that "We were given no chance, and we stuffed it right up them." Gordon Hunter was asked a question by an English journalist in the post match press conference. He reached for his notebook and after flicking through a few pages, paused, and said to the surprise and mirth of everyone: "Sorry, they're my murder inquiry notes."
1994 Otago victory over the Springboks
Otago played the Springboks on the 27th of July 1994 in very wet conditions. 22,000 people attended Carisbrook to watch the game. The Springboks made a great start with Joost van der Westhuizen scoring 16 seconds after the kick off after a Stephen Bachop kick was charged down. Otago came back and John Leslie running on an angle scored under the posts. Jeff Wilson kicked 5 out of 6 goal kicks over for Otago to win 19–12. David Latta played one of his greatest games as captain with the Otago forward pack outplaying the much larger Springbok pack.The Springbok head, given to the first provincial team to beat the touring South Africans on each tour was presented by Springbok captain Tiaan Strauss to David Latta at the after-match function under the Rose Stand.
1995 Second place in National Provincial Championship
After a mixed season, Otago beat Counties at Pukekoke in the semi-finals to set up a final against Auckland in Auckland. It was to be the last games for Otago for Arran Pene, Jamie Joseph and coach Gordon Hunter. It was also the 100th game that Stu Forster and Paul Cooke were to play for the province. Injuries forced Otago to put Jamie Joseph and reserve Lio Falaniko at lock. Early on in the game, during a lineout, Anton Oliver was hit from behind and turned and threw a punch at Craig Dowd, knocking a few teeth out. Oliver received a one match suspension as a result. The game was played at a high pace and Josh Kronfeld, after being tackled, was taken from the field with a badly sprained ankle. David Latta was brought on as a replacement open side flanker.Tony Brown kicked an early penalty. Marc Ellis kicked a grubber kick through that lead to a try in the corner for Jeff Wilson.
Otago was ahead by 19–17 with minutes to go when referee Colin Hawke penalized Stu Forster and awarded a penalty try to Auckland to give them the game. Stu Forster said of the penalty try: "I saw Zinny after the game, and he said the ball was definitely out of the scrum when I kicked it. But that's life, that's sport."
Arran Pene said of the game: "I was wide and left a gap for because I was going to slam him over the top of the ruck. But I slipped on the surface and let a try in, and that was a turning point. It was a hell of a game, and I remember Zinny dropping the ball with the line open too."
Marc Ellis was very upset by the loss commenting that "We had a cool team, a lot of bloody good guys, and Gordy Hunter was a great bloke as coach. He knew his limitations, but he made us believe in ourselves. And we almost pulled off the unthinkable."
Gordon Hunter lamented that "the final nail was a very cruel call. With both front rows standing, there is no way the penalty try should have gone through."
Referee Colin Hawke admitted in 2020 that he probably should not have awarded the penalty try to Auckland that decided the game. He says that "I could have re-set that scrum.
The whistle from this game was auctioned off and fetched $2500. It now resides in the Mornington Tavern, Dunedin.