The history of the Gisborne Marist Rugby Club is a prominent chapter in the rugby lore of the Poverty Bay region. Built on a foundation of Catholic community roots and fierce local competition, the club carved out a legacy of major tournament successes before eventually combining forces with a traditional rival to step into the modern era.
The Spillane Cup Glory Years
As a member of the New Zealand Marist rugby network, Gisborne Marist routinely tested itself against other Marist clubs across the country. Their golden era came in the 1960s and 1970s when they dominated the Spillane Cup—the premier national tournament for North Island Marist clubs.
Gisborne Marist captured the prestigious Spillane Cup five times:
• 1961, 1962, 1963 (A historic “three-peat” era)
• 1968
• 1975
Note: A predecessor team, Gisborne Celtic, also won the Spillane Cup four times in the 1930s (1934, 1936, 1937, and 1938) before the local Marist identity fully consolidated under the Gisborne Marist Brothers Old Boys banner.
International and Representative Honors
Despite being a smaller club from a Heartland rugby province, Gisborne Marist produced elite talent.
The club’s crowning individual achievement came in the mid-1960s with John Collins. A highly talented second five-eighth, Collins rose directly out of the Gisborne Marist club to earn selection for both the New Zealand Māori and the All Blacks (playing 3 matches, including 2 tests, between 1964 and 1965).
Name Changes and Evolution
Like many sports clubs adapting to broader community engagement beyond just rugby, the club underwent structural adjustments over the decades:
• 1986: The club officially shifted its name from The Gisborne Marist Brothers Old Boys Rugby Football Club Incorporated to the Gisborne Marist Sports Club Incorporated to reflect its multi-sport offerings.
The 1996 Amalgamation: Forming OBM
By the mid-1990s, shifting demographics and player numbers prompted a historic merger. Gisborne Marist decided to pool resources with its nearby neighbor and fierce competitor, Gisborne Old Boys (a club originally established in 1919 for Gisborne High School old boys and university returnees).
In 1996, the two clubs formally amalgamated to create Old Boys Marist (OBM) Gisborne.
The Legacy Today
Today, the Marist legacy lives on through OBM, which competes in the premier Poverty Bay club rugby competition. The combined club honors its dual heritage through its jersey colors, blending the traditional light and dark blues of the Old Boys with the red and white accents of the historic Gisborne Marist club.
