Sassenachs Rugby Club (Tasman) - The Published Histories of New Zealand Rugby Football

Club History

Sassenachs Rugby Club (Tasman)

In New Zealand rugby history, the name Sassenachs Rugby Club (Tasman) refers to a short-lived invitational rugby selection established in the top-of-the-south region in the mid-1970s.

1. Background & Purpose

Unlike typical grassroots clubs in the Tasman / Nelson Bays region, this Sassenachs entity was formed as an invitational selection side.

Organizer: The team was organized by Peter Wild, a former Golden Bay-Motueka provincial representative who was serving as a New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) Councillor at the time.

Objective: The goal was to assemble a strong regional selection to provide an early-season exhibition and trial fixture for elite players in the area.

2. Key Fixture (March 1975)

The main historical record for this specific club/selection is an official first-class fixture played in March 1975 in Motueka:

Opponent: Nelson Invitation XV.

Status: Because both teams featured high-caliber regional and representative players, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union granted the match official first-class status.

Record: As documented in the 1976 New Zealand Rugby Almanack, this fixture appears to have been a one-off selection under the “Sassenachs (Tasman)” banner to launch the regional season.

3. Distinction from Otago Sassenachs

It is important to distinguish the Tasman Sassenachs team from the Sassenachs RFC of Otago. While the Otago-based Sassenachs was a registered club (1973–2021) that played exhibition and development matches across the South Island (including traveling to Blenheim in Marlborough for fixtures), the Tasman Sassenachs side was an independent, localized invitational team created specifically for the 1975 Nelson Bays/Golden Bay-Motueka regional calendar.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Sassenachs versus Nelson Invitation XV March 1975

Club:

Year published:

Author:

Page count:

Notes:

Sassenachs Rugby Club (Tasman)

1975

Not stated

A Sassenachs team played in March 1975 in Motueka against a Nelson Invitation XV. The teams were selected by former Golden Bay-Motueka rep. Peter Wild, at the time an NZRU Councillor and were both quite strong. “This special selection was made to provide an early invitation season fixture and has been approved as of first class status.”1 The above match may have been a one off. 1 1976 Rugby Almanack p. 175. Although, The Sassenachs played against Alan Sutherland’s XV on 13th March 1971 in Blenheim. This seemed to be the Sassenachs from Otago. It may be that Sassenachs Tasman is the same as Sassenachs Otago

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Sassenachs versus Nelson Invitation XV March 1975

Club:

Sassenachs Rugby Club (Tasman)

Year:

1975

Author:

Not stated

Pages:

Notes:

A Sassenachs team played in March 1975 in Motueka against a Nelson Invitation XV. The teams were selected by former Golden Bay-Motueka rep. Peter Wild, at the time an NZRU Councillor and were both quite strong. “This special selection was made to provide an early invitation season fixture and has been approved as of first class status.”1 The above match may have been a one off. 1 1976 Rugby Almanack p. 175. Although, The Sassenachs played against Alan Sutherland’s XV on 13th March 1971 in Blenheim. This seemed to be the Sassenachs from Otago. It may be that Sassenachs Tasman is the same as Sassenachs Otago