Club History

Sassenachs Rugby Club

Sassenachs Rugby Club was registered in 1973 but had operated on an informal basis since the late 1950s. An article detailing the winding up of the Sassenachs Rugby Club was written by the Otago Daily Times in July 2021 gives a brief history of the club, why it was formed and why it was wound up. click here to read the article. President Eion Willis said members voted to shut down the club at a special meeting on Sunday. “It was unanimous,” Willis said. “There are two fundamental reasons why, and the most important one was that we are just not relevant in today’s environment.” The club, which has about 400 members, was registered in 1973 but had operated on an informal basis since the late 1950s. “Back then, there was no such thing as rugby academies,” Willis said. “There were no pathways or age group rugby to higher honours. There was no secondary school competition as we know today. “We were able to plug some of those gaps over the years. But when you look now, a lot of those things are covered with the arrival of professional rugby. “The feeling is we have outlived our usefulness, if I could put it bluntly.” The other major reason for closing down is the club has failed to attract new committee members to carry the organisation forward.
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The 1967 All Blacks versus Sassenachs

Club:
Year published:
Author:
Page count:
Notes:
Sassenachs Rugby Club
1968
North Otago Rugby Union
12 pages
This was a match arranged by the Oamaru Men’s Club and MSA to raise funds for the North Otago Rugby team touring fund. The Sassenachs (like all other invitational type clubs) would step up and assist. Looking at the two teams, this would have been very close to the top 30 All Blacks/players in New Zealand at that time. The cost and logistics of getting Ken Going from his farm in Northland down to Oamaru to play an invitational game is staggering. The fact that Ken Going would accept is also staggering, given his likely farm workload. This is typical of rugby players in those amateur days. It would not happen today unless it was a significant event.
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The 1967 All Blacks versus Sassenachs

Club:
Sassenachs Rugby Club
Year:
1968
Author:
North Otago Rugby Union
Pages:
12 pages
Notes:
This was a match arranged by the Oamaru Men’s Club and MSA to raise funds for the North Otago Rugby team touring fund. The Sassenachs (like all other invitational type clubs) would step up and assist. Looking at the two teams, this would have been very close to the top 30 All Blacks/players in New Zealand at that time. The cost and logistics of getting Ken Going from his farm in Northland down to Oamaru to play an invitational game is staggering. The fact that Ken Going would accept is also staggering, given his likely farm workload. This is typical of rugby players in those amateur days. It would not happen today unless it was a significant event.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Alan Sutherland’s XV versus The Sassenachs

Club:
Year published:
Author:
Page count:
Notes:
Sassenachs Rugby Club
1971
Not stated
16 pages
The Sassenachs Rugby Club was based in Otago when it was wound up in 2021. There were no histories written about the club, but this programme gives some information on their colours, purpose, etc. The interesting thing about this programme, apart from being from the year that the club was wound up, is that the match was staged in Blenheim and that the current president of the club, Bill Hogg, was from Christchurch.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Alan Sutherland’s XV versus The Sassenachs

Club:
Sassenachs Rugby Club
Year:
1971
Author:
Not stated
Pages:
16 pages
Notes:
The Sassenachs Rugby Club was based in Otago when it was wound up in 2021. There were no histories written about the club, but this programme gives some information on their colours, purpose, etc. The interesting thing about this programme, apart from being from the year that the club was wound up, is that the match was staged in Blenheim and that the current president of the club, Bill Hogg, was from Christchurch.