The Rugby Club Rising From the Ashes
Club rugby was once an essential part of New Zealand’s rural life, but in the professional age its prominence has been in sharp decline. So what happens when one of the smallest and most remarkable clubs in the country watches its old hall burn down? It rediscovers its importance, and its people. Scotty Stevenson writes about a special night for Glenmark.
The Omihi Hall was nothing spectacular, just an old wooden building by the side of State Highway One, between Waipara and Cheviot. Next to it was a rugby field, hidden behind a coniferous windbreak, and in front of it was a small memorial which stood as a reminder to anyone who happened to stop by that no small corner of New Zealand was immune to the depravity of those two world wars.
That was it really. That – and a small country school – was all there was to the place. Those who regularly took this road through the parched lands of North Canterbury would know that in the case of Omihi, you really could blink and miss it.
Yet that hall, and that field, was home to one of the most famous rugby clubs in New Zealand – a club once listed by The Times as one of the thirteen modern wonders of the sporting world. The club’s name was Glenmark. It still is.
Earlier this year, the Omihi Hall, and almost every piece of club memorabilia inside it, was destroyed by fire. Two days after the blaze, the Glenmark club still held its annual dinner. They pitched their marquee on the field at the Waipara Domain, roasted lamb and roasted each other, and drank big bottles of Speights and local Waipara sparkling. They talked about the fire, mostly, but as club President Andrew Evans remarked at the time, “it was better than everyone talking about the drought.” Dry humour from the dry lands.
The message was simple: you don’t need a hall to have a club. All you need is a community.
On Friday, that community came together again. This time the venue was the Hornby Workingmen’s Club, a sprawling barn on the outskirts of Christchurch built for bingo nights, buffets and senior citizen dancing. More than 400 people – most as white as a hotel bed sheet – poured into the club’s upstairs sports hall for a dinner to raise money for the rebuilding of the Omihi Hall. Among them were seven of the club’s ten All Blacks.
Grizz Wylie was there, his white handlebar moustache drooping like a silver willow. He took the stage with that other grey headed figure of Canterbury folklore Todd Blackadder. They talked about their time in the club. Grizz belched into the microphone, Blackadder reminisced on his childhood and the joyful simplicity of country rugby, both men connected through the generations by the red and black of Canterbury and the blue and gold of Glenmark.
Big Graeme Higginson was there and so was Andy Jeffard. Both played for the All Blacks at Lancaster Park against the Springboks in 1981, before that whole damned tour went to hell. Higginson stands alone as perhaps the only All Black to be sent from the field and then recalled by the referee after some gentle persuasion from the opposition captain.
Jeffard talked of his time in Tokomaru Bay – he made the All Blacks from the East Coast, after playing a number of seasons in Canterbury. He and the great George Nepia remain the only two men to be selected for the national side while playing for the East Coast union. Jeffard is 62 now but looks at least twenty years younger that that. He spoke of his primary school days and seemed younger still. “The Maori kids called us white maggots,” he said, laughing. The white maggots had a name for the Maori kids, too.
Andy Earl was there as well. Still as big as a tree and still with his wiry slug and his shock of unkempt hair and his hands as big as Christmas hams. Earl was famous for his three-hour round trips for Canterbury trainings, and for his wee dust up at Llanelli’s Stradey Park Hotel. Earl emerged from that particular fracas victorious. Grizz Wylie was the All Blacks coach then. The plea was self defence.
Earl played just 14 tests for the All Blacks in six seasons, but he epitomised the work ethic of the old school Canterbury flanker. Blackadder, Reuben Thorne, Richie McCaw – there’s a little bit of Andy Earl about all of them.
Also on the stage was Bruce Deans, brother of Robbie. He was a shock call-up for the 1987 Rugby World Cup All Blacks and played not a single minute of the tournament. “It was my job to push the other guys and to be the best team man I could be,” he said, without a hint of resentment, and with more than a bit of pride. The Deans family is to Glenmark what the Clarke family is to Kereone. Bruce Deans is to enthusiasm for public speaking what Rammstein is to silence.
That left one Richard Loe to do most of the talking. Higginson said “Are you sure you want to give him the microphone? How long have you got?” Loe laughed him off and emptied a Steinlager can of most of its contents before duly talking about being a part of such a special club. His cousin Stu sat in the front row. That is, of course, where any self respecting Loe belongs.
Loe’s lengthy All Blacks career was perhaps most remarkable for the fact he was invariably assaulted in almost every game he played. Who could forget Wallaby Paul Carozza attempting to smash Loe’s elbow with his nose? Or Greg Cooper’s attempt to dislocate Loe’s finger with his eye socket? It seemed remarkable that Loe had managed to finish his career in one piece. One thing is for certain: if Loe had been ordered off the field, no opposition captain would come to his aid.
On the big screen behind the stage, was a projection of an extraordinary photo. It was the 1970 Glenmark under-11 team. Richard Loe was there, as was Stu. Craig Green was there, as were the Deans brothers. Andy Earl was there too. That team scored 220 points that season and conceded just three – a single try, scored by Bruce Deans, who had been asked to play for the other team that day.
Five future All Blacks from one under-11 team from a tiny country club called Glenmark – The club that four hundred people turned up for last Friday night so it could once again build a place to call its own.
It may have lost a few memories and a fine old building in that fire, but its legacy remains intact.
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments