Clutha’s premier side, the Steamers, set the tone earlier in the day with a 55-24 win over Kaitangata’s Crescent RFC in a local derby played at 2pm.
Celebrations continued from 6pm at Te Pou Ō Mata-Au Clutha District War Memorial & Community Centre, where almost 400 registered club members and guests gathered for the jubilee dinner.
Among those present were Otago Rugby Football Union life members Gary and Sandy Wheeler, long-serving club figure Jack Harold, marking his 50th year as a Clutha life member, 94-year-old Doug Miller and 18-year-old Morgan Huddleston as oldest and youngest members and guest speaker Mark Ellis.
Life member and committee consultant David Matsas reflected on changes in rugby participation over time.
"There’s so much choice now in sports, and the way schools like to manage them earlier on is bound to affect numbers for all the codes."
Growing numbers of players from migrant communities was quite ordinary in Clutha "10 to 15 years ago", he said.
"If we didn’t have them, I think there’d be a lot of clubs around the country shutting their doors."
President Mark Sheppard, who first represented the club as a 5-year-old in 1981, remarked how the constant co-ordination across the club’s players, staff and facilities was tracking well from last year’s premiership victory to the present season.
"At the moment, we’re unbeaten," he said.
"The boys are playing well."
Twenty-two-year-old Steamers halfback Sam Stratford said Clutha RFC had remained central since he was a junior.
"It’s a pretty cool group ... Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — it’s the highlight of my week, pretty much," he said.
For jubilee committee secretary Deborah Keach, the event was defined by reconnection.
"For me and the organisers, I think the highlight was just watching all the men and women, old and young from all over, talking and making old and new connections ... All from a feeling of all belonging in the same place."
