Fond memories of the game were front and centre as the club commemorated the milestone at its home patch in Tulloch Park on Saturday.
Ivan Baldwin, who played for the club in the 1950s, said “there used to be blood and guts everywhere” during fiercely competitive games.
Past and present club members and supporters wore the maroon and yellow club colours with pride and dozens cheered on the sidelines as Mataura Rippa teams played Pioneer, Edendale and Wyndham in the morning.
A first XV game between Hokonui College and Winton’s Central Southland College followed from 12.45pm, and the visitors clinched the win 31-13.
Mataura’s senior Cs faced off against Balfour in the final match of the day, and the home side played a blinder, winning 54-0.
Rugby Southland president Rex Carter said in the end, camaraderie trumped a win or loss.
“When you’re on the field, it’s a battle — you go to war.
“But as soon as you’re off that field, sitting around, having a yarn, [with] a couple of beers . . . we turn into real good mates,” he said.
The sport was also about more than friendship. Its allure ran in the blood for many from the area.
The event acknowledged four generations of Mataura players.
Former All Black Justin Marshall, whose rugby career began at the Mataura club, told those gathered the club had lit the rugby fire in him.
“You always start at the grassroots of the game.
“You can achieve it regardless of where you’re born and where you grow up, if you’ve got the right drive and passion,” he said.
Commitment to the game was also on show in photos of decades of people playing and socialising in the clubrooms.
A statement was read from former Mataura player, ex Black Fern Maree Edwards.
In his message to the jubilee crowd, former All Black Jimmy Cowan said his grandfather shaped his love for the sport.
He also recognised the efforts of those off the field.
“This club would be nowhere without its volunteers . . . without them we wouldn’t have a club.”
