Richard Kinley.

Otago rugby will celebrate one of its finest seasons in memory early next month.

It may seem hard to believe for many but it has been 25 years since Otago first won the national provincial championship.

A special lunch will take place at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 10 to celebrate the 1991 championship win.

The event was the last to be played in a straight round robin with no finals, and Otago managed to get on a great run and ended up beating North Harbour at Carisbrook to win the competition.

Players from the team will return for the luncheon on September 10 and Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley said about a dozen of the 1991 team had been confirmed for the dinner.

It would be great to get the players back to discuss the memories.

To mark the occasion, Otago will wear a special jersey for its game against Tasman at Forsyth Barr Stadium that afternoon.

It will look very similar to the jersey worn by Otago in 1991.

The jerseys will be auctioned off to raise money for the Otago Medical Research Foundation, the official charity of the union.

Kinley said it would be an exciting afternoon and there would be plenty to talk about.

The game had obviously changed greatly since the Laurie Mains-coached team won the championship.

The Heartland Championship game between Horowhenua-Kapiti and North Otago will kick off mid-afternoon at the stadium and the match between Otago and Tasman will follow at 4.35pm.

Some 1991 players, such as Steve Cumberland and Gordon McPherson, are based overseas and cannot  make the dinner but all of the former players still living in Otago intend to attend.