A reunion decades in the making will bring former teammates back together when New Brighton Golden Lions take on London NZ Old Boys in a special over 35s match.
London NZ Old Boys is made up of New Zealanders who represented the now-defunct London NZ club during their OE.
While the club itself is no longer active, ex-player Lance Cheesman has kept its spirit alive by organising reunion matches over the years in Gisborne, Christchurch, Melbourne, Tauranga and Kaitaia.
The idea for the latest match was sparked by Super Rugby Pacific’s Super Round being held in Christchurch, with about 40 London NZ players set to pull on the boots again.
The game will also mark what would have been the club’s 100th year.
London NZ was founded in 1926 and brought together Kiwi players who were living in, or even just travelling through, London.
The club was based at Aorangi Park in Wimbledon and are the only rugby team except national representative sides allowed to wear the silver fern as their crest after being granted the special privilege by NZ Rugby.
Current New Brighton player and former London NZ representative Brent Ash said the reunion was about more than just rugby.
“This game will bring all the people you don’t ever get to see together, like people from the North Island and some coming from Aussie. It’s also going to get all the different years of old boys together.”
The over 35s game will be held at Rawhiti Domain on Sunday with kick-off set for 2pm.
- Georgia Lewis is a year 11 student at Avonside Girls High School
