The North Otago Rugby Football Union (NORFU) is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and compete in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its second year, 2007 as well as 2010. Their home ground is Whitestone Contracting Stadium, formerly Centennial Park.
History The North Otago Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 but did not join the New Zealand Rugby Football Union until 1927. In 1930 North Otago played the All Blacks at the Oamaru Showgrounds before the All Blacks first test against the British and Irish Lions, however North Otago lost 6–34.
Provincial representative rugby
1946 saw the first Hanan Shield fixture with a 6–9 loss against South Canterbury.
1962 saw the had North Otago beat the Australian national team 14–13, and another win against Southland 19-8. The team narrowly lost to Otago 14–11.
In 1965 North Otago beat Otago 18–11.
In 1971, Kurow's Phil Gard was selected for the All Blacks, fourth test against the Lions at Eden Park.
The 1980s were unsuccessful years as North Otago won very few games. The highlight of the early 1990s was a Ranfurly Shield challenge in 1993 when Auckland brought the trophy on tour. The crowd went delirious after 5 minutes when Brent McEwan scored a try from a set move to give North Otago a 5–0 lead. However, the talent of Auckland then shone through and they scored 139 unanswered points. John Kirwan scored eight tries. The 1997 season proved to be a fairy-tale effort with the team having its best season yet in NPC rugby. The side finished as top qualifier, won its home semi final and went down to in the final. In the late 1990s, North Otago found sustained success under coaching from Greg Shipton and Peter Cook. 1998 saw North Otago lose two of its nine games, a significant improvement from previous decades.
National Provincial Championship
North Otago won the 3rd Division title in 2002 with a 43–19 win against Horowhenua-Kapiti, which took them into the 2nd Division for the 2003 season. North Otago made the 2nd Division semi-finals in 2003, 2004, and 2005 but losing all three.
In 2000, Glenn Moore took over the reins with Paddy Stewart. Moore, a former Mid Canterbury representative, had instant success with the side and only narrowly lost the final against East Coast 21–25. 2001 looked like North Otago's season, winning all of its seven games. However, in the final it was a disappointing four-point loss to South Canterbury 16–20. 2002 saw the North Otago Rugby Union celebrate its 75th jubilee and it indeed appropriate that in the 75th year of its existence the side should take the third division title beating Horowhenua 43-19 before an ecstatic crowd. 2003 and the challenges of Division Two was very much a daunting task. However, the team responded magnificently and finished in the top four but lost the semi-final to Hawke's Bay in Napier in controversial circumstances. The highlight of the season was a superb win against Counties-Manukau. 2004 saw North Otago once again playing above its weight making the semi-finals before going down to Nelson Bays.
North Otago 2002 season North Otago had lost the 2001 Division 3 NPC final against South Canterbury.
North Otago's first match of the 2002 season was a Hanan Shield match against Mid Canterbury, winning the game 43–16.
For the first match of the 2002 NPC season they played West Coast, which they won 60–6. North Otago then beat South Canterbury 39-9 at Timaru home advantage. North Otago then faced Buller at home, winning 38–15.
North Otago then won against Horowhenua-Kapiti (40-0), Wanganui (73-7), Poverty Bay (49–32), Wairarapa-Bush (27–14), and King Country (27–16)
North Otago had earned a home semi-finals against South Canterbury, which they won 58–10. This led to a home final against Horowhenua-Kapiti which resulted in a 43–19 win for North Otago to win the NPC Division Three title.
Heartland Championship North Otago have won the following Heartland Championship titles:
Meads Cup: 2007, 2010 and 2019 Lochore Cup: 2009, 2016 and 2025.
Heartland Championship resultsYear Place Playoffs Semifinal Final 20068 6 0 2 332 154 +178 7 31 3rdMeads Cup Lost 19–25 to Wairarapa Bush — 20078 6 0 2 266 104 +162 5 29 1st Meads Cup Won 30–13 against Wairarapa Bush Won 25–8 against Wanganui 20088 5 0 3 169 117 +52 4 24 3rd Meads CupLost 24–38 to Mid Canterbury — 20098 4 0 4 252 144 +108 4 20 2nd Lochore CupWon 31–27 against King Country Won 21–13 against West Coast 20108 7 0 1 345 136 +209 6 34 1st Meads Cup Won 40–24 against Mid Canterbury Won 39–18 against Wanganui 20118 7 1 0 265 149 +115 5 35 2nd Meads Cup Lost 17–23 to East Coast —20128 5 0 3 195 194 +1 5 25 4th Meads Cup Lost 15–26 to East Coast —20138 6 0 2 216 159 +57 5 29 2nd Meads Cup Won 48–34 against Wairarapa Bush Lost 20–26 to Mid Canterbury20148 4 0 4 174 155 +19 3 20 7th Lochore Cup Won 16–12 against South Canterbury Lost 12–14 to Wanganui20158 4 0 4 189 252 −63 4 20 8th Lochore Cup Won 57–12 against Horowhenua-Kapiti Lost 34–47 to King Country 20168 2 2 4 230 246 -16 6 18 8th Lochore CupWon 36-24 against Mid Canterbury Won 44-22 against King Country20178 4 0 4 235 178 +57 9 25 7th Lochore Cup Lost 14-24 to West Coast —20188 4 0 4 213 209 +4 4 20 7th Lochore Cup Lost 14-24 to Wairarapa Bush — 20198 6 0 2 240 163 +77 5 29 2nd Meads Cup Won 27-25 against Wairarapa Bush Won 33-19 against Wanganui 20218 5 0 3 220 198 +22 5 25 4th Lochore Cup No semi final played Lost 16-22 against Whanganui20228 4 0 4 315 201 +114 7 23 5th Lochore CupLost 15-31 to Mid Canterbury —20238 4 0 4 259 228 +31 6 22 5th Lochore CupLost 35-40 to Poverty Bay — 20248 2 0 6 240 201 +39 6 14 9th No — 20258 5 0 3 279 290 -11 1 26 6th Lochore Cup Won 48-46 against Poverty Bay Won 64-47 against Horowhenua-Kapiti
North Otago 2007 season In 2006 North Otago lost in the semi-finals of the new Heartland Championship. But 2007 was a new year and North Otago were focused on making the final. North Otago's first game was against Buller in Oamaru, with North Otago taking it away 51–20. A trip to Gisborne led to a win over Poverty Bay 31–11. North Otago went back home for a Hanan Shield defence against South Canterbury, continuing their winning streak 26–7. Another home game saw North Otago beating East Coast 38–5.
In the next game North Otago went to Wanganui for a 39–16 win. King Country came down to play but they never got in the game and North Otago cruised out to a 52–5 lead. North Otago then lost 7-15 to Wairarapa Bush and 22-25 to Mid-Canterbury. But the season was not over. North Otago had secured a home semi-final and it was against Wairarapa Bush. Last time the teams faced it was Wairarapa Bush who won, but in the semi-final North Otago were stronger and won the match 30–13. So it was into the finals for North Otago. The conditions were perfect and the local Oamaru people had come out in force to wish their team well. North Otago played hard but so did Wanganui. And the game looked like it may have gone Wanganui's way. But North Otago stayed strong to win the Meads Cup final 25 points to 8.
Hanan Shield The Hanan Shield is one of the most prestigious trophies in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1946, the Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played between North Otago, South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury. North Otago's best win was in 1997 when they defeated South Canterbury 20–17 to bring the Hanan Shield back to North Otago for the first time in 30 years.
Ranfurly Shield Since North Otago were founded they have yet to win the Ranfurly Shield. They have had the following challenges:
27 August 1938, Otago 12 North Otago 0 28 September 1946, Southland 15 North Otago 3 (halfback Viv Wright kicked a penalty) 27 September 1947, Otago 42 North Otago 3 (70 metre try to winger Mort Fountain) 21 August 1971, Canterbury 14 North Otago 0 1 September 1973, Marlborough 26 North Otago 9 (Paddy Ford kicked two penalties and Jeff Gardiner a 55-metre field goal) 31 August 1974, South Canterbury 9 North Otago 3 (Paddy Ford kicked a penalty) 20 July 1983, Canterbury 88 North Otago 0 1 September 1993, Auckland 139 North Otago 5 (Brent McEwan, 1 try) 8 July 2000, Waikato 95 North Otago 17 (Dean Paterson 1 try, Simon Porter 4 penalties) 2003, Canterbury 85 North Otago 24 (Campbell Mackenzie, Pila Fifita, Scott Mayhew and Mike Mavor scoring tries, Michael Ruthven and Tevita Asi kicking conversions) 2008, Auckland 113 North Otago 3 (Nathan Cunningham penalty) 9 July 2010, Southland 48 North Otago 3 2 July 2011, Canterbury 52 North Otago 8 26 July 2019, North Otago 14 Otago 49 28 August 2020, Canterbury 71 North Otago 7
Club rugby
North Otago Rugby Football Union is made up of six clubs who play against the Otago Metropolitan Premier Division 2 teams in a combined club competition before playing out for the local Citizens Shield: Excelsior FC Athletic Marist RFC Kurow RFC Maheno RFC Oamaru Old Boys RFC Valley RFC The North Otago Rugby Football Union clubs used to play against the South Canterbury club sides in a combined competition before the combined Otago competition.
North Otago also have two strong secondary school teams: Waitaki Boys' High School Saint Kevin's College
Citizens Shield The Citizens Shield is North Otago's premier Men's senior club competition. First awarded in 1903, with the Oamaru Football Club the inaugural holders, it has been played for annually ever since with the only brief breaks happening during World War 1 and 2. Citizens Shield Champions1903 – Oamaru Football Club1904 – Oamaru Football Club1905 – Oamaru Football Club1906 – Athletic1907 – Athletic1908 – Athletic1909 – Athletic1910 – Athletic1911 – Athletic1912 – Athletic1913 – Athletic1914 – Athletic1915 – Athletic1916 – Suspended WWI1917 – Suspended WWI 1918 – Suspended WWI 1919 – Old Boys1920 – Old Boys1921 – Old Boys1922 – Old Boys1923 – Old Boys1924 – Excelsior1925 – Excelsior1926 – Maheno1927 – Old Boys1928 – Maheno1929 – Old Boys1930 – Old Boys1931 – Hydro1932 – Excelsior1933 – Excelsior1934 – Old Boys1935 – Maheno1936 – Old Boys1937 – Athletic1938 – Maheno1939 – Athletic1940 – Athletic1941 – Duntroon1942 – Suspended WWII 1943 – Suspended WWII1944 – Duntroon1945 – Maheno/Excelsior 1946 – Excelsior1947 – Athletic1948 – Athletic1949 – Excelsior1950 – Excelsior1951 – Athletic1952 – Athletic1953 – Athletic1954 – Athletic1955 – Excelsior1956 – Athletic1957 – Old Boys1958 – Old Boys1959 – Old Boys1960 – Union1961 – Maheno1962 – Excelsior1963 – Maheno1964 – Otematata1965 – Excelsior1966 – Athletic1967 – Athletic1968 – Union1969 – Union1970 – Union1971 – Athletic1972 – Athletic1973 – Old Boys1974 – Athletic1975 – Union1976 – Kurow1977 – Kurow1978 – Athletic1979 – Union1980 – Kurow1981 – Union1982 – Kurow1983 – Union1984 – Maheno1985 – Old Boys 1986 – Old Boys1987 – Excelsior1988 – Excelsior1989 – Maheno1990 – Maheno1991 – Old Boys1992 – Excelsior1993 – Athletic1994 – Excelsior1995 – Excelsior1996 – Athletic1997 – Excelsior1998 – Valley1999 – Valley2000 – Athletic2001 – Maheno2002 – Old Boys2003 – Athletic2004 – Old Boys2005 – Valley2006 – Athletic2007 – Old Boys2008 – Old Boys2009 – Valley2010 – Athletic2011 – Old Boys2012 – Old Boys2013 – Old Boys2014 – Old Boys2015 – Old Boys2016 - Maheno2017 - Old Boys2018 - Valley2019 - Maheno2020 - Valley2021 - Kurow2022 - Kurow2023 - Valley2024 - Excelsior2025 - Excelsior
Total Citizen Shield Titles by ClubClubTotalOutrightSharedAthletic3232Old Boys2727Excelsior18171Maheno13121Union88Kurow66Valley77Oamaru Football Club33Duntroon22Hydro11Otematata11
Notable players
All Blacks There have only been two players selected for the All Blacks while playing their club rugby in North Otago.
Ian (Spooky) Smith, who played for the Old Boys Club, was selected for tests against the 1965 Springboks and Mike Campbell-Lamerton's 1966 British Lions.