Is Club Rugby Alive in New Zealand

Is club rugby alive in New Zealand?I wasn't sure I knew the answer anymore. Until Saturday night.High School Old Boys RFC celebrated their 125th anniversary this weekend. 350 people packed into a room — players, administrators, partners, legends — to mark what this club has meant across five generations of Canterbury rugby. I was one of them.
My connection with HSOB goes back to the early 2000s. I coached their Colts side for two seasons. Later, as Master in Charge of Rugby at Christchurch Boys' High School, the club was a constant part of the landscape. More recently, they've been the host club for our Matches Festival and have welcomed a number of our touring teams over the years. Nigel — my trusted go-between with the club for more years than I can count — was seated beside me for the night. He has given more than 40 years of service to HSOB. But he was far from alone in that room.But for me, the standout moment of the evening came from Andrew Mehrtens. Beaming in from his base in France — which, if anything, made you pay closer attention — he was interviewed by MC Ben Hurst in what became something far more than a Q&A. Mehrts talked at length about what High School Old Boys had given him. His recall of names from 30 years ago was remarkable, the men and women who had guided him as a young man finding his feet in both life and rugby. He reached the pinnacle of the game as an All Black in a World Cup.
But on this night, what struck me most was the genuine love he has for the club that shaped him.
The Mehrtens name is synonymous with HSOB. His father Terry spent decades at the club as a player and coach. Andrew spoke about those years with warmth and specificity. At times, his voice broke with emotion.
It wasn't just Mehrts. Across the evening, speaker after speaker, young and old, reflected on what the club had given them. The thread running through all of it was the same: belonging. Identity. A place that held them.
I was at a table of ten. At 64, I was the youngest by some margin.
Had I forgotten what the club scene actually means to people? How it frames a lifetime of memories, connects generations with the glory of yesteryear and gives people somewhere to belong that has nothing to do with a scoreboard? Maybe I had. But Saturday night reminded me.
Not every club is in this position. As Riki Tahere, who writes on youth sport for Total Sports Tours, put it recently: "The pattern is familiar to anyone who has run a junior rugby club or coached at school level. The grades are getting smaller. The age players walk away is getting younger." The challenges facing grassroots rugby in New Zealand are real — participation numbers, funding, volunteer burnout. But on this night, for this club, the answer to my opening question was clear.Club rugby isn't just alive in New Zealand. In the right hands, it's one of the most powerful community institutions we have.
‍High School Old Boys RFC — congratulations on 125 years. Here's to the next 125.

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