30 August 2011 Nationwide reunions celebrate 130 years of Lincoln University rugby - coming to a venue near you

A road trip of reunions around New Zealand to celebrate 130 years of Lincoln University rugby starts on Saturday 10 September and makes its way through the South and North Islands, finishing in Christchurch on 6 October.

Most of the reunions coincide with opportunities to watch screenings of games in the World Cup tournament and a special DVD featuring historical and contemporary footage of Lincoln University rugby and interviews with past players is also an attraction.

Lincoln University   - then a School of Agriculture -  fielded its first rugby team on 14 May 1881, 10 months after it opened and when there were just 29 students on the roll. The initial game was an away match against Southbridge, considered the strongest country team at the time and famous today as All Black Daniel Carter’s boyhood club.  Southbridge beat  the Lincoln “gentlemen” (as the press later dubbed them) and won again in the return match several weeks later in the first match played on the school’s campus   -  on a ground now buried under the University’s Hilgendorf Building.

“Rugby traditions run deep at Lincoln University,” says Vice-Chancellor Professor Roger Field, who is also Patron of the Lincoln University Rugby Club. “In the 130 years since the first kick-off against Southbridge we have had more than 30 All Blacks from among those who have been students at Lincoln University, including four captains -  Wilson Whineray, Andy Dalton, Reuben Thorne and Richie McCaw -  and a captain of the New Zealand Maori Rugby team, Paul Quinn.

“This year we congratulate Richie MCaw, Andy Ellis and Sam Whitelock on their selection for the World Cup squad. Richie is a past agricultural science student, Andy is a landscape architecture graduate and Sam is a current science student.”

The road trip around New Zealand, sponsored by ASB and organised by Lincoln University Alumni Officer Sarah Currie, Scholarships Manager Jane Edwards, and ASB Rural Manager and Lincoln University graduate Andrew Owen, will give all former students, partners, family members and others associated with Lincoln University a chance to get together again and reminisce about their university days against the backdrop of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Functions range from breakfast, morning tea, lunch and evening gatherings and for catering purposes advance notice of intention to attend is essential. Please email sarah.currie@lincoln.ac.nz. 

Already a number of rugby personalities have signalled their intention to attend, for example former New Zealand Maori captain Paul Quinn will join Lincoln University alumni at the Wellington luncheon. Former players from the 1987 World Cup team such as Albert Anderson and Craig Green are also attending functions along with 1970s All Black Ian Hurst.

The full list of dates, times, functions and venues is  follows:

• 10 September:  10.30am, morning tea, Anzac Square, Timaru.
• 10 September:  1.00pm,  lunch, Fleur’s Place, Moeraki.
• 11 September:  From 9.00am,  Pirates Rugby Club, Hancock Park, Dunedin.
• 11 September: From 3.00pm, Monteith’s Bar, Alexandra (to watch match); from 6.00pm, barbecue.
• 12 September:  From 5.00pm, Arrow Brewing Company, Arrowtown.
• 13 September:  Midday, lunch, Five Rivers Cafe, Lumsden.
• 13 September:  From 5.00pm, Invercargill Working Men’s Club, Invercargill.
• 15 September: Midday, lunch, Riverstone Kitchen, SH 1, 12km north of Oamaru.
• 15 September: From 5.00pm, Harlequins Rugby Club, Church Street, Timaru.
• 16 September: From 5.00pm, The Shed, Somerset Lane, Ashburton.
• 19 September: From 5.00pm, Cafe Deville, New Street, Nelson.
• 21 September: From 5.00pm, Fairhall Golf Club, Blenheim.
• 24 September: From 5.00pm. CT Club, Moncur Road, Rotorua.
• 26 September:  Midday, lunch, The Fat Pigeon, Pio Pio.
• 27 September: 7.00 – 8.30am, breakfast, Aborio Restaurant, New Plymouth.
• 27 September: 12.30 – 2.00pm, lunch, The Brick House, Wanganui.
• 27 September: From 5.00pm, The Grand, Palmerston North.
• 29 September: From 11.00am – 2.00pm, lunch, The Wellington Club, Wellington.
• 29 September: From 5.00pm, Shed 21, Macs Brewery, Wellington waterfront.
• 6 October: From 5.00pm, Hornby Working Men’s Club, Christchurch.