Taranaki Rugby looks back at some memorable eras and finals as part of the CMK club rugby flashback.

A combination of shearing, milking cows and picking up hay was the driving force behind the Stratford Rugby Club’s dominance in the 1960s.

The central Taranaki club claimed seven titles in nine years, including five in a row between 1961 and 1965.

There are only two other clubs in Taranaki that have accomplished such a milestone, Inglewood (1985-1989) and New Plymouth Old Boys’, with the latter picking up six consecutive titles until 1999.

Stratford won the 1959 championship, their first since 1937. The year after, neighbours Inglewood claimed the title before Stratford’s run of form lasted until 1966 when Tukapa were crowned champions. Stratford then took the glory in 1967. To date, Stratford and Old Boys have won the most titles in Taranaki with 17 – Stratford’s last coming in 1971.

Jimmy Cameron, who joined Stratford in 1959 and played 15 games for Taranaki, said there was no gymnasium, but as the players were mostly from the farming community, they were tough and physical.

That coupled with an array of Taranaki and All Black representatives, along with the odd All Black trialist, including Cameron in 1966, contributed to the consistency.

“There was 10 All Blacks and All Black trialists in one club team,” Cameron recalls.

However, not all of the stand-out players arrived in one day, they gradually joined the club over time.

“That title we won in 1959, we had some pretty average players and we beat Eltham in the final. A couple of boys from the Boys’ High school came. Each year we had a couple more who joined us,” he said.

Cameron recalls Guy McCutcheon, Jimmy Gould, Ian McDonald, Richard Coles, Alan Jury and Alan Smith joining the club and became stand outs.  

“From 1963-65 we had an outstanding team. I don’t want to brag, but we could have beaten anyone if there was a national club competition,” he said.  

Throughout that strong period, Don Carlson was the coach. He then went on to coach Taranaki after playing 50 games for the province.

A no-nonsense type of coach, Cameron said he was always fair, listened to the players and never told them what to do.

Carlson used three test All Black John McCullough to drive the tactics of the team, Cameron said.

“We had tactically a lot of good players and he [Carlson] didn’t have to tell us much. If you wanted to win, that’s what you did.”

Merv Bain, who was also part of the Stratford era in the 1960s, said Carlson was very strict.

“He was very firm. You did what you were told. You weren’t allowed to go out for a beer after Tuesday night. The rules were pretty strict under Don and you had to obey by them. He was a straight shooter.”

If you didn’t follow the strict rules, you deserved what you got, Bain said.

During Cameron’s time, the competition went through three different structures.

“There was a top six, north and south, with the winner of each region playing in the final, then there was an all-round competition and they changed it back to the top six again. I preferred the provincial-wide competition.”

The dairy factories were a key part of the number of teams in the competition, Cameron said.

Both Cameron and Bain acknowledged the game has changed since their playing days, however, they still think rugby clubs are key parts of the community even when Stratford had a sawdust floor.

CMK Chartered Accountants are proud partners of Taranaki club rugby. CMK Chartered Accountants have been providing accounting, taxation and business development support to clients for nearly 70 years. They take pride in working closely with their clients at all stages of growth, to structure their business to maximise both profit and efficiency.

Article added: Wednesday 06 May 2020