The Year That Was – 1983
In International fixtures, May, June and July 1983 mark the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand with the visitors losing the series 0-4 against the dominant All Blacks. Then, in October and November, New Zealand tour Britain and draw against Scotland (25-25) and lose to England (9-15) in two test matches.
At home, the Old Golds beat a visiting Central Queensland side in Oamaru 18-12.
North Otago host Tonga on Wednesday, 27 July and are defeated 9-45.
North Otago challenge Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield on Wednesday, 20 July.
Brent Harvey from Excelsior is selected for the NZ Colts.
Paddy White sets the record for the most appearances (89) between 1974 and 1983.
Union Club wins the Citizen’s Shield while Kurow takes the Burns Shield.
President and Chairman of NORFU: Leon Faid; Secretary: D. Cleland; Selector: Paddy Ford
Match Record
Played: 12, Won: 1, Lost: 11
Points for: 74; points against: 426
Notable Players
Captain: Lock Phil Hope; Peter Cook (vice-captain/captain), Donald Muldrew, Dale Jolly, Neville Fraser, Peter Johnston, Brent Harvey.
Higher Honours
Brent Harvey, aged 19, a versatile forward from Excelsior was the only North Otago player to represent a higher level, being selected for the NZ Colts.
Representative Games
1983 was not a strong season for North Otago, though they finished with more confidence. A suggestion was even made that the union should be combined with South Canterbury with matches alternating between Timaru and Oamaru.
They only had one win in 12 matches though managed to put up stronger performances against Buller, Nelson Bays, Marlborough and South Canterbury. The first game kicked off at home in Oamaru on June 26 against a visiting side from Central Queensland and the outcome for the locals was positive with the Old Golds beating the touring side 18-12. This was to be the only win of the entire season. Points for North Otago were scored by four penalty goals from Wilson and one from Jolly. Jolly also scored a drop goal.The starting XV for the game won against Central Queensland on 26 June 1983 appears on the programme below:
For the following National Championship game, the team travelled to Invercargill to take on Southland on Sunday July 3 but were thoroughly dominated by a strong southern side and lost 0-55. Player notes which appeared on the match day programme, written by Terry O’Neill and Neville Hoskin follow:
Next, through July, North Otago came up against three strong sides from Otago, Canterbury (RS) and Tonga losing respectively 3-88, 0-88 and 9-45.
The North Otago side which challenged Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield on Wednesday 20 July at 3 pm at Lancaster Park Oval in Christchurch appears on the programme excerpt below:
The starting XV against Tonga on 27 July was comprised of:
15 Ross Wilson, 14 Donald Muldrew, 13 Lindsay Smith, 12 Gary Bloomfield, 11 Philip Winter, 10 Peter Cook (vice-Captain), 9 Grant Morton, 8 Brent Harvey, 7 Peter Johnson, 6 Russell Mains, 5 Phil Hope (Captain), 4 John Tennant, 3 Bruce Gray, 2 Peter Fogarty, 1 Peter Kilgour
Reserves: Dale Jolly, Richard Todd, Neville Fraser, Peter McAtamney, Steve Halkett, Bruce Hamilton
Referee: Tom Doocey
Despite the points differential reducing the August fixtures did not offer any glimmer of victory.
On 3 August, in Westport, North Otago lost to Buller 0-7. They subsequently succumbed (6-29) to West Coast’s strength in Greymouth on 6 August (a penalty goal and a drop goal were scored by Wilson).The Hanan Shield Challenge against Mid-Canterbury was played on 13 August in Oamaru and in spite of Wilson’s three penalty goals, the home side went down 9-21.
The first encounter of five home games against visiting sides was held on 3 September when North Otago welcomed a team from Nelson-Bays. Cook scored a try for North Otago and Wilson a penalty goal but unfortunately the home side’s 7 points were paltry in comparison to the visitors’ 20. Final Score: 7-20.
Next up, came Marlborough on 8 September and another loss was inflicted by the visitors (0-13). South Canterbury crossed the Waitaki River on 14 September to defeat the Old Golds 23-10. White scored a try for North Otago and Wilson kicked two penalty goals.
The final fixture of the representative season took place on 21 September in Oamaru against the NZ Combined Services side. The home team went down 12-25 to the visitors. Muldrew scored a try for North Otago which Jolly converted and also kicked two penalty goals.