OLD COLLEAGUES NEWS JULY 2025

‘In Search of the Holy Grail’

Since the foundation of the Colleagues in 1933, the pursuit of the Club

Championship in Division 1 of Suburban Rugby has been the number one priority. It

represents an accurate measure of the real strength of the club across the grades. In

the last 15 years Colleagues have won the Club Championship in 2011, 2015, 2016

and 2023. These were achieved on the back of premierships in Kentwell (3), Burke

(3), Whiddon (3), Judd (3), Sutherland (4), Barbour (2).

The Kentwell Cup has great history and value and remains the pinnacle of Suburban

Rugby however it is highly competitive. Consecutive Kentwell premierships are rare

indeed. The reward of this prized trophy is built over time, with the development of a

player pool.

The Kentwell Cup is allocated the highest weighting of club championship points,

thus, there is a strong correlation between the two. Nevertheless, Colleagues has, in

many instances, had to rely on what Tim Booth (Colleagues legend and icon) refers

to as ‘the spine of the club’ or our middle and lower grades.

In 1998, the club, after a poor year across the grades, needed victories in all grades

in the penultimate round against Waverley. This they duly did, thereby avoiding the

humiliation of relegation to Division 2. A narrow escape indeed. This is why every

game in every grade matters.

Anyone who has been around suburban rugby for a while has seen former ‘heavy

weight’ clubs end up down the divisions. Once relegated, it can be a one-way trip. A

club’s reputation and drawing power can slide, leading to a player deficiency, lower

club morale and a critical need to revitalize methodology of club management.

Sometimes over-confidence and ‘resting on one’s oars’ are the catalysts for

catastrophe. Suburban rugby history is littered with the flotsam of now defunct clubs

which have ceased to exist, while others have been relegated, reduced their number

of teams or have had to merge to stay alive.

On a more optimistic note, in 2011 the win of the Club Championship by Colleagues

and the achievement of 5 premierships in all 5 grades was unprecedented – a ‘Blue

Rinse’ – and represents the other end of the spectrum. This is another illustration of

why every grade matters.

Vance Lowry (Author Sky Blue Winters)