Northern Suburbs Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based on Sydney's Lower North Shore, that was formed in 1900 under the newly introduced districts club scheme, where players qualified on a residency basis. The club competes in the Shute Shield competition run by the New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU).The club has produced 42 Wallaby representatives. The club's home ground is the historic North Sydney Oval on the North Shore of Sydney. The ground has been a venue for both codes of rugby and for cricket over more than a century.
Club information Club Name: Northern Suburbs Rugby Football Club Nickname: The Shoremen, Norths, The Red and Blacks Founded: 1900 Home stadium: North Sydney Oval Head coach: Zak Beer Captain: Harry Burey Vice Captain: Angus Sinclair Uniform colors: Red & Black Premiership Titles: 7 (1933, 1935, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 2016)
Club history
Pre World War One Rugby on the lower North Shore is over 130 years old. Council minutes reveal that the North Shore Football Club played on a paddock adjoining Holterman's Tower, the present location of Shore School.
The club later transferred to St Leonard's Park and became known as the Pirates, a team which won the First Grade Premiership in 1898 and the R.A.S. Trophy in 1897/8/9, defeating the Wallaroo FC 10-nil in the third final.
In 1900 the club was founded as the North Sydney District Rugby Football Club under the Metropolitan RU's new residential based scheme. All the footballers in Sydney were required to play with their local club. The new North Sydney club covered "the electorates of St. Leonards, Willoughby, Warringah, and part of electorate of Ryde as is included in municipality of Hunter’s Hill.” The claim that the 1899 clubs Wallaroo and Pirate merged to form North Sydney in 1900 is at odds with the practicalities of the residential based scheme. Less than half of the members of the club's first team in 1900 were former Wallaroo or Pirate players.
North Sydney were the first district club to affiliate with the Metropolitan RU (MRU) in the initial eight-club district competition. The date was 5 April, ahead of Wests on 11 April and Easts on 12 April. Jim Henderson, commemorated in the present premiership trophies for third and fourth grades, was North's first secretary, and the club's first cap was winger Charlie White, who played in the first-ever test-match in 1899 against the British Isles and then in the first Australia v New Zealand test in 1903.
The North Sydney club in 1900 registered their colours as green, cardinal, and gold as per the North Sydney district cricket club, however could not locate a suitable rugby jersey manufacturer/supplier until 1907. In the interim generic playing stripes in colours readily available locally and not in use by the other districts were used, with blue and red (1900 to 1904) and then black and red (1905 to 1906). In 1913 the club decided to revert to red and black which became permanent.
The name Northern Suburbs first appeared late in the 1914 season when the MRU announced plans for 1915 that included a merger between the North Sydney club with Manly RUFC, however this was abandoned with the outbreak of World War One. Club rugby competitions throughout Sydney were suspended for the duration of the war (1915-18).
Between The Wars Era With the first grade club competition resumed Norths took part in 1919 trial games, but was dramatically refused entry by the NSWRU on the grounds the team was non-competitive. The club was readmitted the following year and has played every season since, making them and Eastern Suburbs the oldest ever-present rugby union clubs in Australia outside of the schools and universities.
While the Norths reserve grade XV won the club's first premiership in 1925, the first-grade team was regularly found at the bottom end of the competition table. With the location and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge impacting upon what were once residential burroughs of North Sydney, to expand the club's catchment area the new club name Northern Suburbs was adopted at the start of 1928, aimed at bringing in players and supporters from Mosman, Gordon and Chatswood.
Under the guidance of one-eyed (lost in action in France) Fred Aarons, the club's prospects improved. The year 1928 saw a young recruit arrive, one Gavin John Andrews, who is now enshrined as the club's greatest treasure, Bon Andrews, after whom North Sydney No. 2 Oval is named. In 1929 under its new name Northern Suburbs won its first ever Club Championship.
The first of North's two 'golden eras' occurred in the early 1930s. The club's initial first-grade premiership was in 1933, beating Manly 8–6, and again beating Manly in 1935 by 22–5.
The inaugural fourth-grade competition in 1932, back-to-back Club Championships in 1934 and 1935 and seven other minor grade premierships, highlighted the first half of the decade.
Australian caps in the 1930s were 'Big' Tom Perrin, Waratah Sid King, ex-Kiwi Bill Hemingway, dual international Wal Mackney (stroke of the rowing eight at the Berlin Olympic Games, half Mike Gibbons and Eric Hutchinson who, with brother Frank, was killed while serving in World War II.
Post World War Two The Red and Blacks took some time to get back on top after the war, winning only the Third Grade Premiership in 1947, the Fourths a year later and nothing in the fifties. In 1947 Roger Cornforth played the first of his two Tests against the All Blacks. Controversially omitted from the 1947–48 Wallabies to the British Isles, this then allowed him to represent Australia at the 1948 Olympics in London at water polo. He also played against the 1950 British Lions.
Peter Rothwell, Jim Cross and John Carroll added their names to North's honour roll in the 1950s and by 1960 John Thornett and Rod Phelps had joined Norths to improve its fortunes when once again defeating Manly, 21–3, Norths won its third First Grade Premiership and fourth Club Championship and its second Golden Era was ushered in.
Three years later, the Red and Blacks beat Sydney University back-to-back for the 1963 and '64 First Grade Premierships, together with the Club Championship for those years.
In 1964 Norths won three out of the four grade premierships, a rare feat until Randwick's run in the 1980s. In all, eight premierships were won in the 1960s and three Club Championships. From the Thornett and Phelps days, Roy Prosser (for several years Australia's most capped prop), Les Austin, Andy Town, John 'Sparrow' Dowse, Hugh Rose, Reg Smith, Garrick Fay, Peter Carson and Andy Stewart kept Norths alive in the test arena. Others, including Peter Johnston, Keith Henry, playwright and actor Warwick Moss, Peter Medway, Dennis Turnbull, Graeme Ewens, five-eight Jim Allen, Wallaby David Codey who played his Colts Rugby at Norths and ex- Rugby Club president, Russ Tulloch, played for the State. Russ also toured to Great Britain with the Wallabies. There was also the Westralian-Kiwi Bob Thompson.
The club won eight premierships during the 1970s including First Grade in 1975. Norths also toured Singapore and Malaysia in 1970 (7 games), England and Wales in 1973 (7 games), USA West Coast in 1976 (6 games) and England, the Netherlands, Belgium and France in 1977 (8 games). By 1981 when, unhappily relegated to Second Division, Norths stood fourth on the list of premierships won in all senior grades in the First Division.
There was no doubt that Norths were unlucky to be relegated in 1981. Even though the club went down, it still won the Fourth Grade Premiership. The criterion then was based on the First Grade team and Norths had a disastrous year, scoring only four wins and a draw.
Norths were relegated with Hornsby, despite being just one point behind Sydney University and, in the club championship, was actually ahead of Warringah, Sydney Uni, St George and Hornsby.
Norths went on to win the Sydney Rugby Union (second Division) Club Championship in 1986, 1987 and 1988. Finally, after winning it again in 1989, Norths won promotion back into First Division.
However, also during this period the Club undertook two overseas tours. In 1984 there were 6 games against teams in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The club returned to Europe at the end of the 1988, with fixtures in England, France, Belgium and Italy. Some described it as an arduous four-week tour.
In the eight years out of Sydney's top division through the 1980s, Norths won 12 premierships including three in first grade as well as four club championships.
In addition to those grade rugby successes, a tremendous effort was made to develop the Colts and 12 premierships were won in various grades, which formed a sound basis for the return to First Division.
1990s In its first year back, 1990, Norths finished eighth out of 11. In 1991 North's fourth-grade players were semi-finalists and its second-grade Colts were premiers —a first-ever senior Colts win.
The season also saw North's first addition to its Australian honours list since 1979—Richard Tombs was selected in the victorious Wallaby World Cup squad. But he had to wait until 1992 to play his first two tests, against Scotland, at home.
The 1993 season saw seven teams reach the semis, with Reserve Grade and Colts Seconds and Thirds winning premierships. There was also an overseas tour to the US, playing games in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York.
1994 saw the merger of North's two clubs (licensed and rugby). The Alfred Street properties were disposed of. The club purchased and moved to Christie Street, St Leonards location. Third and Fourth Grade won premierships that year, as did the Second Grade Colts. Richard Tombs won the inaugural Sydney Morning Herald 'Rugby Player of the Year Award' in 1995, with Nick Harvey being the youngest winner of the AAMI Medal. Fifth Grade won a premiership, and the club toured France, Belgium, Germany and UK at the end of the season.
1996 saw the beginning of professional rugby. Sixth Grade won the Premiership which was the final year that grade was run in the premier competition.
In 1997 the Club lost its Patron and Honorary Life Member, George Marshall. The same year, members voted to change the club's accounting year to close on 30 June annually.
1997 also saw the arrival of Dennis Brown of New Zealand as head coach attracting such players as the 'bushwackers' dean et al. Plus a contingent of northern hemisphere players such as Fintan 'clinton napkin' Godkin, Linus 'why was I invited to the 1st grade trail' Mortlock the party even included Welsh legends Barry John and Carwyn James. David McComisky and Andrew Jackson later left the Norths. During that period, the club recorded profits from its bar sales, which were used to fund new equipment and uniforms. The 1998 season proved to be the renown since 1975 with a string of notable statistics. These included all five grade teams in the Grand Final, winning Second and Fifth Grade premierships. Norths won The Herald Club of the Year Award, and Michael Sykes the Club Player of the Year.
Keith Gleeson won the Ken Catchpole Medal (Best & Fairest) in 1999, and at season's end a Club team toured Spain and Portugal. The 90's saw quite a number of players achieving representative honours. Jim Allen, Dominic Vaughan, Mick Kearins, Rod (Rambo) Clark, Sam Domoni, Richard Tombs, Mark Bell, Nick Harvey, Darren Junee, Keith Gleeson and Graeme Bond all played for the N.S.W Waratahs with Bond also playing at the ACT Brumbies in 1999 with Troy Jaques and former 1991 N.S.W Waratah Craig Wells. The representative careers of Ben Darwin and Al Baxter also began to emerge.
2000s
The year 2000 saw Northern Suburbs celebrate 100 years with the Norths Centenary Dinner, a black-tie affair at the Wentworth Hotel with over 300 people in attendance.