ALL BLACK AND YELLOW
Feilding rugby club home to generations of good blokes
Respect the jersey. Remember the guys that have come before you.’’
That was the message by 300-game Feilding Yellows veteran Brad Car before running out to face Old Boys Marist on Friday as the club celebrated 140 years with a 31-11 win in front of an army of home support.
It’s a jersey that Car, 36, has pulled on 309 times and with that comes certain expectations, like acknowledging the history that came before him.
There is a certain resonance that stories from more than 100 years ago still carry, he says.
From the pain of losing teammates at war to the jubilation of breeding three All Blacks, Manawatu¯ ’s oldest rugby club has endured all the highs and lows of club footy.
It started in 1878, when the Feilding Rugby Club played its first match against a Rangitı¯kei combined clubs XV in Feilding.
Feilding was still being carved out of bush at the time and the match, widely regarded as the first ever in Manawatu¯ , was most likely played in a clearing, longstanding Yellows man Dave Fredericks says.
In those days it wouldn’t have mattered if there was a rogue tree stump in the middle of the paddock.
Although, it appears the Yellows used the Feilding Racecourse, Manfeild Park and Victoria Park at the turn of the century, before setting up shop at Johnston Park in the 1920s.
A controversial claim over whether the club is the home of the All Black jersey also grew in those early days, he says.
Yellows history books mention the New Zealand Rugby Union adopted the club’s black jersey with a silver fern in 1893 for the national team to wear.
No team photographs can prove it, but Fredericks remains a believer.
Minutes from the 1889 annual general meeting state the committee altered the club’s colours to black with a silver shield on the chest.
The myth was shot down by rugby historian Clive Akers, who says there is evidence to suggest the black jersey was first worn by the Native rugby team when they went to Britain in 1888.
None of the players in that native team were from Feilding and the NZRU adopted the jersey in 1892.
Fredericks says early photographs depict players wearing a conglomerate of jerseys, possibly because they would turn up in their own strip.
Nevertheless, it’s recognised in the club’s emblem, which has a fern in it.
‘‘Clive Akers got hold of me and basically said ‘you’re talking a load of s...’. But we’re the only club that’s allowed to wear it [in the emblem].
‘‘It’s definitely unequivocal. The New Zealand Rugby Union has never argued the toss either.’’
These days, All Black halfback Aaron Smith is recognised as the club’s greatest export.
The 71-test halfback played three seasons for the Yellows after leaving Feilding High School and is still seen at one or two games a year, Fredericks says.
Although, the road to success hasn’t been easy for him.
He was the second-choice halfback for the Manawatu¯ Turbos in 2008 and, when first contracted to the Highlanders, was forced to play second fiddle to Jimmy Cowan for several years.
Like Carr, Smith’s father played for the club and the two would kick a ball around Johnston Park on a Saturday afternoon.
He was like a blowfly in a bottle, Carr says.
‘‘He was just as he is now – full of energy.
‘‘I always knew he would be destined for higher honours. You could just tell he wanted it that much. I text him every now and then to say good luck.’’
But Smith isn’t the only one to have donned the black jersey.
Stuart Freebairn played 14 tests in 1953 and 1954. Fredericks says Freebairn, now in his mid-80s, will be at the club this weekend.
Kevin Everleigh played 30 tests from 1974-1977, before he was dropped by fellow Feilding Yellows man and All Black coach Jack Gleeson.
The sacking prompted somewhat of a rift in the Yellows community, with locals boycotting the Gleeson-owned Empire Hotel in Feilding. The snub hit Gleeson right in the pocket as 90 per cent of his trade relied on club members, Fredericks says.
Fredericks says the club experienced perhaps its strongest period in the 1980s, when he was part of the senior fourth XV that made the Guiness Book of World Records for 114 consecutive games without a loss.
The record stuck until being recently beaten by a club side in Wales.
The Senior As also won their 10th Hankins Shield in 1984, beating College Old Boys 14-12.
But the men in yellow haven’t tasted success since and that doesn’t sit well with Carr.
‘‘I don’t want to play for 20-something years and not actually win a title. Good things take time, I guess, but hopefully it won’t take too much longer.’’
The Yellows have the guys to do it, he says, after upsetting frontrunners College Old Boys 18-13 first up. It is the first time the club has beaten its Palmerston North rivals in a round-one fixture since 2003, Carr says.
His life association with the club started with the colts side 19 years ago. He was quickly promoted to the senior team after one season, in 1999, where the goalkicking outside back has played ever since.
With club records being sketchy, his exact points tally is hard to confirm. But considering he bettered 100 points in 13 consecutive seasons while he was kicking goals, it is fair to say that he would be nudging the 2000-point mark.
The word ‘‘love’’ comes up a lot when Carr talks about rugby and why he keeps on playing, and hanging up the boots is not under consideration yet.
When he does call time on his senior A career, he will still play in a lower grade, coach or help out.
He remembers running around Johnston Park as a young buck while his father ran around the thunder dome for the presidents team. He recalls being the ball boy for current coach Kelvin Tantrum when he was playing senior A rugby and earning a punnet of chips and a soft drink for taking care of the scoreboard.
Carr’s son Hunter is heading in that direction, too.
Rugby is a way of life for his family.
‘‘I want to play for as long as I can, really. I want to be a big part of the club’s history and leave a legacy for my kids.
‘‘You only have to look down at the emblem and if that doesn’t motivate you then there’s something wrong with you.’’