By Jonathan B Geddes 

Southern Districts will pay a tribute to their history and the people who forged it when they return to Hurstville Oval – the former home ground of the St George club – for Saturday’s Shute Shield clash with Gordon.

Adding to the occasion, Souths will play in St George jumpers, which will be presented to the team by former Saints’ players Andrew Momsen and Stu Morris before the game.

The “Back to St George Day” is a fantastic initiative, which honours some great rugby men on the very ground where they shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Just as importantly, it gives the current crop of players an appreciation of the proud tradition they are now carrying on.

The St George club started in 1906 and was a real force in the early days of Australian rugby. The club was forced to disband in 1915 when the competition was postponed for the duration of World War I and reformed in 1928.

Over the decades, they produced a long line of internationals, starting with winger Dan Carroll, a member of the first Wallabies side to tour England, Wales and North America in 1908-09.

Their list of Wallabies also includes names like Eddie Stapleton, Ron Graham, Barry Stumbles, John Lambie, Stuart Macdougall, Owen Stephens and “The Blond Bombshell” Peter Lucas.

In 1989, St George amalgamated with the Port Hacking club to form Southern Districts, with their home base at Forshaw Rugby Park.

A RUGBY HISTORY LESSON   

HEAD coach Scott Fava is a huge supporter of the event, which was played last year and is now an annual event.

“You’ve got to tell the story,” he said. “On Tuesday night, we had the whole club upstairs in the clubhouse, and we did a presentation and talked about the significance of the Back To St George Day.

“We are really driving the reason why we are there -the reason we are playing for Southern Districts was because of these guys.”

Fava said the game at Hurstville Oval last year, where they beat Gordon 40-33, demonstrated how the players got a lift from the occasion.

“100 per cent, I guess they really saw it with the number of people around the field in red and white,” he said. “They didn’t really expect that.” 

Fava said that for the old St George players at the game, the win was a bonus.

“Everything that was put in place, and catching up with their mates who they hadn’t seen for years, was the real highlight,” he said.

“And we are hoping we go back to back this Saturday.

“We have a captain’s run at Hurstville Oval on Friday, which will dial more into the occasion. We’ll sit in the changeroom, we’ll have a look around, have a run for 20 or 30 minutes and get acquainted again with the field.

“And also have that real push towards the history of rugby, the history of St George.”

FAMILY TIES

THE day will have added meaning for Souths’ current No.8 Mitieli Tuinakuavadra.

“His whole family is part of St George rugby,” Fava said.

His dad, Meli, played for Saints, moved to Gordon and finished his career at Souths, where he had one season alongside Fava.

THE KEYS TO WINNING

WHILE they lost their first four games, Souths have been very competitive, and numbers back that up.

“There are a lot of areas we are doing really well,” Fava said.

The stats reveal that Souths are the best team in terms of metres per run, offloads and controlling gains in defence.

Fava’s influence is evident in the team’s fighting spirit and never-give-up attitude for 80 minutes.

“There is some really good stuff about our performance, and it shows in the way we are competitive and how the outcomes are very close,” Fava said.   

“Our Achilles heel at the moment is our lineout.” 

An analysis by the club’s coaching staff this week shows the team wins 68 per cent of their lineouts, the same as Randwick, who are also yet to win their first game.

“You watch some of Randwick’s games – they are close as well and playing some good rugby,” Fava said. “It comes down to possession.”