End of an Era

The End of an Era

becomes

The wind blows a stray crisp packet, scudding down a concrete pavement. A lone Starling sings inaudibly from an overhead telephone cable. This grey scene is what you will see if you approach the headquarters of the Seasonal Rugby Committee. Ensconced on a nondescript industrial park on the outskirts of the CBD, today something is different. A group of vehicles in gold and maroon pull up and a group of middle aged gentlemen exit and head to the door opening onto reception at the SRC.

The group just arriving at the Headquarters are the Board members of the Spartans Rugby Union Club. The reason for being there is that they are handing in the de-registration papers for the club. Following the conclusion of the Seasonal Rugby Championship grand final, the Spartans will be dissolved and will no longer exist. They dissolve as by far the most successful club in Seasonal Rugby history. Their honours board reads:

SRC Grand Final Winners: Season 2, 3, 4 Runners Up: Season 1
RRC Grand Final Winners: Season 5 Runners Up: Season 4

So, why has it come to this? A team that has just won the RRC Grand Final and who is competing in the SRC Grand Final against the Crabs (that game just hitting overtime as this went to press) is disbanding? There’s no acrimony, no disputes, no financial hardship – so why?

Quite simply, the reasoning is that the people on whom the club was founded have retired and moved onto pastures new. The list of potential retirees from the club roster is massive - Callum Laing, Dion Alessi and Geoff Smith being the most significant. More importantly has been the reported request from Club President Marcuss Deane for him to play a much more reduced role in day-to-day club affairs. As the original Franchise owner, Deane has opted to preserve the history and enviable record that the Spartans have assembled by dissolving the club. Could it return in the future? Perhaps, but a massive change would have to be seen in external factors for this to happen.

So, what is the impact of this change on the SRC? SRC Chairman Heath Davis has made it perfectly clear that the SRC cannot continue to exist with less than the current six teams. An advert was put up in SRC circles earlier in the season to find a new Franchise owner, but there were sadly no responses to this request. What this has meant is that Davis has had to step in and take the Franchise on himself. Not the most desirable outcome for the self-declared busiest man in Seasonal Rugby, but at least it means the SRC can continue.

The result is a new Franchise, which looks to take some of the threads from the former Spartans club, but also to create a whole new vibe and buzz and create a distinct entity. There are no doubts that the new club will linger in the gargantuan shadow of the Spartans for seasons to come, but with new players, new plans and a new outlook on the SRC, the new club will look to generate their own legacy.

The first step for the new club was to look to get some of the key Spartans looking for new homes to commit to signing. First cabs off the rank for this were Lucas Schaw and Bobby Blunder – regulars for the Spartans since the early days and still in the top echelon of Seasonal Rugby players. The next step was to find some new blood to ensure that the new club would not be seen as the Spartans Mk2. The first number on his fax machine that Davis decided to call was utility back and All Blacks selector Haydos Bots. Bots has consistently been putting in the hard yards on the training field, but has yet to see the payback on the field and Davis hoped that a change of scenery might appeal. With a few holes in the backline to fill, Bots was keen to sign up.

The next piece of the puzzle to examine was that of Rob Cribb. Cribb, an exceptional talent on the rugby field had been spending more time training at rival clubs than at the Spartans, and the half back was told that his services would no longer be required at the new club. The new club’s loss will no doubt be a massive gain for whichever club he puts pen to paper for. Cribb had been an integral part of the Spartans success on the field and is bound to help boost any other team’s prospects.

Looking for exciting new rookies to sign, Davis spotted Matt James. James had put in a number of solid performances for the Squids, but hadn’t had the opportunity to test out for the Sharks given the ability of incumbent first-five Matt Scoble. With the Spartans first-five Dion Alessi not making his intentions for next season clear, Davis snapped up James to fill that vacancy. James is likely to get an opportunity in the first XV for the new team allowing Gunner Shriram to take the integral half back role.

So, what is the new team? How to show those connecting threads to the past whilst looking hopefully to a successful future? To continue the themes of the past, the new team will be called the Immortals, after the Persian warrior caste with the reserves team to be called the Trojans, to continue with the Persian theme. The colour scheme for the new club will be blue and gold.

The end of one era, perhaps the beginning of another?

The Starling still sings on from the overhead cables. There's no fanfare, no send off. A driver picks at the decal on the side of one of the Spartans branded cars. They'll be taken off to the second hand car yards along the nearby highway tomorrow. The board members return to their vehicles - one has left his blazer behind; it's easier deliberate symbolism or he's got the memory of a sieve. It's all over now, there's no going back.

What they said

“Fucking cowardly cunts. Fuckers. It’s all a sham so they can avoid losing to us. Fucking Spartans. They can fuck off as far as I’m concerned. Especially that wannabe lawyer they have.” An unnamed Crabs player


“I’m not available right now. I’m being recharged.” Rob Cribb, perhaps via his voicemail?

“What are my reasons for joining the new club? Well, hopefully the opportunity to play some senior games. I feel I finished off the reserves season pretty well at the Squids so I feel that I'm just about ready for the step up to the seniors. The Sharks have been great to me but I reckon a change is needed for me.

I'm looking forward to seeing a lively and 'up and about' atmosphere which will hopefully lead to some on-field success. Being a part of a new team and the hype around it is also something I am looking forward to and fingers crossed I can have a long career with The Immortals.” Matt James – new first-five signing

“I'm just looking to improve as a player, I would love to get back into the New Zealand set up but my form at the gamblers was atrocious so hopefully I can offer something to the Immortal backline and get something back in return from them.

Off the field I just want a livelier training environment. I need all the training assistance I can get if I ever want to be on the Provincial Champion All Blacks team list again” Haydos Bots – Utility back signing

“Having come through the youth system at the Spartans, I've been here since day one. So it was a hugely sad moment for me when talk of dissolution filtered into the camp. Safe to say there was a lot of emotion last week and Thursday especially as we prepared for the final game. The odds were slightly against us going in, but we didn't get carried away in the moment. Pretty much every one of us raised our games and I couldn't be prouder of the lads - with Smith going over the line as the siren sounded, I don't think we could have asked for a better send off. Personally I owe my career to this franchise. Without the personnel, the dressing room atmosphere, and the real drive behind the scenes to cement ourselves as the SRCs number one side I doubt I'd be anywhere near the player I am today.

But, I understand that now with a number of key members having played a far more background role this season and with Marcuss [Deane] wanting to step out of a board role to focus on other things it’s a good time to end. So I'm excited moving forward. We have the perfect opportunity to freshen up and bring in a few new faces under a new banner, replacing those players in their twilight. Hopefully this new franchise can take up the vacancy that is now the SRC top spot. Having spoken with Heath and the lads it's excellent to see a number of other Spartans also signing on, so I know we'll have a good side. For me by signing for the Immortals next season I've signed for the side that has the best chance of stopping what is already a well drilled machine in the Crabs by winning yet another Championship. That is the most important thing in my opinion.

With the Immortals I know that while the Spartans brand may have been shelved, its ideals will never die!” Bobby Blunder – experienced full back

“I guess it's hard to really express my true feelings right now, obviously I can look back with a great amount of pride on what I achieved as both President and player for the Spartans, and look forward with a great deal of excitement to the prospect of being part of a new, fresh team and the new challenges that will bring. Rather than being expected to lead from the front, I'm very much looking forward to helping develop the numerous prospects the Immortals are expected to sigh - I guess you could say that as my career winds down, I'm not looking to help find the next Marcuss Deane but the next player capable of achieving what I have and ensuring he reaches such heights.

I know the decision to continue will raise a few eyebrows and people will ask 'If you've got seasons in your legs then why not at the Spartans rather than elsewhere?' and it's a legitimate question to ask, especially when to many the Immortals may appear to be nothing more than a Spartans re-branding. However, the issue for me is that the Spartans have ceased to be what they started out as and are already an entirely different entity to what they once were in all but name. With the amount of changes that were due to take place, both on-field and off-field, it was felt that it was the right time to draw a line underneath the fabulous history that the club had achieved.

As I alluded to above, the Immortals are seeking to breathe new life into the SRC and it seems only fair to those who are seeking to be a part of that, that they are given the opportunity to do so from a fresh start rather than being weighed down by the expectations that naturally follow past success.

To put it in relatively crude terms to express my point, players like Jono Chewie and Charlie Downes deserve the opportunity to go on and forge their reputations, to write their own chapters in the history of the SRC and achieve what I have done with the Spartans, on their own terms, rather than risk the potential ignominy that comes with burden of being tasked with continuing somebody else's legacy.

I don't think the achievements of the Spartans will ever be matched but I think a new club deserves the opportunity to try on their own terms. Callum Laing, Jake Luffman and Al Farnsworth are some of the greatest the game as seen and their names will forever go down in history and to ask the new breed to match the careers they had is to place huge pressure upon them. To allow them to start afresh, to be the first Jono Chewie rather than the second Marcuss Deane, to go further and higher than those before you is to allow them the opportunity to become Immortal.” Marcuss Deane, Spartans President

“Urgh. It’s all just a bit of a hassle really. I just need to find a way to stop that bloody Rob Cribb from coming along and trying to use our new bar and toilets. He has a habit of befouling them. ” Heath Davis, Immortals President

 

b-bye

 

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