Hanging out at Souths Rugby Club: Where Magpies Become Wallabies

This week, I spent some time visiting Souths Rugby Club, based in Annerley. I had a great time meeting some of the players and watching the mens teams train.

Looking at the jersey's on display in the club-room, I got a a sense of the clubs 70 year old history. During that time, the club catch-phrase has rung true, there are a number of club members, or "Magpies", that have turned into Wallabies!

Five players from Souths have captained the Wallabies: Nev Cottrell, David Codey, Andrew Slack, Tim Horan and Jason Little. Other Magpies that have gone on to become Wallabies include: Sam Scott-Young, Michael Foley, Toutai Kefu, Steve Kefu, Saia Fainga'a, Anthony Fainga'a, Beau Robinson, Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi.

During my visit, it was great to catch up with old mate Quade Cooper, and also to meet a number of new players!

Thanks to club manager Nicole and everyone else for making me feel welcome at the club!

It was good to meet a bunch of players from the Reserve Grade team. Good luck tomorrow against Sunnybank!

Loved meeting Wallaby great Toutai Kefu, now an assistant coach at Souths

It's always good seeing this guy!

In particular, it was great to catch up with Premier team captain Declan Dinnen, as well as David Paice and Alex Casey and ask them a few questions!

Thanks for making the time to catch up boys!

How’s the season going for you?

[Declan:] Well Dave’s just come in in the last few weeks. But it’s been going well. We’ve hit a bit of a rough patch recently, but nothing we can’t fix. We’re playing some quality footy, there’s some small things we need to fix up.

We’ve got two more games until the finals.

David: You’ve been playing overseas in England for a long time. How did you arrive at Souths?

I’ve been over in London for the last 15 years. I played my first game last week, the boys have been very welcoming.  I played at Souths until I was an 18 year old, so it’s good to be home. 

I love hearing about people’s rugby journey’s. What inspired you to play rugby originally?

[David:] My Dad was a player himself, he’s from the UK, he came over from Scotland. We moved from Darwin to Brisbane when I was 13, I went to Brisbane State High School, I picked up rugby there. I played in Souths from Under-13s onwards to 17, then moved to the UK and kept playing. It’s been a good journey!

[Declan:] My old man played here at Souths. When I was 5, my Dad took me to Souths Juniors and I’ve played here ever since. I used to help out with the Premier team back when I was young, I used to help run water and stuff. I just stuck around ever since and here I am 20 years later, still playing.

What’s one or two things you love in particular about this club?

[David:] A great bunch of guys, from when I was 16-17, there’s still a core group of guys that are playing. Eli the head coach, I went to school with him, and there’s a few other guys playing 5th grade that I went to school with. Yeah, people come and they stick around, which means the club’s  got something going for it.

[Declan:] Similar to what Dave said, there’s a core group of guys here. When I was 18 coming in to the senior club they were very welcoming. There’s a core group, some people come and go, but everyones been welcomed in, whether they stay or go, there’s a good community feeling here.

What’s a highlight of your rugby journey so far?

[David:] Playing in the UK front of some big crowds, some big games… the Heineken Cup, I remember playing against Toulouse was probably one of my favourites.

[Declan:] Not on the same scale as that, but 2015 was pretty special, I was new coming into the Premier Grade and was on the bench, but we went through and won the Premiership against all odds. It was great to be a part of it at the time.

[Alex:] I sound like a broken record, but what these two said pretty much. Loyalty’s a big one for Souths, as you mentioned, a core bunch of players that are still here… and then you see people coming to the club from other clubs, I think that speaks volumes about the club and the culture we have. We don’t have much, but what we have is pretty inviting to others.

Thanks boys for taking the time to chat! Looking forward to following the rest of the season!

Where ever you live in Queensland, why not head out and support your local club this weekend?