Past and present members of the Grey Valley Rugby Club will come together next month to celebrate the club’s 30th jubilee.

Former coach and organiser Peter O’Malley, of Ikamatua, said registrations for the June 18 jubilee had opened and would be accepted until June 4.

The club was brought to life in 1981 by Brian Arnold, a former publican of the Ikamatua Hotel.
“He reckoned there were enough young fellows around to play football,” O’Malley, who was one of those men, said.

Although Grey Valley never won the West Coast rugby championship in their 30-year history, they have come close.

After being resurrected in 2008 by Cole Jones, a current senior player, after a five-year dormant period, Grey Valley had a strong season last year to narrowly lose the West Coast final to Marist, 9-6.

In the two previous years they won the third and fourth play-offs to claim the McLean Shield, and when O’Malley coached the side in the 1990s they ended up winning 10 of the 13 matches they played, making it to the semi-final but losing to Blaketown, who went on to win the competition.
The boys in black and yellow have a fiery but good-spirited rivalry with Marist.

O’Malley said the Grey Valley senior team was originally planning to play Wests in a regular season match on their jubilee weekend, but due to the Hokitika side’s withdrawal for the rest of the season the club was now looking at a past versus present game.

A function will follow at the Ikamatua Hall from 7.30pm.

About 90 people have registered so far, but he is expecting more.
“We’ve got to chase up all the local fellows.”