Latta was the Otago captain in the early 1990s when rugby was king in the province and the place to be on a Saturday was Carisbrook.
There were many famous wins at Carisbrook in those years - beating North Harbour in extra time in an NPC semifinal in 1992, defeating the Lions in 1993, along with Waikato and Auckland, and then getting the prized scalp of the Springboks the following year.
Latta said the games would live on, long after the ground had closed and teams had moved to the new stadium.
"You can never take your memories away from people. It is part of history. You do not want to dwell on it, but it has got a lot of history," he said.
Latta said that when Otago rugby was on a high, the crowd on Carisbrook was worth much more than 10 points for the home side.
"Just the buzz you got from running on to the field. Seeing the terraces chocker. At that time, the team attracted attention and that attracted supporters. People just wanted to be part of it.
"I used to come up from Balclutha and stay the night at the motel in Mosgiel. Then you'd get in the bus to the ground and when you got over Saddle Hill, you knew whether there was going to be a big crowd or not. You'd get down to Caversham and if the cars were banked up along the road, then you'd know there was a big crowd there."
Latta said the side did not own Carisbrook as such but was just part of a wider fabric.
"There were some fantastic supporters there. Just absolute diehards who made it for what it was. In some ways, we were just the custodians of Carisbrook. Part of the mix. The supporters were a big part of that too.
"You'd always get your heckler who you could hear above everyone else. They'd always make sure you heard about it if you made a mistake. But if you beat yourself up about it, then you'd known they'd won."
Latta said two wins for Otago stood out for him - defeating the Lions in 1993 and the Springboks the following year.
"That Lions game, I don't think they ever rated us. But we always had a belief we could beat them. We knew if we went out and had a crack, played our game, we had a chance.
"Then against the Springboks, we had a shocking start - conceded a try in the first minute from a chargedown. But when we stood by the posts, all we could do was kick off and get into it."
Name: David Latta.
Role: Otago captain.
Favourite Carisbrook memory: The win over the Lions in 1993 and the win over the Springboks the following year.
