Otago Boys' High School celebrates its 150th anniversary this weekend. That is a lot of memories, a fair share of which happened in sport. The Otago Daily Times sports department looks back over some of the school's greatest sporting achievers.
Rugby
A greatest Otago Boys' High School XV.
Fullback: Jock Cuthill (16 games for the All Blacks, including two tests, 1913).
Wings: Russell Watt (42 games, including nine tests, 1957-62) and Dave Morgan (one game, 1923; also New Zealand 440-yards champion).
Midfield: Colin Gilray (one test, 1905; later capped four times for Scotland) and George Dickinson (five games, 1922; also cricket).
First five: Jack Taiaroa (nine games, 1884).
Halfback: Byron Kelleher (57 tests, 1999-2007).
Loose forwards: Richie McCaw (see ''The Superstars''), Rob Roy (Otago) and Ken Stewart (55 games, including 13 tests, 1972-81).
Locks: John Blaikie (Highlanders) and Tom Palmer (England).
Props: Wyatt Crockett (14 tests, 2009-13) and Les George (seven games, including three tests, 1938).
Hooker: Silao Vaisola (Samoa).
Reserves: James Allan, John Burt, Gerald McKellar, Richard Jerram, Robert Black, Duncan Blaikie, Tim Boys, Robert Mathieson, Arthur Holden, Billy Fea, Denny Wise, Donald Stevenson, Tom Webster.
Other internationals: Pelu Pavihi (Samoa), Filipo Levi (Samoa), Roy Radu (Canada), Oscar Iwashita (Japan) and Tim Platt (Scotland).
Coaches: Vic Cavanagh jun and Arthur Marslin.
Referees: Lyndon Macassey, Allan Fleury, Dave Millar (staff), Lindsay McLachlan and Keith Morrison.
NZRU presidents: Donald Stuart, Douglas Spedding, Robert Botting and Charlie Saxton.
Also: Four other All Blacks - Sid Cabot, Norm Wilson, Monty McClymont and Jimmy Duncan - were masters or coaches at Otago Boys'.
Cricket
A greatest Otago Boys' High School XI.
Openers: Hamish Rutherford (five tests, 2013) and Rob Lawson (73 first-class games, 1992-2004).
No 3: Glenn Turner (see ''The Superstars'').
Middle order: Bruce Blair (14 ODIs and 110 first-class games, 1977-90), Wayne Blair (82 first-class games, 1967-91) and Sonny Moloney (three tests, 1937).
Batsman/spin bowler: Lankford Smith (61 first-class games, 1934-57).
Wicketkeeper: George Mills (59 first-class games, 1935-58).
Fast bowlers: George Dickinson (three tests, 1929-32, also rugby), Aaron Gale (52 first-class games, 1989-98, including three New Zealand tour games) and Guy Overton (three tests, 1953-54).
12th men: Sam Wells (37 first-class games, 2007-13, selected in New Zealand test squad) and Robbie Kennedy (four tests and seven ODIs, 1996).
Umpire: Chris Gaffaney.
Also: Ian Billcliff played for Canada. Otago and New Zealand fast bowler and selector Frank Cameron taught at Otago Boys'.
Olympians
1. Len Moorhouse (swimming) Third in 100m backstroke heat in 1928.
2. Harold Nelson (athletics) Sixth in 5000m heat in 1948. Also won gold (six mile) and silver (three) mile at 1950 Commonwealth Games.
3. Lincoln Hurring (swimming) Seventh in 100m backstroke semifinal in 1952. Fifth in 100m backstroke heat in 1956. Also won two silver medals at 1954 Commonwealth Games.
4. Ian Kerr (hockey) Hockey team 1960 and 1964.
5. John Davies (athletics) Bronze in 1500m in 1964. Also won silver in the mile at 1962 Commonwealth Games.
6. Roger Johnson (athletics) Seventh in 400m hurdles semifinal in 1968. Fourth in 400m hurdles heat in 1972. Also competed at three Commonwealth Games.
7. Evan Maguire (athletics) Did not finish 10,000m in 1968.
8. Peter Welsh (athletics) Sixth in heat of 3000m steeplechase in 1968. Also won gold at 1966 Commonwealth Games and captained New Zealand cross-country team at 1967 world championships.
9. Brett Naylor (swimming) Second in 400m freestyle heat and fourth in 1500m freestyle heat in 1976. Also competed in 1974 and 1978 Commonwealth Games.
10. Russell Coutts (yachting) See ''The Superstars''.
11. Andrew Stevenson (rowing) Fourth in eight in 1984. Also won silver and bronze at 1986 Commonwealth Games, and won world title in eight in 1983.
12. Stephen Walsh (athletics) Three fouls in long jump in 1984. Also won bronze at 1982 Commonwealth Games.
13. Robbie Johnston (athletics) Ninth in heat of 5000m in 1992, 12th in heat of 10,000m in 1996. Also ran in 10,000m in 1994 Commonwealth Games.
14. Scott Cameron (swimming) Fifth in heat of 1500m freestyle and third in heat of 4 x 200m freestyle relay in 1996. Also won bronze in relay at 1998 Commonwealth Games.
15. Greg Henderson (cycling) See ''The Superstars''.
16. Glen Thomson (cycling) Seventh in points race in 2000. Also won gold (1998) and bronze (1994) at the Commonwealth Games.
17. Hamish Bond (rowing) See ''The Superstars''.
18. Carl Meyer (rowing) Fifth in coxless four in 2004, fourth in semifinal in 2008. Also won world title in the four in 2007.
19. Cameron Howieson (football) Olympic All Whites in 2012. Playing professionally in England.
20. Hugo Inglis (hockey) Ninth with Black Sticks in 2012. Also won bronze at 2010 Commonwealth Games.
21. Andrew McMillan (swimming) Relay team in 2012. Also competed at 2006 Commonwealth Games. Also led New Zealand surf life-saving team to world title.
Golf
Long-serving Otago Boys' teacher and coach Bill Trewern names his five greatest golfers from the school.
1. Greg Turner - Two New Zealand Open wins and four European Tour wins. Also a member of the President's Cup team which beat the United States in Australia.
2. Mahal Pearce - Last Kiwi to win the New Zealand Open (2003).
3. Ben Gallie - New Zealand amateur champion.
4. Thomas Campbell - US scholarship plus recent win on Dakota Tour.
5. Duncan Croudis - US scholarship, presently at Iowa.
Also: Fourteen Otago Boys' golfers have turned professional during the Trewern era. The school won the New Zealand intercollegiate title in 1991 and 1993. Both teams travelled to St Andrews for the world final. The 1992 team finished fifth and the 1994 team second. Pearce was second in the individual event in 1992.
The superstars
Five of the greatest sportsmen produced by Otago Boys' High School.
1. Richie McCaw (rugby)
Not much more to be said. The peerless openside flanker has played 116 tests - 79 as All Black captain. Probably the greatest All Black.
2. Sir Russell Coutts (yachting)
An Olympic gold medallist and the king of the America's Cup with three different teams.
3. Glenn Turner (cricket)
Master batsman who scored 100 first-class centuries and had two stints as New Zealand coach.
4. Hamish Bond (rowing)
Olympic gold medal, four world titles and more honours certain to come his way.
5. Greg Henderson (cycling)
Won world scratch title in 2004 and has just completed his second Tour de France.
'Prince Charlie'
Charlie Saxton holds a special place in the history of Otago Boys' High School. The talented halfback played seven games (three tests) for the All Blacks in 1938, and captained the 2nd NZEF ''Kiwis'' on their tour of Britain and Europe after the war. He was later an Otago selector and coach, an All Black manager, and a New Zealand Rugby Union councillor and president. Saxton's The ABC of Rugby is regarded as one of the sport's seminal guidebooks. Charles Kesteven Saxton MBE died in Dunedin in 2001, aged 88. When the school adopted a house system last year, Saxton was the only one named after a sporting figure.
Other top achievers
New Zealand hockey representatives have included Brian Turner, Oswald Dey, Neil Dey, Dave Ross, Ross McCormack, Blair Tarrant, Nick Ross and Kane Russell.
Clive Rennie (now the school rector) played one game for the All Whites in 1967.
John McDonald was a member of the Tall Blacks for over a decade, and captain for six years. Other good basketballers to come out of the school include Michael Hurring, Morgan Nathan, Sam King, Tom Rowe and Luke Aston.
Mark Gribben was Otago squash No 1 for years and also a successful coach.
Talented athletes have included Billy Pullar (three-time New Zealand mile champion), Robin Miller (New Zealand walking representative), Robert Sadler (seventh in decathlon, 1978 Commonwealth Games), Michael Johnston (New Zealand junior cross-country and track and field representative) and Tom Davie (New Zealand triple jump champion and record holder).
Lawn bowler Ian Dickison won gold in the singles at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, and a gold (triples) and silver (fours) at World Bowls in 1988. Other top bowlers have included Stewart McConnell, Duncan McConnell, Kevin Wing, Mike Kernahan and Paul Girdler.
Barry Becker and father-and-son combination Richard and Elliot Morgan were leading curlers.
Jonas Lobitz (2009 head boy) is a hang-gliding champion.
John Irvine won a world youth yachting title.
Iain Ansell, Stephen Mellsop, Ron Curtis and Quintin Smith were New Zealand water polo representatives.
Ricky, Stefan and Graeme Laing, sons of the great swimming coach Duncan Laing, were all New Zealand surf life-saving representatives.
Ben Koons competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Ricki Cockerill won seven consecutive New Zealand figure skating titles.
Carl Dickel played cricket for Otago and coached both the Otago Nuggets and the Tall Ferns in basketball.
Other national swimming representatives have included Martin Craig (also water polo), Ian Bullock and Roman Novak.
