It might not be the prettiest, but the annual Otago police v Southland police rugby match is a fixture that has stood the test of time.
When Otago police's First XV square off against Southland police's First XV in Dunedin this week, it will be for the 50th year running.
Committee member Sergeant Dave Weir, of Dunedin, said the annual fixture (which used to be called Dunedin police v Invercargill police) had been a "very hard-fought game" for half a century. It had also always been great camaraderie and a great social occasion off the field.
A lot of great rugby players and managers had been involved with the police games over the years, including several representative players, coaches and managers.
The games were probably slight less violent these days than they used to be, said Sgt Weir, who played in the 1970s and '80s.
"If an ordinary member of the public played as violently as we did, they'd be banned. [Those games] were just vicious. Anything went."
Records gave the first official game between the two teams as 1961, although games were played before that. It was a credit to the tradition, that the annual fixture was still going strong, especially given the pressures on police staff these days, he said.
In the early days, all lengths would be gone to to ensure players had time off for the game, and all staff would turn up to watch with their radios turned up in case they were called to an emergency.
These days it was certain a lot of staff would go about their usual business during the matches, not even aware the game was on, he said.
Also, where rugby was the main sport three decades ago, meaning police teams were generally made up of club rugby players, people had a lot more choice in sports these days and there were few club rugby playing officers left.
These days teams were made up of rugby players, soccer players - basically anyone who could handle a ball.
"It's still passionate, but not quite a high quality club game."
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the match, players from across the years had been invited to join the celebrations on Wednesday, which would include a Otago v Southland police netball game at the Edgar Centre and the rugby match at Logan Park, followed by a BBQ.
