South Sydney Rabbitohs

Inaugural season: 1908

Home field: Stadium Australia (ANZ Stadium), Sydney, Australia

Owner: Blackcourt League Investments (Russell Crowe, Consolidated Press Holdings)

Team colors: Cardinal red, myrtle green, black, and white

Overview

The South Sydney Rabbitohs is a professional rugby team that plays in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL). Formed in 1908 as the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, the team was one of the founding members of the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL). Although the exact circumstances remain unclear, the club became known informally as the Rabbitohs at some point in its early history and the moniker eventually stuck. After briefly playing in the Australian Rugby League (ARL) in the 1990s, the Rabbitohs joined the NRL in 1998 and, outside of a short exclusion in 2000 and 2001, have remained there since. Since they first began play, the Rabbitohs have cultivated a well-earned reputation as one of the best and most accomplished clubs in all of Australian rugby. Over the course of their decorated history, the Rabbitohs won more than twenty premierships and almost as many minor premierships. The Rabbitohs are also recognized for being the only Australian rugby club to win a premiership in their inaugural season. Majority ownership of the Rabbitohs is held by Blackcourt League Investments, a firm that is itself co-owned by actor Russell Crowe and Australian business magnate James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings. While they have had numerous homes over the years, the Rabbitohs starting playing out of Sydney’s Stadium Australia, which is commercially known as ANZ Stadium, in 2020.

History

Rugby emerged in the early nineteenth century as a variant of traditional English football, which is often better known to North American sports aficionados as soccer. The sport was created at the Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, and was named in honor of that prestigious institution. As in football/soccer, the primary objective of rugby is to score by getting the ball into the opposing team’s goal area. Rugby differs, however, in that players are free to use their hands during play. In addition, opposing players are also allowed to tackle the ball carrier. After first gaining popularity in the British Isles, rugby gradually spread to British colonies like Australia. By the late nineteenth century, the rapidly growing popularity of rugby in Australia led to the formation of numerous amateur teams. Ultimately, a group of Australia’s top rugby players came together in 1908 to form the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), the nation’s first professional rugby league.

During its inaugural season, the NSWRL was composed of nine teams, including the newly formed South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club. Founded at a public meeting that took place at Redfern Town Hall on January 17, 1908, the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club was initially organized to represent the Sydney municipalities of Redfern, Alexandria, Zetland, Waterloo, Mascot, and Botany. In its first match on April 20, 1908, the club marked the beginning of its long legacy of success by defeating North Sydney 11–7. Later that year, the club went on to defeat the Eastern Suburbs, a longtime rival team that eventually became known as the South Sydney Roosters, by a score of 14–12 to claim the first ever NSWRL premiership. In the process, the club also became the first and only team to win a premiership in the inaugural season.

Early on, the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club came to be called the Rabbitohs. The word “rabbitoh” is an archaic term once used in Australia to describe local hawkers who captured rabbits and sold their skins at markets. As a way of attracting the attention of market-goers, these hawkers often shouted “rabbit-oh” while trying to sell their wares. In time, these hawkers became known as rabbitohs. It is not clear exactly how this term came to be associated with the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, but there are several theories. One such theory suggests that some of the club’s players earned extra money on the side working as rabbitohs and allegedly played in jerseys stained with rabbit blood as a result. According to legend, opposing players mocked them for this by performing the “rabbit-oh” cry, which eventually lead to a nickname that stuck. Another theory holds that the Rabbitohs moniker arose because the club played on a field that was strewn with rabbit holes. In any event, the club ultimately became formally known as the Rabbitohs.

On the field, the Rabbitohs quickly emerged as one of the NSWRL’s most dominant clubs. After winning a second straight premiership in 1909 and winning two more in 1914 and 1918, the Rabbitohs entered their first so-called “Golden Era.” Between 1925 and 1932, the club won seven premierships and earned widespread recognition as “The Pride of the League.” After a precipitous downturn in the 1940s brought on by World War II, the Rabbitohs rebounded to enjoy another “Golden Era” in the 1950s. In the first half of that decade, the club won another four premierships and recorded the highest scoring Grand Final win with a historic 42–14 premiership victory over Manly-Warringah in 1951. While the second half of the decade proved much less fruitful, it was in 1959 that the club first adopted a running white rabbit as its official logo.

The Rabbitohs entered their third “Golden Era” in the 1960s. During this period, the club won another four premierships between 1967 and 1971 to bring their total tally to twenty. By the late 1970s, the Rabbitohs found themselves on the decline thanks to the departure of several key players. This downfall marked the beginning of a long period during which the Rabbitohs largely remained out of contention for further premierships. The highlight of the era came when the club managed to claim a minor premiership—a title awarded to the team that finishes first in the regular season standings—in 1989.

Following the dissolution of the NSWRL in 1994, the Rabbitohs eventually found their way to the NRL. At the end of the 1999 season, and in the wake of mergers between other teams, the Rabbitohs failed to meet the NRL’s selection criteria for further competition and were briefly excluded from play. The club ultimately returned to the NRL in 2002. By the 2010s, the Rabbitohs were once again counted among Australian rugby’s most competitive teams. In 2014, the club defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 30–6 in the Grand Final to claim their first premiership in 43 years. Since that time, the Rabbitohs have continued to be one of the NRL’s top contenders.

Notable players

The Rabbitohs’ first great player was winger Harold Horder. A key contributor to the club’s early successes, Horder donned the Rabbitohs’ jersey from 1912 to 1920 and later returned for single final season in 1924. Over the course of his career, Horder notched 102 tries and 71 goals over a total of 89 matches, a record that has led many critics to declare him the greatest winger of all time. Horder also led the Rabbitohs to pair of premierships. He was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2008.

Widely regarded as one of the best rugby players in history, fullback Clive Churchill competed with the Rabbitohs from 1947 to 1958. In addition to recording 13 tries and 77 goals over 157 matches, Churchill led the Rabbitohs to four premierships during his illustrious tenure with the club. When he later returned as the Rabbitohs coach, he steered the club to another four premierships. In recognition of his remarkable accomplishments, Churchill was enshrined as one of the original four Immortals in 1981. He was also inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2002.

Second row prop John Sattler cemented his reputation as one of the toughest players in Rabbitohs history when played through most of the club’s successful 1970 Grand Final match against Manly-Warringah with a broken jaw. Sattler played for the Rabbitohs from 1963 to 1972, notched 12 tries over 197 matches, and led the club to a total of four premierships in that time. He was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2008.

The Rabbitohs’ all-time leading try scorer, second rower Bob McCarthy played with the club from 1963 to 1975 and returned in 1978. Over that period, he recorded 100 tries in 211 matches. McCarthy helped lead the Rabbitohs to three premierships and revolutionized the way second rowers played rugby. He was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2008.

Ron Coote played for the Rabbitohs as a lock from 1964 to 1971 and notched 48 tries over 151 matches during that stretch. He was also a key part of the club’s four premiership victories in the 1960s and 1970s. Coote was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2008.

Prop John O’Neill played two separate stints with the Rabbitohs, first from 1965 to 1971 and later from 1975 to 1976. Over the course of his distinguished career, he recorded 11 tries over 128 matches and helped the Rabbitohs win four premierships. O’Neill was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2008.

Some other notable Rabbitohs players included Jack Rayner, Ian Moir, Bob Grant, Denis Pittard, Elwyn Walters, Paul Sait, and Greg Inglis. In addition, former Rabbitohs prop Jordan Mailata gained international fame when he was drafted as an offensive tackle by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) in 2018.

Bibliography

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Griffiths, Ellie. “A Brief History of Australia’s National Rugby League.” Culture Trip, 14 Dec. 2016, theculturetrip.com/pacific/australia/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-national-rugby-league-australia. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.

“Hall of Fame Inductees.” National Rugby League Hall of Fame, 2020, www.nrl.com/hall-of-fame/players. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.

Mandadakis, Andréa. “The Story of South Sydney.” South Sydney Rabbitohs, 15 Dec. 2018, www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2018/12/15/the-story-of-south-sydney. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.

Ramsay, George. “Sam Burgess Steps Down from Coaching Position with South Sydney Rabbitohs amid Allegations of Domestic Violence and Drug Use.” CNN, 6 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/sport/sam-burgess-south-sydney-rabbitohs-rugby-league-spt-intl/index.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.

Smith, Mike. “Everything You Need to Know About South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL.” Best in Australia, 2020, bestinau.com.au/south-sydney-rabbitohs. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.

“South Sydney Rabbitohs.” Rugby League Project, 2020, www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrfl-1967/south-sydney/summary.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.

“South Sydney Rabbitohs Logo.” 1000 Logos, 2020, 1000logos.net/south-sydney-rabbitohs-logo. Accessed 13 Oct. 2020.