Fifty years after making Bay of Plenty rugby history, the surviving members of the province’s 1976 championship-winning team are preparing to come together again – possibly for the final time.

The reunion will take place at Tauranga Domain tomorrow, September 5, when the Bay of Plenty Steamers host Manawatū in a Heritage Round clash.

About 11 surviving members of the 1976 side were expected to attend, along with former All Blacks from the era. The 1976 team won Bay of Plenty’s first and only National Provincial Championship (NPC).

Former All Blacks captains Graeme Crossman and Andy Leslie helped organise the reunion.

Crossman, a Bay of Plenty Rugby Union patron, captained the Bay of Plenty side for much of his playing career. He was selected for the All Blacks from 1974 to 1976 and was on the All Blacks’ three-month South African tour when the Bay side won the championship.

Milestones

This year also marked 50 years since that All Blacks tour, with about 17 surviving members of the wider group expected to also gather in Tauranga this weekend.

“It’s the 50th year and it coincides with the All Blacks playing the third test next weekend in South Africa,” Crossman said.

He said the former All Blacks also wanted to acknowledge the achievement of the Bay team.

“Those All Blacks who remain and can attend are going to go to the game on Saturday and applaud the Bay of Plenty team,” he said.

Bay of Plenty Steamers head coach Richard Watt (far right) with the surviving members of the 1976 championship-winning side, who will be reuniting at the home game at Tauranga Domain on September 5. Photo / Bay of Plenty Rugby Union

Barry Spry, a 1976 Bay team member, said the reunion would be particularly poignant after 50 years.

“Unfortunately, 11 guys are gone and there’s 11 coming to the reunion,” he said.

“It’s just so sad that it’s only a small contingent now and this will be our last time together possibly.”

The 1976 Bay side was a relatively small operation by today’s standards. Coach Eric Anderson selected a squad of 23 players, but only 19 were used in the championship campaign.

Their triumph also helped launch several Bay players’ international careers.

“From our success in ′76, four of our backs then got selected to tour Argentina,” Spry said.

“That was the start of the Graham Mourie/Andy Hayden era. So technically, we had six All Blacks in Bay of Plenty that year.”

The official photo of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union's senior representatives in 1976, when they were the winners of the inaugural National Provincial Championship. Photo / NPC50

Tomorrow’s celebrations would include a luncheon for the 1976 Bay of Plenty and All Blacks teams’ surviving members and their families before watching the game at Tauranga Domain. The 1976 players would also form a guard of honour for the Steamers.

The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union has produced a special heritage jersey featuring the names of the 1976 squad.

Crossman said it was important the players who won the championship received the recognition they deserved. “I don’t want the guys who played in the team 50 years ago to be forgotten.”

Double-header

The Bay of Plenty-Manawatū game kicks off at 2.05pm, with the Bay of Plenty Volcanix taking on Canterbury at 11.35am as part of a double-header.

Steamers head coach Richard Watt said his team were looking forward to returning to Tauranga after their recent 22-19 win over Auckland at Eden Park.

“It’s awesome that it’s Heritage Week because we’ve themed our NPC campaign honouring the legacy of the 1976 team,” Watt said.

“We are chasing the championship hard on the 50th anniversary of that great milestone.”

The Steamers sit sixth after five matches, chasing a second NPC title exactly 50 years after the first.