1946 saw the first
Hanan Shield fixture with a 6–9 loss against
South Canterbury. 1962 saw the had North Otago beat the
Australian national team 14–13, and another win against
Southland 19-8. The team narrowly lost to
Otago 14–11. In 1965 North Otago beat
Otago 18–11. In 1971, Kurow's Phil Gard was selected for the
All Blacks, fourth test against the Lions at Eden Park. The 1980s were unsuccessful years as North Otago won very few games. The highlight of the early 1990s was a
Ranfurly Shield challenge in 1993 when
Auckland brought the trophy on tour. The crowd went delirious after 5 minutes when Brent McEwan scored a try from a set move to give North Otago a 5–0 lead. However, the talent of
Auckland then shone through and they scored 139 unanswered points.
John Kirwan scored eight tries. The 1997 season proved to be a fairytale effort with the team having its best season yet in
NPC rugby. The side finished as top qualifier, won its home semi final and went down to in the final. 1998 saw North Otago lose only two of its nine games. North Otago was now winning more games in a season than it used to win in a decade. A lot of the credit for the massive resurgence in North Otago rugby during this period must go to the outstanding coaches, Greg Shipton and Peter Cook.
National Provincial Championship North Otago won the 3rd Division title in 2002 with a 43–19 win against Horowhenua-Kapiti, which took them into the 2nd Division for the 2003 season. North Otago made the 2nd Division semi-finals in 2003, 2004, and 2005 but losing all three. In 2000, Glenn Moore took over the reins with Paddy Stewart. Moore, a former
Mid Canterbury representative, had instant success with the side and only narrowly lost the final against
East Coast 21–25. 2001 looked like North Otago's season, winning all of its seven games. However, in the final it was a disappointing four-point loss to South Canterbury 16–20. 2002 saw the North Otago Rugby Union celebrate its 75th jubilee and it indeed appropriate that in the 75th year of its existence the side should take the third division title beating
Horowhenua 43-19 before an ecstatic crowd. 2003 and the challenges of Division Two was very much a daunting task. However, the team responded magnificently and finished in the top four but lost the semi-final to Hawke's Bay in Napier in controversial circumstances. The highlight of the season was a superb win against Counties-Manukau. 2004 saw North Otago once again playing above its weight making the semi-finals before going down to Nelson Bays.
North Otago 2002 season North Otago lost the 2001 Division 3
NPC final against
South Canterbury. North Otago's first match of the season was a
Hanan Shield match against
Mid Canterbury, winning the game 43–16. For the first match of the 2002 NPC season they played
West Coast, which they won 60–6. North Otago took the Lochore Cup from
South Canterbury, beating them 39-9 despite the opposing team having the home advantage. North Otago then faced
Buller, winning 38–15. North Otago won against
Horowhenua-Kapiti , Wanganui (73-7),
Poverty Bay (49–32),
Wairarapa-Bush (27–14), and
King Country (27–16) leading to them entering the semi-finals against
South Canterbury, which they won 58–10. North Otago's final was against Horowhenua-Kapiti again, which was a home game resulting in a 43–19 win for North Otago and them winning the title.
Heartland Championship In 2007, North Otago won the Meads Cup trophy in the
Heartland Championship, defeating
Wanganui 25–8. They also beat Wanganui in the 2010 final 39–18. All Finals were played at Centennial Park in Oamaru.
North Otago 2007 season In 2006 North Otago lost in the semi-finals of the new
Heartland Championship. But 2007 was a new year and North Otago were focused on making the final. North Otago's first game was against Buller in Oamaru, with North Otago taking it away 51–20. A trip to Gisborne led to a win over Poverty Bay 31–11. North Otago went back home for a
Hanan Shield defence against South Canterbury, continuing their winning streak 26–7. Another home game saw North Otago beating East Coast 38–5. In the next game North Otago went to Wanganui for a 39–16 win. King Country came down to play but they never got in the game and North Otago cruised out to a 52–5 lead. North Otago then lost 7-15 to Wairarapa Bush and 22-25 to Mid-Canterbury. But the season was not over. North Otago had secured a home semi-final and it was against Wairarapa Bush. Last time the teams faced it was Wairarapa Bush who won, but in the semi-final North Otago were stronger and won the match 30–13. So it was into the finals for North Otago. The conditions were perfect and the local Oamaru people had come out in force to wish their team well. North Otago played hard but so did Wanganui. And the game looked like it may have gone Wanganui's way. But North Otago stayed strong to win the
Meads Cup final 25 points to 8.
Hanan Shield The
Hanan Shield is one of the most prestigious trophies in
New Zealand's domestic
rugby union competition. First played for in 1946, the Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played between North Otago,
South Canterbury and
Mid Canterbury. North Otago's best win was in 1997 when they defeated
South Canterbury 20–17 to bring the
Hanan Shield back to North Otago for the first time in 30 years.
Ranfurly Shield Since North Otago were founded they have yet to win the
Ranfurly Shield. They have had the following challenges: • 27 August 1938, Otago 12 North Otago 0 • 28 September 1946, Southland 15 North Otago 3 (halfback Viv Wright kicked a penalty) • 27 September 1947, Otago 42 North Otago 3 (70 metre try to winger Mort Fountain) • 21 August 1971, Canterbury 14 North Otago 0 • 1 September 1973, Marlborough 26 North Otago 9 (Paddy Ford kicked two penalties and Jeff Gardiner a 55-metre field goal) • 31 August 1974, South Canterbury 9 North Otago 3 (Paddy Ford kicked a penalty) • 20 July 1983, Canterbury 88 North Otago 0 • 1 September 1993, Auckland 139 North Otago 5 (Brent McEwan, 1 try) • 8 July 2000, Waikato 95 North Otago 17 (Dean Paterson 1 try, Simon Porter 4 penalties) • 2003, Canterbury 85 North Otago 24 (Campbell Mackenzie, Pila Fifita, Scott Mayhew and Mike Mavor scoring tries, Michael Ruthven and Tevita Asi kicking conversions) • 2008, Auckland 113 North Otago 3 (Nathan Cunningham penalty) • 9 July 2010, Southland 48 North Otago 3 • 2 July 2011, Canterbury 52 North Otago 8 • 26 July 2019, North Otago 14 Otago 49 • 28 August 2020, Canterbury 71 North Otago 7 == Club rugby ==