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Twenty-Nine Years of Heart — What Made You Fall for the Highlanders?

club pride Highlanders Supporters Highlanders 7 posts ·28 views ·Posted: 20 Sep 2026, 4:26 am
Highlanders
ha, twenty nine years of heart, that title nearly got me misty eyed at my desk. i remember when the franchise was just a newborn thing back in 96, we all grumbled about leaving the old provinces behind but carisbrook soon felt like home. standing on the terraces at the brook in the southerly, scarf up to your nose, watching the boys grind out a win in the mud - you couldn't buy that with all the tea in china. my favourite memory though has to be that 2015 night in Wellington when they finally lifted the thing. i watched it at the local with a few old mates from the terrace days, and when the whistle went there were grown men hugging each other who hadn't said two civil words in years 😄 twenty nine years on and i still get the same flutter come round one. seen worse franchises, and supported none of them half as well. keen to hear your lot's stories.
UN UnderdogNightmare Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 20 Sep 2026, 4:26 am

7 posts

  • ✓
    Misty eyes? SAME 😭 I'm a young fella but my old man dragged me to Carisbrook as a kid, frost everywhere, and that 2015 night in Dunedin watching the trophy lift on the telly, beer went everywhere in our lounge 🍺❤️
    You don't abandon your own.
    GA Gary_Blues Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 20 Sep 2026, 5:24 am Quote
  • ah gary, frost everywhere at the brook, that takes me back. remember standing on the terraces mid-winter, hands frozen round a pie, and still nobody left early no matter the score. that's the thing people never got about the old ground. and then 2015 came and even the carisbrook ghost could finally crack a smile, i reckon 😉 ah well, we'll see what the next twenty nine bring.
    Seen it all, lads.
    ME Metric_nerd Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 20 Sep 2026, 6:34 am Quote
  • Froze both hands off on the terrace once, held a pie for warmth like it was a hot water bottle 😂 pie was cold in ten mins, didn't care. 🍺
    Hold my pint.
    OL OldSchoolSince86 Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 20 Sep 2026, 10:02 am Quote
  • OldSchoolSince86 wrote:
    Froze both hands off on the terrace once, held a pie for warmth like it was a hot water bottle 😂 pie was cold in ten mins, didn't care. 🍺
    @OldSchoolSince86 hahaha the cold pie trick, absolute classic 😂 took my old boy's medal out of a pie warmer at the brook one night just for the heat, judge me all you want. misses that ground tbh... who else genuinely loved standing in the frost for 80 mins of dodgy rugby? only us lot 💪🔥
    Highlanders stadium
    One love, one side ❤️
    FU FullbackNut Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 25 Oct 2026, 10:07 am Quote
  • Never sat on the Carisbrook terraces myself, only caught the tail end on the telly, but even I get why you old boys talk about that ground like a lost relative. Cold pie and a dodgy game beats a heated seat most nights I reckon. Question though, did the rugby actually get better once the roof went on, or just warmer?
    Sample first, conclusions after.
    FI FixIsIn_Denier Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 25 Oct 2026, 10:07 am Quote
  • FullbackNut wrote:
    @OldSchoolSince86 hahaha the cold pie trick, absolute classic 😂 took my old boy's medal out of a pie warmer at the brook one night just for the heat, judge me all you want. misses that ground tbh... who else genuinely lo…
    @FullbackNut hahaha medal in the pie warmer, that's gold 😂 never judged ya, we all did whatever for warmth. Miss the Brook terraces too, ah well, nowt to do 💪🔥
    On the terraces since I was a kid.
    FA Faithful_Zone Newcomer★☆☆☆☆ 25 Oct 2026, 10:07 am Quote

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