Clive Churchill ‘The Little Master’

Clive Churchill ‘The Little Master’

1985 – 40 Years Ago

40 years! It seems like just yesterday. Season 1985 was not the very best one for South Sydney although they had some great players.

1985 will also forever be remembered as the year that one of our greatest Rabbitohs passed away, Clive Churchill.

1984 had been a wonderful season. The Rabbitohs made the semis and won what was one of the best ever finals games. 1986 would see South Sydney return once again to the semis.

In 1985, Souths only won 10 games although some of those were unquestionable beauties.

Goodbye Little Master

Unfortunately, 1985 was notable for the passing of the greatest rugby league player of all time, Clive Churchill also known as ‘The Little Master’.

Clive had developed cancer and it was taking its toll.

The club and rugby league identities recognized this and rallied around him.

There was a lovely testimonial for him. Clive showed that he had lost none of his humour. He talked about a new Irish mate he had made and went to visit regularly. His name was Clem O’Therapy.

The Chess Player

Brilliant chess players plan game winning strategies many moves ahead.

I once met the son of a player who was a winger for Souths in about 1956, Kevin Turner.

Now the story went that Clive told Kevin to be running at full pace at a particular spot in three tackles. Kevin did so and sure enough a ball was delivered by Clive to his chest. Kevin raced away to score. Check mate!

South Sydney Career

From 1947 till 1958 Clive Churchill played 158 games for South Sydney.

This included four premiership winning teams. Often Churchill was the difference between success and failure.

The Broken Arm

Funnily enough, the game that Churchill will be remembered the most was not a grand final or even a test match. It was an ‘ordinary’ game in 1955 against Manly.

Souths had started the season 1955 badly and needed to win this game to have any chance of making the semis. During the game Clive broke his arm. He refused to leave the field. At the death he set up a try and then kicked the goal for a famous victory.

End Of Playing Career

In 1958 Churchill ended his playing career with Souths. Before he left though he had one last big game in the semifinal of 1957 against Wests.

Representative Career

Clive had a long and distinguished representative career. He played for Australia 38 times. He commanded the respect of all national teams.

A New Career

Clive Churchill played on for a few more years in Queensland. He then moved onto a coaching career. In 1966 Souths were struggling after a good season the year before. A new coach was needed, and Churchill was the man.

He took on the team in 1967 and had an immediate effect.

Success Again

Churchill coached South Sydney from 1967 till 1975. In that time, he won 136 games with 4 premierships, one runner-up medal, two preseasons, and two other semifinal appearances. All in all, a grand record.

Added to this in 1968 he won an Australian Club Championship.

A Great Team

A lot of people dismiss Churchill’s record when great coaches are mentioned. This is because they say that his job was easy as he had such a big number of star players.

While this is true, a lot of other teams such as Manly, Saints, Balmain and Easts had wonderful squads. Churchill, however, just had the right touch.

He got the best out all the players he ever coached. Clive said they don’t need to be coached so much as kept in the mood. Surely this is a sign of excellence as a coach.

Articles

As well as being the coach of South Sydney, Clive used to write articles in magazines and newspapers on a regular basis. His articles were very popular.

The End

All good things come an end. Clive’s coaching career ended with Souths in 1975.

The Last Word

The last word should go to the club itself. This is the epitaph for Clive after his passing from the annual report of 1985. I think it sums up Clive very well. He was the best ever player for South Sydney and indeed the best player in any rugby league team anywhere. He was also an outstanding coach.

Clive Churchill ‘The Little Master’ by Mark Emery for Bunnies TV.