🐇 Clive Churchill, AM | Rabbitohs Coach #11
Full Name: Clive Bernard Churchill
Nickname: The Little Master
Born: 21/1/1927 at Mereweather (Newcastle), NSW
Died: 9/8/1985 at Camperdown (Sydney), NSW [aged 58]
Club Playing Career: South Sydney 1947-58 (premierships in 1950-51 and 1953-55); Norths Brisbane 1959 (premiers); Moree 1960-61
Representative Playing Career: Australia 1948-56 (37 Tests/WC games and 49 tour games, seven tries, 49 goals, one field goal, 105 points – Captain in 27 Tests/WC games and 32 tour games); NSW 1948-55 and 1957 (38 games, five tries, 24 goals, one field goal, 69 points – Captain in 27 games); City 1948 and 1956; City Firsts 1949-55; City Seconds 1948; Possibles 1948; Kangaroos 1953; Australasia 1954; Australian XIII 1951; Sydney 1952
Club Coaching Career: South Sydney 1958 and 1967-76 (premierships in 1967-68 and 1970-71); Norths Brisbane 1959 (premiers); Moree 1960-61; Canterbury-Bankstown 1963-64; Easts Brisbane 1965-66
Representative Coaching Career: Australia 1952-53, 1959 and 1963; NSW 1952-53; Sydney 1953; Kangaroos 1953; Brisbane 1959; Queensland 1959; City Firsts 1960; City Seconds 1960; Gold Coast 1978
Awards and Accolades: Rabbitohs premiership winner 1950-51 and 1953-55; E.E. Christensen RL Yearbook Player of the Year 1949-50, 1952 and 1952; Sunday Herald Best and Fairest 1952; Sunday Telegraph Player/Star of the Year 1952-57; Claude Corbett Trophy (awarded to winning captain of Third Test v Great Britain) 1954; Grand Final Man of the match (Clive Churchill medal) 1954; Rabbitohs Life Membership (Inductee No. 4) 1961; Rabbitohs premiership winner as a Coach 1967-68 and 1970-71; Immortal (amongst the first four to be picked) 1981; Member of the Order of Australia (AM) 1985; Sport Australia Hall of Fame 1985; Clive Churchill Stand at Sydney Cricket Ground (named after him) 1986; Clive Churchill Medal (named after him) 1986; RLW Top 100 Players of All-time (Ranked No. 1) 1992; Rabbitohs Dream Team (as a Fullback) 1992; NRL Hall of Fame (Inductee No. 43) 2002; International Rugby League Hall of Fame 2002; Australian Team of the Century (as a Fullback) 2008; NSW Team of the Century (as a Fullback) 2008; NSW Country Team of the Century (as a Fullback) 2008; NSWRL Hall of Fame 2017
Administrative Career: Rabbitohs Club Selector 1954; NSWRL Metropolitan Selection Committee 1962; NSWRL State Selection Committee 1962
‘The Little Master’ is still regarded by many to be the best player ever in the Greatest Game of All. His attacking flair as a player is credited with changing the role of the fullback. He was just as effective in defence, consistently chopping down opponents more than twice his size and acting as a great cover defender. He had great hands and was a daredevil on the field - he used to take a lot of risks. This was particularly impressive considering he stood at just 176 centimetres tall and weighed less than 80 kilograms throughout his playing career.
"He set the standard by which all the famous rugby league players of his era, and since, will be assessed," wrote renowned league writer Tom Goodman. Churchill got his nickname from Ray Stehr. "I never saw Dally Messenger ('The Master') play," said Stehr. "But I have seen the Little Master."
In September 1950, he won his first premiership at the Rabbitohs and then played in the next four grand finals for the club, winning all except the controversial 1952 grand final. There were claims made that Wests scored two tries from forward passes and that the Rabbitohs had two fair tries disallowed. Jack Rayner later said they were not allowed to win and he never spoke to the referee again. Churchill missed the 1955 grand final after breaking his wrist in round 17 against Manly, which remains one of the most legendary efforts in the Greatest Game of All. He heard his arm snap when he made a courageous tackle early in the first half. At half-time he was given a pain killer and his arm was wrapped in a cardboard cover from an exercise book. With his arm hanging limply by his side, Churchill kicked the last goal of the match to seal victory over Manly by nine-points-to-seven. What the Rabbitohs achieved in season 1955 has been called “The Miracle of 1955”. They had to win 11 sudden-death matches to claim their sixteenth premiership.
His successful coaching career commenced in 1958 when he took over from Jack Rayner as captain-coach of Souths. In 1959, Churchill took on a captain-coaching role with Brisbane Norths, who won their first premiership under his leadership since 1950 after defeating Brothers 24-18 in the grand final. He also captain-coached Brisbane and Queensland against the touring New Zealand Kiwis side in 1959. From there he went on to captain-coach Moree in 1960-61, as well as coaching City Firsts and Seconds, Sydney, NSW and Australia, all in 1960.
He coached Canterbury-Bankstown in 1963-64 and Easts Brisbane in 1965-66 with moderate success. But all that was to change when he came back to coach Souths in his second stint in 1967. Over the next five seasons the Rabbitohs qualified for all five grand finals, only beaten in the 1969 controversial decider against Balmain, where the Tigers feigned injuries to stop Souths from playing their free-flowing game. By 1975 the club had lost so many of their star players to other clubs and after experiencing many financial difficulties their performances fell away also, and as a result, Churchill’s reign as coach came to an end in 1975, when he resigned late in the season after a bleak year. He came back in 1978 to coach Ipswich before retiring completely from the game.
In January 1982, he was seriously injured when his liquor shop was robbed at Randwick, and in December 1984 he was hospitalised with cancer. In May that year about $50,000 was raised for his family at a packed testimonial dinner. The following month he was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. He died in 1985 at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, aged 58, with several thousand people attending his funeral at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney's Central Business District. His legacy is remembered by the naming of the ‘Clive Churchill Stand’ at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and the awarding of the ‘Clive Churchill Medal’ to the best player in the grand final.
