A wonderful afternoon was recently had by all who attended the Sydney High School rugby championship reunion. The event saw almost 100 guests join together at Coogee Diggers for a great catch-up to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of High last winning the GPS 1st XV rugby premiership in 1973, along with the previous victories in 1971 & 1972. The event was organised by Paul Arena, Geoff Stein & Paul Kofod and was a great success. The highlights of the event were the attendance of the "heroes of '63", four members of the GPS premiership team from a decade earlier, as well as the coach from 1972 & 73, Norm Blacklock, and his wife Mary.

Some comments from those who attended included:

"It was a special day and reinforced to me the value & warmth of the High family".

"Just a short note to say many thanks to you both (Geoff/Paul) for your perseverance and resolve in arranging what turned out to be a very special SHOB's reunion. Your efforts in organising the reunion were very much appreciated by all those fortunate enough to attend,so again many thanks for what was truly a really special day. And a special thank you to all those who made a big travel effort to attend from both interstate and overseas ,that was pretty impressive and appreciated and I'm sure well worth the effort. 

All the best and hopefully we can catch up again inside another 50 years!"

"Thanks Paul & Geoff for a great reunion. Fantastic turn-up. Really enjoyable."

"Thanks so much to both Paul and Geoff. It was a fabulous day, made all the better for the presence of both Norm and Mary, also the attendance of the four men from the 63 side. So good to hear their stories, and to let them appreciate how important the 63 side was to the 71 side in terms of emulating their success."

"Many thanks to Geoff and the Paul(s) for organising and to the Diggers for hosting. Great to catch up with so many 'long-haired gits' and wonderful to have Norm and Mary, as well as the heros of '63 there."

"Geoff and Paul, the previous comments have said it all but I also wanted to also thank you so much for the effort you (and anybody else involved) made to make the reunion the special day that it was. 50 years ! Do you believe it ???

What a great school we attended and what a privilege it is to be part of what we experienced. Thank you again for your efforts to help us hold on to those wonderful memories"

For those wishing to read more on the 1971-73 'Three-Peat', it can be found here:

https://www.shsobu.org.au/news/general/42/42-The-Fifty-Year-Anniversary-of-Highs-Rugby-Three-peat-of-1971-