TO exist for 100 years is something worth celebrating.

Since being founded in 1923, Trinidad Northern Football Club has done more than existing and has done more than its fair share of promoting rugby, excellence and professionalism on the national landscape.

Kenneth Moss, 86, who has been a member of the Trinidad Northern Rugby Club for more than 60 years, reflected on the club’s early years, saying that the decade of the 1960s was a time when Northern ruled local rugby as the national team was always filled with their players. Moss, who joined the club in 1960, has been involved in the sport in many facets.

“I played from 1960–1970, then I refereed for about 20 years after that...I captained the club, then I became president of the (local) union, then I became president of the Caribbean Rugby Union for quite a while as well.”

[caption id="attachment_1046888" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A rugby jersey of a Trinidad Northern player who passed away on the field. The jerseys of deceased players David d'Abadie and Jose Betancourt are mounted at the clubhouse. - Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]

Moss remembered when rugby was not played by Trinidadians and was there to witness the growth of the sport.

“You have to remember that rugby was not a local sport. Rugby was mainly played by expats and guys who were sent to England, but they learned their rugby and when they came back across they wanted to continue playing.”

During the second World War, from 1939–1945, Moss said, Northern fell apart. Many future Northern players later represented Caribs Rugby Football Club, but in 1960 Northern was revived, and a rivalry born.

“I joined the club (Northern) in 1960. During the second world war there was little rugby in Trinidad, so the Northern rugby club disappeared for a while. Anybody playing rugby in Port of Spain would be playing for Caribs.

“In 1960, we found we had too many players playing with Caribs, so they decided they would split and Northern would be re-formed as a rugby club.”

Caribs fielded two teams in the local competitions prior to the 1960s. “When they started playing...they had the first team and the second team, and the second team would still be beating the clubs from down South,” Moss said.

QUALITY PLAYERS OVER THE YEARS

Moss, a former national player, said the TT rugby team in the 1960s were made up mostly of Northern’s players. “The first (TT) game I went to in Jamaica, I think of the 15 guys on the field, ten of them were Northern. That would be 1961.

[caption id="attachment_1046887" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Photos of players who passed away on display at Trinidad Northern Rugby Football Club clubhouse. - Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]

“Northern were a powerhouse in those days. From 1960 to about 1967, Northern were the team, the best team in Trinidad. They had an official league and Northern would be on top of it for most of that period.”

The club has a rich history, producing outstanding players over the years. Moss said players like Ryan Bennett, Peter Farinha, David Farfa