Old Mitchell Day: Big celebrations as CSU reflects on past and future

CSU's Old Mitchell Day will take place at 'The Zoo' this weekend as many former club members roll up to the university grounds to watch the men's sides take on Dubbo Rhinos and the women face the Molong Magpies.

This year is a significant one for the club as it marks 50 years since Mitchell won its first Central West Rugby Union title in 1974.

Two of those watching on this weekend at University Oval will be the last two coaches to bring silverware to the club - Dave Conyers and Peter Nugent.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary since the Bathurst Living Legend won the university's third Central West Rugby Union top grade title, and also five years since he helped lead CSU to their one and only New Holland Cup with a stunning grand final win over the Narromine Gorillas.

It's almost been 20 years as well since Nugent coached the 2005 CSU colts team to their premiership.

There aren't many people around these days who still show such passion for club while not holding an active playing or coaching role, and the pair can't wait for another edition of Old Mitchell Day.

Conyers' two titles have made him a club legend, and even after a wonderful career of coaching spanning across the globe he still loves few things more than coming back to see how his beloved CSU have been faring.

"I think this year's very significant, being 50 years since the club's first premiership with its '74 team, and also 20 since we won the Blowes Cup and five since the New Holland Cup," Conyers said.

"There's probably been a number of minor grade premierships in that time as well, so it's a great chance to reflect on all of that.

"Winning that 2004 Blowes Cup premiership with a bunch of 20-year-olds still remains one of the highlights of my coaching career. Then 2019 was also extraordinary. This is a ground that means a lot to me.

"This day is always one of the highlights of the year. The club also holds its auction, which goes to a good cause, and there's a great social aspect about the whole day."

CSU will be coming into this Saturday's game off a heavy loss to the Mudgee Wombats but prior to that the team picked up its first win of the season against the Parkes Boars.

Though it's been a tough start to the season Conyers said its great to see the club with a sense of direction in 2024.

"I want to make sure the club's going okay. They've been struggling a bit the last couple of years. Mark Campbell and I sometimes come up to help where we can with what they're doing," he said.

"It's so good seeing them with coaches again this year. There's people involved who are driving things a bit better. Hopefully they can keep on building."

Nugent said that Old Mitchell Day isn't just about reflecting on premierships but also about the special connections that club members have built up with one another over the years.

"From my perspective it's a chance to find out what they've done in their life after leaving university. Having been a school principal for so many years and being intimately involved in education it's nice to see what the guys have made of their lives," he said.

"Rugby was just part of that personal development during their time at uni. They really were a good bunch. A lot of players from that [2005] team still keep in contact with me.

"We'll have a lot of gear and memorabilia from that season on display. It was great looking through a lot of that when we were gathering it all and seeing so many names of the characters that once played a big part of my life."