Red Cross’ Gale Turnbull announced at Waratahs Sportsground after the final match on Saturday that the Emus were responsible for saving more lives than Orange City Lions Rugby Club.

Orange City club captain Paul Hepworth pitched the blood donation competition to the clubs in a drive to get more people donating more blood.

“There were a number of people who donated for the first time, which I think is the most rewarding thing for me,” said Mr Hepworth.

“Getting people who hadn’t thought of it before to get onboard was important.”

At the end of the ten-week contest, the Emus players and supporters made 121 donations to the Lions’ 112, to save a total of 699 lives.

“It would’ve been nice to have a win but at the end of the day the community benefited and that was the goal,” said Mr Hepworth.

Orange Emus club captain Matthew Findlay said that while they certainly enjoy beating Orange City in anything, in this case the win's just a bonus.

“It was always about combining forces to make a difference, we just wanted to do everything we could to help a great cause,” said Mr Findlay.

“There'll always be rivalry between our two clubs, but I think we're all aware we can have a really positive impact when we come together so we want to continue doing that in every way possible.”

Mr Findlay said that when Mr Hepworth suggested the competition nobody anticipated such an amazing response.

“It was incredible, I can't speak highly enough of what the clubs, players, supporters and everyone involved have produced,” he said.

“Paul and the Orange City guys deserve a big rap for coming up with it and we're really proud to be involved, and thankful they invited us to be.

“We've already spoken about moving forward. We're hopeful this will become an annual pre-season event now, and we've discussed a few other ideas as well to help other sections of the community.”