NOTED MAORI FOOTBALLER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 193, 16 August 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

NOTED MAORI FOOTBALLER

Just returned to Ohaeawai afier a fortnight's refresher course at Narrow Neck, Lieutenant \V. Barclay, of the Northland Independent Mounted Rifles, was one of the greatest Rugby players the native race has produced. Besides touring Australia with the 1922 and 1923 Maori teams, he was skipper of the fine side which lost only seven of its 31 games in France, Encland and Wales in 1926. One of his scoring! feats made his- i tory in Sydnev. for he sained ' four tries on Dr. It. L. Raymond's wing in the final match of the 1922 rubber against New South U'aUi, when the Maoris won 23—22 after being down 22— fi at half-time. Wa 11 er, who played f or Hawke's Bav for i many years, joined the New Zealand State Forestry Service at Maramarua in 19:'7, in which year he was the

cause of the greatest upheaval in Dominion Rugby when Hawke's Bay played liim at Gahvay against Wairarapa. He had lost his residential qualification, and after Hawke's Bav Su f -' beaten Wairarapa in a Ranfurlvj Shield challenge 21—10. an appeal against the playing of Barclay was I upheld and the Bay reluctantly returned the trophy to Masterto'n i Subsequently Barclay was transferred to the Waipoua Kauri Forest and later still to Waitangi, where he resigned several years ago to take' up sheep farming. He marked Jack Steel in 1922, when the Maori team was reassembled to play the New Zealand reps, who had followed the Maoris to Sydney and failed to emulate the natives' performance losing the rubber game B—6. When ' E. A Belliss' men reached Welling-1 ton they beat the Maoris 21 14 bw '■ the losing side was short of several of the star men who had been in the victorious team in N.S.W Walter once wore the blue and white jersev when Auckland beat Wanganui at Eden Park in 1928.