Reunion of 1940 school Rugby team

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31724, 6 July 1968, Page 11

Reunion of 1940 school Rugby team

rpWENTY-EIGHT years ago the coach of the Christchurch Boys’ High School first fifteen had a premonition that conditions for the annual match against Christ’s College would be wet and greasy.

He decided to prepare his team for the possibility. For three practices before the game he soaked two footballs in the river which runs through the school grounds so that his players could accustom-themselves to kicking and handling a slippery ball. As a variation he had them running on the heaviest strip of wet ground he could find in order that they might learn to keep their feet

His foresight paid off. The ground was treacherously muddy and the ball greasy on the day, but his team won handsomely, 24-9, with a display of handling which surprised even its most ardent supporters. The coach was Mr H. E. Dyer, who, now in his seventieth year, will be guest of honour at the reunion of the 1940 Christchurch Boys’ High

School first fifteen next Wednesday—the day of this season’s match against Christ’s College. Guided by the shrewd tactical mind of Mr Dyer, the team went through the season unbeaten and was undoubtedly one of the finest produced by the school. It will be the first Rugby team from the school to

hold a reunion. The idea for it came from a group of players from the team, mostly teachers, who met regularly within their profession. “We managed to contact everybody in the team, and all except two will be attending,” one of the organisers, Mr R. K. Trollope, the team's full-back, said.

The two who will be missing are A. R. Mummery, who now lives in Brisbane, and K. A. Mackwell, of Hamilton. Others, who will be coming from as far afield as Auckland. and Greymouth, are: Trollope, D. H. James, P. D. Maxwell, J. H. Hadfield, S. R. Richards, F. B. Smith, R. M. Brooke, H. A, Holmes, W. F. Bignell, W. R. Wilkinson, W. R. Seed, F. P. Blackmore, J W. Lundon. Emergencies who will be attending include H. W. Gibson, R. S. Thomson, A. F. Ferguson and M. Livingstone.

The team will attend assembly at the school on Wednesday and the captain, Mr Smith, a former New Zealand cricket representative, and Mr Dyer, a former master at the school, will address the boys. It will watch the school-college match at Straven Road in the afternoon and will later visit the old boys’ clubrooms to meet other old boys. In the'evening, the team will have a reunion dinner with Mr Dyer as its special guest. The greatest asset the team had was its ability to play the passing game, often from impossible situations, Mr Trollope recalled. The backs threw the ball about almost recklessly and the forwards were diligent hunters, he said. Its record was: School matches. Beat Timaru Boys’ High School 16-11, beat St Andrew’s College 24-3, beat Christ’s College 24-9, beat Waitaki Boys’ High School 29-6, beat St Bede's College 21-3, beat Otago Boys’ High School 22-0.

Club matches (third grade B). —Beat University 13-6, beat High School Old Boys 40-11, beat Old Collegians 13-3, beat Collegians 6-3, beat High School Old Boys 27-5, beat University 16-5, beat Training College 19-5.

Strangely enough, no member of the team played for the All Blacks, although several achieved provincial honours. When facetiously asked why this was, its captain, Mr Smith, laughingly replied: “We had more sense than to carry on."