A GREAT "LOCK"

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 57, 5 September 1927, Page 9

A GREAT "LOCK"

The death of W. Cunningham at Auckland at the end of last woek, after being in hospital for three days suffering from acute meningitis, removes one of the greatest Eugby "locks" ever possessed by New Zealand. Twenty years ago "Bill" Cunningham was known all over the Dominion aB one of a great Auckland triumvirate—Seeling, Tyler, and Cunningham—who made that province's, pack the most feared in New Zealand. So far as Auckland Eugby is concerned, Cunningham for about fourteen years was an institution as a. centre forward, and he will always be lemembered as a master of scrum tactics. He came into the Auckland team as ono of the Thames brigade in 1899, in company with George Gillett and Dick M'Gregor, to take part in the southern tour that year, when Otago, Wellington, and Taranaki were beaten,, and a draw was played with Canterbury. Cunningham continued to be Auckland's centre forward, and • when the 1905 tour to England was mooted, an endeavour was made to get Bernie Fanning, then at tho end of his career, to _come back. Fanning, however, was long past his prime, and his understudy, Newton, of Canterbury, was selected, but in the team's preliminary tour to Australia, Newton- did not make a success, and before the team sailed for England the selectors yielded to a strong call from the team for another lock, and W. Cunningham was chosen. It proved a happy choice, for with the original All Blacks in Britain the burly forward made a name for himself as a master of scrum tactics that will live in Now Zealand football .history. After the tour he remained the Auckland centre forward till 1914, and played with the Maori team in Australia in 1910. Ho was fifty-two years old when he died, , '_'_' J2_ '■ .'„ "" ','