GREAT DAYS IN RUGBY

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 20 June 1931, Page 10

GREAT DAYS IN RUGBY

MEMORIES OF FAMOUS PLAYERS REVIVAL OF INTER-ISLAND GAME FIXTURES PLAYED SINCE 1897. Great memories of some great games and. some great players will be rei-aueu tins season by tne revival ol tile -NorHi island v, Soutff Island ltugoy match,• to be played m \\ ejlingtpn on .august Jo. Since the first, played, in Wellington on June JO, lb9v, there have been 25 oi these contests, which rank m this country, as second only in importance to the international games piajetl w'lth visiting overseas comoinations. Nine matches hare been won by the South Island to 14 wins by the No’th, and two have been drawn. After the first game there \>ts not another till 1902, but then the mutch was maintained as an annual pt.e till the Great War broke out. in 1919 it was played again, and there was not another break till last season, a ben it was considered that, with uial games interprovincial matches, and the matches with the British team, the programme of “big” Rugby was so overcrowded that it was not worth while playing the inter-island game. The first match was a fine one, won by the North by 16 points to three. Wellington contributed six players to ! the winning team, Auckland four, and Taranaki four. These three provinces were about the most powerful in the country at this time. In this year Wellington beat Canterbury at Christchurch by four points to nil; in the following season Auckland beat Canterbury, at Auckland, by 24 point* to 3; and the year after that Taranaki beat Canterbury, at Christchurch, by 5 points to 3. Old-timers will be sure to sav there have never since been such line players as those who strove for mastery in that great gamp that day. In tne North team were : E. Allen, A. Bayly, H. Mills, and A. E. Humplmeis' (Taranaki), W, Roberts, Tom Pauling, W. McKenzie, W. Hardcastle, F. A. Laws ancl J. Caiman (Wellington), R. A. Handcock. F. S : . Murray, Alex. "Wilson, and G. W. Smith (Aucldand), and J. Blair (Wanganui). “Offside” McKenzie was one of the greatest of the early wing-forwards, and a brother of Ted, Norman, and Bert McKenzie, who have since become famous as selectors and referees. Alf Bayly was one of the great Taranaki family of footballers, whose deeds are still talked of under the shade of lylt. E'gmont. The South Island team was: A. M. Armit,. J. Duncan, W. Harris, P. J. PTiest, W. Smith, It. J. Stewart, D. McLaren, and T. Wood (Otago), B. Fanning, J. Brooker, E. Glennie, A. R. Johnstone, and Sid 'Orchard (Canterbury), AY. Rhodes (Buller), and A. Benjamin (West Coast). Bernard Fanning, the “Village Blacksmith” was one of the greatest of the early lock-forwards. He played for Canterbury in 1895-97-98-99 end--1900-01-02-03-04, and New Zealand in 1903 and 1904. Not his, least claim to fame was that he could strike matches on the palm of his hands —a most useful accomplishment when a team is touring! EL Glennie and Sid Orchard both represented New Zealand in 1896-97, and E. Brooker did to in the latter year. 1

There was a lapse of five years before the next game, also played at Wellington, and won by the South Island this time, by 20 points to 14. The South Island won again next year, at Auckland, by 12 points to five, but in the following year, at Dunedin, one of the two draws of the series eventuated, the score being three points each. Canterbury contributed a goodly proportion of the players to these teams A. Bruns den, R. J. Cooke, T. Cross, ,B. G. Deans, W. Duggan, E. T. Harper, P. Harvey, J. Lavery, D. McGregor, 11. D. Thompson, S. Turtill and M. E. Wood appearing in the white jersey in one or more games. Several of these men became prominent in higher spheres later. Morrie Wood, who played for Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, and Wellington in his time, also represented New Zealand and some good judges class him as one of the cleverest inside backs this country has ever had. He captained the South in the two games it won. R. G. Deans, E. T. Harper and D. McGregor became famous later as members of the original All Blacks to tour Great Britain. Peter Harvey, who played in 1902-03 is now one of the selectors of Canterbury representative teams.

The North won the next two games. Then the South won a couple in succession, and the North took the honours in two more. The last of these, in. 1912, was 'played in Napier, the only occasion on which this fixture had lip to then been taken away, from one of the four centres. An opposition cod© had started in Hawke’s Bay just at this time, and the inter-island game was played there to counteract its influence. W. Maxwell, in later years a New Zealand selector, was one of the Canterbury men in the South Island team this year. “Paddy” Burns, of Canterbury, was captain, the fourth time he had acted in this capacity, a record not equalled by any other South Isand player before or since. It was the turn of the South again in 1913, when the game was played in Christchurch, and it won by 25 points to nil, only one point behind what was then record score, established by the North at Wellington in 1904. Tlie late< J. F. Peake, for many years secretary to the New Zealand Cricket Council, was the referee of this game. The South won again next year, by eight points to nil, and then the sterner gam© overseas occupied attention for five seasons. The post-war period has been one of almost consistent superiority for the North, the South winning only three of the 11 games played since 1919, though that of 1923 was drawn. Up to the present, the North, in winning 14 out of 25 games, has piled up 500 points against 261. But there have been some wonderful matches and some great personal performances over the 30-odd years that the contests have been going. The two draws were, of course, great struggles. That at Dunedin in 1904 resulted three-all, Duncan McGregor scoring the South’s try and T. Learmont the North’s try. In 1923. at Wellington, two Maori players, Jimmy

Mill and Theo Peina, scored tries for the North and I*'. Snodgrass and Ron. Stewart scored for the South. The North gave a magnificent display in winning by 26 points to nil at Wellington in 1905, players who were later included in the 1905 All Blacks showing great form. H. D. Thompson scored two tries, and W. S. Glenn, J. Hunter, A. Johnson and G. W. Smith one each, W. J.. Wallace converting four.

When the South replied with a 25-0 score at Christchurch in 1913, T. W. Lynch, South Canterbury three-quar-ter. scored three tries, and J. E. Cutliill, J. MeNeece and P, Williams one each, Cut-hill converted one and goaled from a mark.

The North’s greatest and most surprising win was undoubtedly that of 1924, at Wellington, when it defeated what looked like a strong South team by 39 points to eight. A. E. Cooke, then a rising star, was in wonderful form that day, and the speedy A. 11. Hart, on the right wing, had a great time as a result of the openings the fair-headed will-o'-the-wisp murky for him. The Taranaki flyer scored three tries and Mprri© Brownlie got two. But the great hero was George Nepia, who had on© of his wonderful days. He could do nothing wrong, and converted five tries, kicked a penalty goal, and potted a goal. Hart also potted a goal. The South’s pack included such men as “Son” White, Jock Riebardsan, Read Masters, Ron Stewart, Brian McCleary and “Baldy” Munro, but tile backs were in and out, so that Bert Cooke.. Mark Nicholls,’ Jimmy Mill, and Gus Hart simply tore through. The one redeeming feature of the South’s back play was the great defence of Neil McGregor. The most remarkable match of all

was probably that of 1927, in Wellington. The New Zealand team to tour South Africa was being chosen at this time, and the players were all anxious to catch the eyes of the selectors. Hence the forwards did next to no

work in the tight and the backs declared defensive play “black.” With one accord the members of both teams set ut to “shine,” and certainly succeeded. The final score was 31 points t<> 30 in favour of the South, at ter the advantage had see-sawed from one team to the other.

The character of the play is illustrated to some extent by the fact that Jack Swain. a hooker, scored three tries for the North, a feat never equalled by any other forward in these matches. He said afterward that all he did was to keep close to Morri© Brownlie and turn to account the openings that, great forward made! “Tuna” Swain’s performance draws attention to some of the great _ personal triumphs that have been achieved in these games. A. H. “Gus” Hart, Taranaki three-quarter, scored three tries in 1924, and Tom Lynch, a South Canterbury winger, did so in 1913. Frank Fryer, Canterbury three-quarter, accomplished the same feat in 1909, and I>. McGregor attained the distinction of being the first to do so, in 1902.

The record for points scored in one day, though goes to Mark Nicholls who got 20 points off his boot in 1926 — four conversions and four penalty goals. George Nepia’s tally of 17 points in 1924 stands next.

Two. players who achieved great records for the South Island were Canterbury men—Paddy Burns and “Doddie” Gray both of whom wore six different caps. Burns represented the South Island in 1906-07-08-09-11-12 : and Gray did so in 1908-09-10-11-12-13. Jack Steel represented the South Island seven times in 1919-20-21-22-23-24-25.

Three men have repreiseirteid the North six times Morrie Brownlie (forward) Teddy Roberts (half-back), and Ranji Wilson (forward) sharing the distinction, Brownlie played in 1922-23 -24-25-26-27. Roberts in 1910-12-13-14-19-20, and Wilson in 1901-08-11-12-13-14.

Some men have achieved unexpected honours. In 1904, for instance, Charlie Seeling and G. W. Nicholson, Auckland forwards, could not get to Dunedin in time for the game, and so two Otago men, J. R. Abbott and J. Mitchell, were pressed into service in the North team.

In 1902 Peter Harvey was injured, and his place in the South team was taken hv F. Roberts, pf Wellington. Something similar happened in Auckland in 1922, when Jack Steel was hurt, Ces Badeley, of Auckland, going on.

These players, by these unexpected tricks of fortune, played for islands in which thev had never lived. Others, of course, played for different islands at different times, depending on where they happened to he residing. W. Klvy, Canterbury three-quarter, played for the South in 1920, and then represented the North in 1929, when lie was living in Wellington. L. K. Heazlewood played as full-back lor the South iu 1927, when ho was an Otago player, and then for the North in 1929, when he was in Wellington. P. J. Burns held the distinction of captaining the South in four different years, and Jimmie Hunter and Cliff Porter each led the North four times too. The Taranaki live-eighth improved on the records of the other two, for he led his side to success each time. J. F. Peake was referee in the 1913 ancl 1921 matches, and A. Wiliams m the 1912 and 1919 ones. E. McKenzie controlled th e 1909 match, and in 192/ his brother, H. J, McKenzie, was m command. . Five of the games have been played at Lancaster Park, the South winning those of 1910, 1913, and 1928, and | the North those of 1907 and 1921. 1 Most meetings have been in Wellington, and the only two outside the four centres have been those at Naipior m 1912, and at Invercargill in 1925.