ALL EYES ON TWICKENHAM

Matamata Record, Volume XIX, Issue 1692, 3 January 1936, Page 8

ALL EYES ON TWICKENHAM

ALL BLACKS v. ENGLAND

Historic Home of Rugby Game

Writing to a member of the staff of the Cargill Publishing Company a London journalist and former keen Rugby player who resides at Twickenham, supplies the following interesting facts about the Twickenham ground, the' headquarters of the Rugby game in England, where the All Blacks play their final game of the tour on Saturday, January 4:—

Room for 70,000 Spectators

Twenty-five years ago two big grandstands grew up among the orchards and cabbage-patches on the outskirts of a Thames-side town about a dozen miles from London. The wiseacres shook their heads and said the Rugby game would never attract a crowd big enough to fill the Twickenham ground, where the All Blacks meet the Motherland on January 4. But so abundantly has the optimism of the English Rugby Union been justified that the accommodation for spectators has since been practically doubled! The original stands have now been rebuilt as double-deckers, , another stand added at one end, the terraces greatly extended, and a wide trench dug round the actual playing area to provide ringside seats. There is now room for about 70,000 people, but it is certain that the great match with New Zealand will tax the grounds capacity. In recent years, too, the' Rugby Union has acquired many acres of land surroundingthe enclosure for the purpose of car parks T-a contingency that was hardly foreseen when the: Original* plot was bought. «The King ,at Twickenham . ;i

Another recent addition to the Twickenham ground is. the beautiful main. gateway, which, 'stands, t a memorial to Sir George Rowland Hill, who so staunchly, defended the amateur game iri the , crisis that led to the split with the Northern Union. The King, an old Rugger player, was a regular patron of international matches at Twickenham before his 'illness; f and Ci- :is interesting to - recall In Jubilee Year tKat one of the earliest uses to which the ground was put was that of a rallying-place, for local schoolchildren to coronation ofThej&JMajdSliesl That on wliicn. the present writer; entered, the ground, as one of the schoplhoys ? Re sibill remembers "vividly the' awe with which he. contemplated the vast ;arena~surely the. biggest in the world! •’ ' •' ' Hi4lpry : of 12C|0 Years 4-; While the Rugby ground has a history of only a quarter of a century, |n the British Museum is a . Saxon charter of the year 704 relating to Twickenham, the eaziieat known reference to the place. The charter was the grant of a; portion of land by Suaebread, * King of thb East Saxons, to Wsldow, Bishop of -* London. The boundaries were stated to be “ tamisae” and “ ftaceabuma,” or Thames and Fishbourpe,- the latter stream lutyiig been identified as a tributary of the Thames now known as the River Crane, which flowsneor the Rugby ground. In the < charter «md the endorsements of its witnesses the name of the place is spelled in four differeut ways: tuican hom, tuiccanham, Tuicanham and tuickenham.

Home of Famous Writers

In the cavalcade of twelve hundred years many rich ; and strange characters have halted in the riverside hamlet. At one period it was a “literacy village,” an easy coach ride from the City. Horace Walpole’s sham-Gothic castle still- stands on Strawberry Hill, now enlarged into a college; Pope’s Villa has long since gone, but his remarkable grotto under the road dividing his garden is still to be seen. It was in Pope’s garden that the first' willow tree grew irt ; England. The poet received from Smyrna a bundle of figs in a

willow basket, and a' slip from the basket which he planted on the river bank flourished and became the ancestral stock of every willow that now weeps over English streams. Catherine of Aragon ‘ lived in Twickenham during her divorce troubles, and Francis , Bacon, Sir Godfrey Kneller, J. M. W. Turner, Tennyson and Dickens are 'among the many illustrious people who made their homes in the; little riverside town.

Another Memorable Day

Still retaining its identity as a borough, Twickenham is now being enveloped in the fringe of everspreading London. The ranks of little houses have marched over the big estates and the orchards, and the quiet days are gone for ever. And now Twickenham is looking forward to another memorable day to inscribe in her long story—January 4, 1936, when England meets the third All Blacks touring team.

NEW ZEALAND TEAM’S TOUR

Games Playeid to Date

September 14 —v. Devon and Cornwall, at Devoiiport.—Won, 35 —6. September 19—v. Midland Counties, at Coventry.—Won, 9—3. September 25—v- . Yorkshire and Cumberland, at Bradford. Won, 14—3. . •• . September 25—v. jAbertillery and Cross Keys, at Abertillery. Won, 31—6. . i

September 28 v. Swansea, at Swansea. Lost, 3—ll. October 3—v. Gloucestershire and Somerset, at Bristol. Won, 23 —3. October s—v. Lancashire ana Cheshire, at Birkenhead. Won, 21-—B. October 9—v. Northumberland and Durham, at Gosforth. Won, 10—6. October 12—v. t South of Scotland, at Hawick. > Won, 117-$. vOctober 16 —v. Glasgow and Edinburgh, at Glasgow. ; Won, 9—B. October 19—v. Combined Services, at Aldershot.' Won, ‘ 22—v. Llahelly, at Ll*nelly. Woft;'l6—-8. w October 26—v. Cardiff, at: Cardiff. Won, 20—5. ■ ‘V- /• ;. T ' ■ October 31—v. Newport, cat Newport. Won, - . . November 2 —v. London Counties, at Twickenham. Won, 11—0.. 4 • November 7—v. Oxford University, at Oxford. W0n,..10 —9. November 9—v. Hampshire and Sussex, ih Hampshire. Won, 14—8. November . 14-r-v. . Cambridge University, at Cambridge. ,Won, 25 —5. November 16 v. Leicestershire and East Midlands, at Leicester. Won, 16—5. ’ / ‘ . November 23—v. Scotland, JiHKnn-; burgh. Won, 18—; November North of Scotlandr-, Won, 12—6. November 30—v. Ulster, a,t Belfast. Draw, 3—3. . ;, >'v • ■;]' ■ December 7—v. Ireland, af Dublin. Aberdare. Wan, :*£•; ■ December Nepth and Aberavon. at Aberavon; • Won, 13-e3. • , December 21—v. Wales, at Cardiff. Dost, 12—13* V ■ December 26—v. London Counties, at Twickenham. Won, 24—5. Final Game January 4—v. England, at Twick- - . . .. / /:! ; - • vL: