RUGBY PIONEERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 985, 30 May 1930, Page 9

RUGBY PIONEERS

THE N.Z. NATIVES’ TEAM OF 1888

THREE MATCHES A WEEK!

By T. P. McLEAN. While the British Rugby team is now \ touring New Zealand, it is not out of place to glance back at the doings of the first Rugby football team which ever left New Zealand. This team, which is now known as the 1888 native team, was, without the shadow of a doubt, a wonderful combination. It played 108 matches* altogether, in England, Ireland, Scot land and Wales, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand, 74 matches being played in the United Kingdom. The team succeeded ill winning SO' games, lost 23 and five matches were drawn. Ono might think that to have won only SO out of 108 games was not a very wonderful record. But that is wrong. The team played the 74 matches in the United Kingdom within a period of six months, often playing four matches a week, though three was the usual number. On the tour of the All Blacks in 1924 George Nepia, the Maori fullback, put up a wonderful performance by playing in all 30 matches. But is not the teat of R. D, Gage more wonderful? He played in 68 out of the 74 matches in Great Britain.

Gag© played at fullback, wing- three* Quarter or half equally well. He came : home when the team landed in Melbourne owing to the illness of a relaj live. On looking through the list of the i names, one is struck by the many | players who have become famous. For instance, there are Pat Keogh, rated | as one of the champion halfbacks of the world, and Tom Ellison, who was the first to play wing-forward. Indeed, ; it was he who invented that style of • ; play, but it was not until after the I tour that he put it into practice. Then there was Joe Warbrick, who j won his representative colours when ‘ he was 15 years old; G. A. Williams, | whose son played for the Oriental Ulub i in Wellington two or three years ago i and who is now in th© Royal Air ! Force;. H. J. Wynyard, who went to j England on his own account and | j joined the team at Newcastle (he proved to be a great halfback and played for tlic Petone Club in Wellington); Ihimaira (“the Smiler”), who was known, not so much for his football ability, as for his personality. There are others of the team who have not been mentioned, but those who have been were probably the best. The full complement of the team was 26 playing members. However, there were usually five or six. at least, down with injuries, so that the tour was by no means a soft one. Two or three of the Maori members of the team died after the tour from consumption. The team played international • matches against Ireland. England and Wales. Of these the match against Ireland was von and the team was decisively beaten in the matches with Wales and England. MAORI MATS DISCARDED It is interesting to note that in the first match against Surrey at Richmond on October 3, 1888, the team appeared in Maori mats and gave its war-cry— j “Ake Ake, Kia Kali a, etc.”—but owing to adverse criticism by the English j Press, the mats were discarded. | The team touched in at Australia on | the way back and played severe.’ ] matches there. It arrived back < n , New Zealand on August 5, and had only i 14 men fit to play against Southland on August 7. The last match of the tour waa played against Auckland. There was j ! just th© bare fifteen players remaini ing and they were so pleased to be j home that they celebrated, with the* | result that they were not in a fit state to play. Auckland won b\’ seven points to two. Thus concluded a memorable tour. The total of 108 matches was played between July, 1888. and August, ISS9, : out of which about four months w ere spent in travelling, so that the average all through was about three matches a ! week. THE LOWRY TRADITION The name of Lowry is wellknown and appreciated in all parts of New Zealand. “Tom” Lowry during the last few years has kept it prominently before a sport-lov-ing public as captain of New Zealand and Wellington provincial cricket teams. Now comes his brother, R. H. Lowry, who is making a name for himself in winter sport. Last week he played as front-rank forward for the Wanganui team in the opening match against the British touring fifteen, and bore himself exceedingly well. In 1923 he played for Cambridge U niversity.

Hawera. Xelson. Taranaki. Napier. Hawke’s Bay, Christchurch. JW'ellington. and Gfebome. while Hr. P. McEvedy. Colonel K. .T. Deere, Messr,-. E. A. Dawson, H. R. and J. R. Simpson, reprew i w Zealand Council, together with the secretary. Mr. G. P- Aldridge, were also present. The subjects submitted were as follow:—1 (a) To consider the council’s report on the ’Wellington, Northern, Xapier, Taranaki, and Otago Associations for breaches of the rules in the matter of purses and expensegiven to boxers: tb> to consider the action of these associations in forwarding incorrect returns to the council. (2) To consider rule 60. clause 2, which does not provide adequate penalties for offences committed by local associations. (3> To consider amendments to the rules *o as to give the council power to adequately deal with the offences of local associations. FUTURE OFFENCES Thev were dealt with in committee. as was to be expected ‘under the circumstances, but afterward tl'.e decisions of the meeting were mad rknown to those interested. All five associations concerned were con- | victed of an offence and were each ! lined £5, a rather inadequate sum .n ; view of thu la.rge ~rofits made out of ■ the contests in which they hao offended. The council, however, was j given permission to inflict a fine oi £SO for any future offences. It was nlso decided that in future loca associations will be required to noth’: -he council when they decide to arrange .i match, by which means it is hoped t o ctop undue competition among associations for the services of certain t, °The Questions submitted to were considerably coir plicated | by the fact that same associations are while others are not finan- | Cially able to offer substantial purses. even for boxers in the first flight. 1 Eventually, however. It was decided to make certain alterations ir. the amounts to be made available for purses, the ; rnost drastic change being the increase to £3OO, with £4O expenses for oversea* boxers in their first contest in the Dominion. For subsequent contest- • the overseas boxers may receive purses fof £ 200. The maximum tor New Zealand boxers has now been fixed at £2OO. which is an increase of £ 50. with £lO expenses where a boxer has to travel. These changes should help to alleviate the position. Though the fixing of purses at such a low level as £3OO for overseas boxers is not likely to induce further first-class men to visit these shores. They can make considerably more in Australia and elsewhere without any difficulty, and are hardly likely to trouble New Zealand under the circumstances. The Gisborne Association, which firi*. introduced the subject of the breaches, has given notice of motion that a special committee be set up to control : and arrange all professional matches in the Dominion, and that the committee be stationed in whatever centre the New Zealand championships are held in that year. This will probably be unacceptable to major associations. and seems hardly fair to local enterprise. It i 3 merely another method of pooling the whole of the fights held in New Zealand, and will mean that local associations will only b© able to control amateur bouts and championships, which mean only small gates without the added inducement of : a professional contest.