TO-DAYS BIG GAME

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20503, 22 August 1936, Page 22

TO-DAYS BIG GAME

SOUTH CANTERBURY V. CANTERBURY HISTORY OF CONTESTS Fraser Park to-day will be the scene of the forty-first contest between the Rugby representatives of Canterbury and South Canterbury, and given fine weather the Park should accommodate the largest crowd for some years. Unlike last year’s memorable contest, when the Ranfurly Shield, the symbol of Rugby supremacy of the Dominion, was at stake, nothing hinges on today’s game excepting the reputation of the respective provinces, but that in itself is sufficient to warrant both teams giving of their best. Many people are eagerly awaiting the result of to-day’s game as a guide to the prospects of the teams in next week’s matches in Dunedin for the Shield, but it would be a mistake to place too much reliance on to-day’s form in that respect. South Canterbury are unlikely to risk much in view of the fact that they meet Otago first, while Canterbury have another hard match ahead of them against Southland next Wednesday before they make tracks for Dunedin. In any case, South Canterbury supporters are fervently hoping that there will be no Shield in Dunedin for Canterbury to lift when they get there. Early Games The history of Rugby encounters between Canterbury and South Canterbury goes back a long way. The first Rugby match between North and I South Canterbury was played at Ashburton more than 60 years ago—on the Queen’s birthday in May, 1875. Although a club game, it was “semi-

interprovinclal” in character, the players being recruited from all parts of the respective divisions of the province. It was noteworthy in another way, as the first approach to an interprovincial contest in the South Island. Later in the year an Auckland team visited Christchurch, and in 1876 games were played by Canterbury with Nelson and Wellington, but the OtagoCanterbury series did not commence until 1878.

In 1876 Temuka played home and home games with Christchurch, and in 1878 Timaru were beaten at Cranmer Square, but evened the score in a return match at Woollcombe’s Paddock (now Ashbury Park).

The first full-dress inter-Union game between Canterbury and South Canterbury was played at Timaru in 1890, Canterbury winning by 4 goals and 4 tries to 2 goals (actually 16 to 6). Next year at Christchurch Canterbury won by 17 points to 2, a goal then counting three points and a try one point. In 1892 South Canterbury received its soundest thrashing at the hands of its northern neighbour, the score being 44 to nil, and in next game two years later, under the new system of scoring 3 for a try and 5 for a converted try, the Cooke-Whyte-Lang trio ran up 39 points. In those days, and for years afterwards, games between the Unions were really tests of individualism versus combination, with the inevitable result. Canterbury were a city team, while South Canterbury fielded 15 players drawn from a widely scattered area. Of the first t zenty matches, South Canterbury managed to win only two, both at Temuka, where the headquarters of the S.C.R.U. were at the time located. South were rather unlucky to lose at Timaru in 1903, but generally Canterbury were a greatly superior side. Turn of the Tide A turn of the tide came about 1907 at Temuka. Meeting a strong visiting fifteen with a supposedly weak team (two or three of the best players being on the bank as a matter of discipline), South Canterbury were distinctly unfortunate to suffer defeat by 9 to 3, two unaccountable official blunders depriving the losers of an almost certain 8 points. That marked the end of the inferiority complex which had affected South Canterbury teams, and since then victory has usually gone to the side playing on its home ground. In the years leading up to the war period, some powerful Canterbury sides had severe defeats inflicted on them on Timaru grounds and were -o raced off their legs as to fall easy victims to teams further south.

Since 1920 South Canterbury have achieved a fair measure of success. South Canterbury has defeated Canterbury on nine occasions only, and six of these victories have been since 1920, and most of them in Timaru.

Record of Games The record of matches since 1920 is

THE TEAMS The teams are as under:— South Canterbury Full-back: J. Heasley (Old Boys). Three-quarters: E. Ryan (Old Boys), A. Gaffaney (Temuka), K. McPhail (Celtic). Five-eighths: G. Gaffaney (Old Boys), C. Cartwright (Star). Half-back: C. King (Star). Back row: H. Graham (Old Boys). Middle row: G. Adkins (Star), R. Duncan (Zingari), W. Robertson (Mackenzie), J. Strang (Old Boys). Front row: B. McShane (Geraldine), T. Gunn (Star), A. Higginbottom (Temuka). Canterbury Full-back: I. L. Behms. Three-quarters: G. B. Eathorne, C. H. McPhail, D. G. Cobden. Five-eighths: K. S. Mortlock, J. A. Hooper. Half-back: J. J. McAuliffe. Back row: J. G. Rankin. Middle row: M. Scandrett, W. Sweeney, H. Milliken, C. Pablecheque. Front row: N. J. McPhail, R. Burke, J. Mahoney.

as under: — 1920—Canterbury 16 6 1921—Canterbury 14 8 1922—Canterbury 15 11 1923—South Canterbury .. 11 3 1924 —South Canterbury .. 21 18 1925—Canterbury 44 9 1926—South Canterbury .. 18 15 1927—Canterbury 47 7 1928— Canterbury 29 9 1929—Canterbury 37 14 1931—South Canterbury .. 21 9 1932 —Canterbury 11 5 1932—South Canterbury .. 18 3 1933—Canterbury 6 3 1934—South Canterbury .. 28 13 1935 —Canterbury 12 11