WING FORWARDS WERE SPOILERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18467, 19 May 1928, Page 7

WING FORWARDS WERE SPOILERS.

canterbury player WAS FINE EXPONENT. (Specially Written for the ‘Star by BEN IVESON). The play of the wing forward of to-day—or rover as we politely term him—and that of the winger of twenty to forty years ago, shows considerable difference. In the early days of the winger teams usually played one on each side of the scrum, and his duty was to spoil every attempt on the part cf opposing backs to open up the play. He was a spoiler purely and simply of all that was bright in the game, at least as far as back play was concerned. However much we may have disliked the wing forward we could not altogether blame him for his tactics because the game, and the referee, allowed him to indulge in them to his heart's content. It was the late Tom Ellison, of Wellington, captain cf the 1893 - All Black team, which visited Australia, who introduced the wing forward game to New Zealand, and he was a brilliant exponent of that type of play. One remembers distinctly Ellison playing wing forward in the Wel ling ton team against Otago in Dunedin in ISni. The wing forward was something new to Otago, who were busy developing the back game from lessons learned some three years earlier from Stoddart s great British team. Ellison was plaving “ducks and drakes” with the Otago backs and Cran and “Osy” Crawford were having a bad time at the hands of the Maori champion, until “Massa Johnston, the old Alhambra player, gave his attention to Ellison, and that was the end of the future* All Black and his winging game for that day. That experience taught Otago to use wing forwards against wing forwards. New Zealand has had some splendid exponents of the wing forward play: “Offside” Bill M’Kenzie. Dave Gallaher, “Lofty” Armstrong, Dick Oliphant, of Auckland, W. Baylv, of Taranaki. “Tiny” M'Minn. of Wairarapa. George Gillett, of Canterbury and Auckland. H. V. Murray, of Canterbury, D. Hamilton, of Southland. H. Porteou.*. of Otago, to name but a fpiv of the olfier brigade. On ' taking his pia« c among the best of them is A. Brunsden, of Canterbury. This player war. a past master at the wing forward game, and one still remembers the “holy .terror” he was to the Wairarapa team at Carterton in 1902, when “Brun." assisted by “Roo” Cocke. Bernie Fanning. Wally Drake. J. Mahoney, and a few more of the same calibre, made an exhibition of Wairarapa to the tune of 24 points to 3.

A. Brunsden was a member of the South Island team which scored a sensational win over the North Island at Wellington on September 13, 1902. In lie first speil the North Isiand led by 14 points to 3. with the game apparently all over bar the shouting. But it is whispered in select circles that at half-time a well-known Canterbury forward had a heart-to-heart, talk with he South Island pack. Anyway, what ever occurred in that Athletic Park dressing room at half-time it had' its effect on the Southern pack. They tore into thp Northerners and pushed them all over the Park, for the speedy South backs to administer the finishing toxjchcs. And those North forwards took some handling, for among them were Lofty Armstrong, Bill Cunningham. George Nicholson, Ernev Dodd, A. J. Long. Edgar Wylie and Art Cadwallader. -That game ended in a win for South by 20 points to 14, and A. Brunsden did his share towards that glorious Southern victory. He first represented Canterbury in 1889, and donned the Red and Black jersey for the last time in 1904. lie played in all 2G times for Canterbury, lie also played for Wellington in 1901.