Thursday, December 20, 2012

Rugby in New Zealand

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Nelson artist Paul Wilding's painting of New Zealand's first rugby game, held at the Botanics.
1870
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By: Alan Turley is a former Nelson City councillor and noted rugby historian. He has written two books, They Gave Us Rugby and Rugby: The Pioneer Years.

Boots, knickerbockers and all

As one historian put it, "rugby had taken off like fire in the pig fern"
Who would have thought that a mere 19-year-old youth would become an influential figure in determining the future social history of New Zealand?
The year was 1870. Charles Monro, who had played the Rugby School game at Christ's College in Finchley, near London, arrived back home in Nelson with four oval balls and the idea of introducing rugby to his home town.
Rugby at that time was the largest sports code of any kind in England, apart from cricket. It was the prerogative of the English upper classes, played by most of the public secondary schools and by elite football clubs. You had to have the appropriate credentials and belong to the right social class to play.
This was in sharp contrast with New Zealand, an evolving egalitarian society, where the game would be eagerly embraced by working-class gold miners, farm labourers and town youths. Rugby was an event that was waiting to happen in the young colony.
In 1870, Nelson was a town of about 5200 with no regular winter sports activity.
During Monro's absence, in 1868, a football (hybrid type) club had been formed at the instigation of bank clerk Robert Tennant. Monro's suggestion of a game of rugby was warmly received by both Nelson College and the Nelson Football Club.
After tutelage of both teams by Monro, the game was played on Saturday, May 14, 1870 at the Botanical Reserve.
It was perhaps chance that Nelson was the first town in New Zealand to play rugby.
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One-off games of hybrid football were already being played in other centres, and the influence of English public school expatriates was soon to be felt as rugby began to take hold.
Nelson club players Monro, Tennant and Alfred Drew, "the club maker", would also be successful in introducing the game to other centres.
Within five years, there were 15 rugby clubs in New Zealand. A further 20 were formed in 1876, as clubs playing hybrid football switched to rugby.
Nelson made another important contribution to New Zealand rugby in 1876, when a Nelson College team travelled to Wellington and played Wellington College at the Basin Reserve on July 20.
This was the first game of inter-secondary school rugby to be played in New Zealand, and probably the first inter-secondary school game to be played outside Britain.
A member of the Nelson College team, JP Firth, later as headmaster of Wellington College, did more to establish the secondary school game in New Zealand than any other person. He was regarded as the doyen of secondary school rugby and as one of the country's greatest headmasters.
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Players from Nelson College (in white) try to block a player of Nelson Rugby Club during the re-enactment of the first rugby match ever played in New Zealand. Photo by Reuters. 
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Another significant contributor to the establishment of rugby was the introduction of Sir Julius Vogel's Public Works Act of 1870.
As the act gradually began to take effect, improved roads, regular coastal shipping and a limited rail network helped to spread the game throughout the country over the next 30 years.
As rugby became established in other centres, particularly Auckland, Canterbury and Otago, Nelson ceased to have a leading role.
By 1890, rugby had come of age in New Zealand.
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The 1873 Nelson Rugby Football Club.
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In its first 21 years, more than 700 clubs had been established. As one historian put it, "rugby had taken off like fire in the pig fern". It was the paramount winter sport, with Victorian rules (now known as Australian rules) and soccer the only other codes.
It was due to the efforts of GP Firth and Montague Lewin of Canterbury that Victorian rules, despite strenuous efforts, failed to gain a significant foothold in the country, and it ceased to exist with the outbreak of war in 1914.
The New Zealand Rugby Football Union was formed in 1892, largely through the efforts of Edward Hoben, and by 1900 there were 20 provincial unions affiliated to it.
What had been a spontaneous yet rather disorganised shambles began to adopt the paraphernalia of rules and order.
The beginning of the 20th century effectively signalled the end of the pioneer period of New Zealand rugby.
Gone were the days when the players were also the referees, coaches and administrators of the game. By now, there were over 20 male secondary schools in the country, an ideal nursery in which to grow and consolidate the game.
It had been an amazing 30 years, during which rugby had not only taken root but had grown and developed as a national institution.
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Date: 15 August 1903
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground 
Competition: New Zealand 1903 Tour 
Result: Australia 3 - 22 New Zealand 
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In 1903, New Zealand played its first international test match, against Australia in Sydney.
In 1905, a new institution was born when the New Zealand national team was dubbed "the All Blacks" for the first time, during a tour of England.
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England-v-New-Zealand-1905
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But what happened to Charles Monro, the callow 19-year-old who started it all?
He remained in Nelson as coach of the Nelson Rugby Football Club until 1875, when he shifted to Marlborough to help manage Bankhouse, the family farm near Renwick.
In 1887, he took up 20 hectares of land on the Fitzherbert Hills, near Palmerston North, which he named Craiglockhart.
Monro prospered as a gentleman farmer with timber milling and flax milling interests. An excellent boxer and a noted singer of Italian opera, he introduced the Japanese plum to New Zealand and became an authority on river protection and erosion control measures.
Monro played no further part in the game of rugby in New Zealand. The only recognition he received occurred in 1930, when, at the age of 79, he was the guest of the NZRFU at the fourth test in Wellington between New Zealand and the British Isles Lions.
Monro's achievement is remarkable when viewed in the context of the time.
New Zealand had been a self-governing colony for only 14 years, since 1856, and was still being pioneered and governed by Englishmen, born in England.
One of the first Pakeha children born in this country, Monro was arguably the first native-born New Zealander to ascend the stairway of achievement. His legacy was both unparalleled and far-reaching. But he remains all but forgotten.
Charles John Monro died on April 9, 1933, aged 83. He and two of his Nelson clubmates, Alfred Drew and Robert Tennant, lie buried within 50 kilometres of each other in the Manawatu.
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Re-enactment of the first game of Rugby, 2011
As part of the Rugby World Cup Game On Festival in 2011, a re-enactment of the first game of Rugby was organised by Nelson City Council.
 The 18 a-side game, played at the Botanics on 20th September, 2011  re-enacted the original match between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Club.
 The Rugby Club team, captained by Chris Pugh, included 15 current players and 10 retired players; the Nelson College team was their current First XV. The game was played according to the "Rugby Laws"[PDF] for 1870, as introduced by Charles Monro.


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The crowd of Nelsonians gathered at The Botanics one May day in 1870 had no idea that they were witnessing the birth of a New Zealand tradition, rugby.....
The first recognised game of rugby played in New Zealand took place on Saturday, May 14, 1870 between a Nelson College side and the Nelson Football Club.
 A crowd of around 200, including “a fair sprinkling of ladies and a goodly number of the opposite sex,” gathered at The Botanics to watch a new version of football, brought to New Zealand by Charles Monro.
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It was much later that the game played in Nelson on 14 May 1870 game was officially recognised as the first organised game of rugby in New Zealand, so making Nelson the birthplace of NZ rugby.
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Each team had 18 players, a number agreed by the captains before the match, made up of 10 forwards, three half-backs, three three-quarters and two fullbacks. The college team was decked out in tight-fitting shirts and blue caps, while the “town” team sported street clothes, having no particular uniform.
http://www.theprow.org.nz/new-zealand-first-game-of-rugby/#.UNNx-G_hobw
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Nelson has celebrated its rugby roots with a re-enactment of the first game of rugby ever played in New Zealand.
Some 6000 people, including many dressed up in Victorian costume, attended the match at the Botanic Reserve, the site of the original game played between the Nelson Rugby Football Club and Nelson College in 1870.
The game was played by the same two teams in replica uniforms, with a replica rounded ball specially made for the event.
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Sunday, December 2, 2012

Heartbreak at Millennium Stadium

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 Kurtley Beale of Australia scores a last minute try to win the match under pressure from Alex Cuthbert of Wales during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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Beale breaks Welsh hearts

A last-minute try from Kurtley Beale denied Wales victory over old foes Australia as the Gold run continued with a 14-12 result on Saturday.
The loss meant that Wales, the current Grand Slam champions and World Cup semi-finalists, fell out of the top-eight seeds for RWC 2015, the draw for which takes place on Monday.
The game had looked to be going Wales' way at 12-9 with a minute to play, but replacement flanker Dave Dennis found a metre of space out wide with the Welsh defence flagging and fed Beale, who outpaced Alex Cuthbert to the corner.
It was a ninth victory in 15 Tests of a marathon season for Australia and meant they leapfrogged South Africa into second in the IRB rankings.
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 Liam Williams of Wales is tackled by Ben Tapuai of Australia during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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Man of the match: We go for Leigh Halfpenny after another impressive performance at the back for his country. He was yet again faultless covering the ground in attack and defence while his kicking from hand and tee means that he edges out Wallaby flank David Pocock.
Moment of the match: Of course, that last-gasp try from Kurtley Beale.
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 Nathan Sharpe of Australia is tackled by Matthew Rees of Wales during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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 Wycliff Palu of Australia dives to save a certain try from Toby Faletau of Wales during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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Switching Berrick Barnes the winning move

  • From:The Australian
  • WHILE Kurtley Beale scored the Wallabies' match-winning try against Wales in Cardiff in the last minute, the turning point in the game yesterday arrived midway through the second half.
    Reserve fullback Mike Harris replaced inside centre Ben Tapuai in the 58th minute -- the key tactical substitution in the game.
    Wales' consistent fullback Leigh Halfpenny put the Welsh in front 12-9 with his fourth penalty goal in the 60th minute and for the next 10 minutes it looked as Australia was playing for a match-equalising penalty goal.
    But with 10 minutes remaining the Wallabies changed tactics and chased a match-winning try.
    Having Berrick Barnes at inside centre enabled them to play with more width as they shifted the ball to the edges to beat the Welsh rush defence on the outside.
    With Beale just about out on his feet, Barnes then effectively took over as first receiver for the last five minutes.
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  •  Wallabies forward Scott Higginbotham charges through the tackle of Toby Faletau during the International match between Australia and Wales at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Stu Forster/Getty Images Europe)
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    A long cut-out pass from Barnes to Harris initiated the attacking movement that led to Beale's try.
    The Wallabies played their best attacking rugby of the European tour in the last 10 minutes of the Welsh Test and a lot of critics would question why they did not play that way all the time.
    The reality is there was no way this tired team could play an up-tempo, expansive style of game for 80 minutes, but they managed to do it at the end when necessary.
    Those who saw the Wallabies train last week realised they were just about out of juice.
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    Wales led 12-9 with 10 minutes left when Wallabies captain Nathan Sharpe, who played superbly in his last Test by dominating the lineout and carrying the ball strongly, decided to chase a match-winning try.
    That's when the substitution of Harris for Tapuai benefited the Wallabies as it allowed Barnes to come into the front line and run the attack instead of Beale, who was just about spent.
    With Barnes playing the ball-distributor role, Beale had the freedom to roam out wide and that's how he was in a position to score the match-winning try.
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     Alex Cuthbert of Wales is tackled by Berrick Barnes and Ben Tapuai of Australia during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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     Kurtley Beale of Australia is tackled by Aaron Shingler Lou Reed and Sam Warburton of Wales during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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     The Australian Team look on as Nathan Sharpe takes the final kick of the game during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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    Emotional ending for Sharpe

    It certainly wasn't the way Nathan Sharpe envisaged ending his rugby career but a missed conversion was the last act for this retiring Wallaby.
    For the past 16 years, the strapping lock has earned a living by smashing into rucks, leaping in line-outs and pushing in the middle of scrums.
    Lining up kicks from the touchline has never been on his to-do list. But there he was in the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, 30 metres out and attempting a conversion with his last competitive touch of rugby ball.
    His kick failed to reach the posts - one of the few times Sharpe has come up short as a Wallaby.
    "Of course I'm going to miss it - it's what I've done since I can remember," an emotional Sharpe said as he assessed his long, distinguished career after the 14-12 victory over Wales.
    "I am going to have to find some walls to run into every weekend, just to get my head around things, ease my way out of it."
    "The thing I'll probably miss most is being in the team environment, having a collective goal in a pressure-cooker situation each weekend," he said, close to tears.
    Sharpe's debut for Australia came in a match against France in 2002 and he turned out for 115 more tests, making him the Wallabies' second most-capped players after scrum-half great George Gregan.
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    Nathan Sharpe of Australia is tackled by Matthew Rees of Wales during the International match between Wales and Australia at Millennium Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)
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    Saturday, December 1, 2012

    All Blacks run into a Buzz Saw

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    Brilliant England stun New Zealand


     Brodie Retallick of New Zealand tries to disturb the maul during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images Europe)
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    Delirium was the order of the day on Saturday at Twickenham as England defeated New Zealand 38-21 with three second-half tries.
    New Zealand responded to a 15-0 defecit with scores from Julian Savea and Kieran Read, before England took charge thanks to three of their own from Brad Barritt, Chris Ashton and Manu Tuilagi in an astonishing second-half performance.
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     Kieran Read of New Zealand runs through to score a try during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images Europe)
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    Man of the match: Two assists and one crucial interception try from Manu Tuilagi make him the player of the day.
    Moment of the match: With New Zealand edging back into the match, Brad Barritt's score swung the momentum back in England's favour.
    Villain of the match: The mystery bug that struck New Zealand earlier in the week. McCaw might have denied it would have an effect, but the All Blacks looked exhausted.
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     Owen Farrell of England tackles Conrad Smith of New Zealand during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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    All Blacks stunned by England

    By Gregor Paul in London
    The unbeaten record has gone. The season has ended in stunningly bad fashion with England bursting into astonishing life at Twickenham to not only beat the All Blacks - but to beat them well and to beat them playing inspired rugby.
    England looked a lot more like the All Blacks than New Zealand did. They were smart, they were committed and they were creative. And on top of that they were relentlessly physical. They won because they deserved it - ran the All Blacks off their feet in the end after blasting them off in the first half. New Zealand didn't have a lot of answers - it's been a long season for sure but they were in London to win and didn't stand a chance, not because of fatigue but because they weren't allowed to play the game they wanted.
    They weren't really allowed to play any game as England controlled things for most of the game bar the first 10 minutes of the second half when the All Blacks scored two tries and gave the impression they were going to storm home at a canter.
    Didn't happen. It was England all the way from there. Much like France did on the same ground in 1999 at about the same stage in the game, England went a little crazy.
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     Israel Dagg of New Zealand kicks the ball up field during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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    England are peppered with criticism for not playing a Southern Hemisphere style of rugby. But why should they? When they play their own style, they can be deadly.
    They were impressive in the way they mixed their brutality with a bit of trickery and movement in the midfield to keep the momentum going. Why take the All Blacks on at the high tempo business? No one wins when they try. So England kept it simple and they kept it effective and once they had built the pressure, then they went wider and harder and faster.
    It was a supremely well constructed performance that had flow and momentum all of its own.
    The pack worked the one off runners around the fringes and then Owen Farrell would bring Manu Tuilaigi into the game on direct busts up the middle and off they would go again. Some good tactical kicking was mixed in and New Zealand were made to look ordinary - rattled and scrambling, easily the toughest 40 minutes they have endured in 2012.
    read the whole thing here:
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     Victor Vito of New Zealand is tackled by Brad Barritt of England during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)
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    England v New Zealand: Stuart Lancaster's men hit new heights with record win over the All Blacks

    England came of age under Stuart Lancaster on Saturday, producing one of their greatest performances of recent years to inflict a record-breaking defeat on the mighty New Zealand.

    Lancaster’s side, inspired by the exceptional Manu Tuilagi, banished the memory of their frustrating defeats against Australia and South Africa to rip apart the reigning world champions with an exhilarating performance that saw them lead 12-0 at half-time and then run in three tries in eight giddy minutes midway through the second period, just when the All Blacks were threatening a trademark comeback.
    It was enough to secure the hosts’ first triumph against the Kiwis - who had been unbeaten in their previous 20 Tests - since 2003 while the margin was England’s best against these opponents.
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     Brad Barritt of England goes over to score the first try during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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    New Zealand, the world’s No 1-ranked side, were 1-12 favourites to beat an inexperienced England team with barely 200 caps between them. However, Owen Farrell kicked England into a 15-point lead just after the interval and, while the All Blacks hit back with two converted tries of their own, Tuilagi then took charge by setting up two and scoring the third try himself.
    New Zealand’s squad had been affected by the norovirus in the build-up to the game but Richie McCaw, the All Blacks captain, refused to use that as an excuse for a below-par performance.
    “If we had fallen off at the end then probably we could have blamed it on that,” McCaw said. “But we just struggled to get into the game and, apart from that period after half-time, we were on the back foot.”
    History Boys
     Cory Jane of New Zealand is marshalled by Mike Brown of England during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)
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    England 38 New Zealand 21: Sensational display of character sees Lancaster's men turn their autumn around
    As Twickenham Man bellowed Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Irish referee George Clancy blew for full-time after 80 tumultuous minutes, England — much maligned and virtually written off by the pundits — completed one of their greatest-ever victories.
    New Zealand began their final match of an unbeaten year as 12-1 on favourites to brush aside an England team that, for all their physicality in losing to South Africa last week, had not given even their most ardent supporters a shred of hope that they were capable of halting the All Black juggernaut.
    But an extraordinary performance by Chris Robshaw’s men simply made a mockery both of the odds that had been stacked against them and, for that matter, the experts who had expected the English to be steamrollered.
    The records tumbled. It was the highest ever score by England against the All Blacks and a record winning margin of 17 points — beating England’s previous best of 13 in 1936.
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    It was also New Zealand’s second-heaviest defeat in their long and largely successful history — and this despite the fact that they started the game on an unbeaten run of 20 Tests and with a line-up boasting 788 caps to England’s paltry 206. 
    And it was England’s first win over the All Blacks since Martin Johnson’s men won in 2003 in Wellington, five months before they lifted the World Cup in Australia.  
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    In halting a run of nine defeats by New Zealand, England were, to a man, magnificent. Tom Wood was made man of the match, and rightly so. He brought the ‘dog’ he had promised to the breakdown and how England benefited from his pitbull aggression. 
    But Wood was not alone. Joe Launchbury is the find of the autumn and produced yet another outstanding display in the loose, the lineout and at the re-starts. And Tom Youngs, in just his fourth Test, carried the ball like a man possessed.
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    Dan Carter of New Zealand tries to burst through the England defense during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
    (November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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    The rankings for the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw have been completed following Saturday's two internationals.
    1 New Zealand - 90.08
    2 South Africa - 86.94
    3 Australia - 86.87
    4 France - 85.07
    5 England - 83.90
    6 Ireland - 80.22
    7 Samoa - 78.71
    8 Argentina - 78.71
    9 Wales - 78.39
    10 Italy - 76.24
    11 Tonga - 76.10
    12 Scotland - 75.83
    England will remain fifth in the rankings but the gap to France above them will be slashed by nearly three points after the win over New Zealand, who remain the number one side in the world.
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    Monday, November 26, 2012

    Vintage Punch Prints - 1930's

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     You never see me doing things like that.


    Caption: The Captain (at half-time). "Now, Look here, you fellows. This tackling a man round his neck has got to stop. You never see me doing things like that."
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    Rugby, The British Character


    The British Character - Love of Games
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    Shakespeare On The Rugby Field

    Caption: "We Live Not To Be Gripped By Meaner Persons." ... Henry VIII Act II Scene 2
    Vintage Punch Prints-1930's
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    France survive Samoan scare

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    Scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i was excellent for Samoa
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    France completed a clean sweep of their November Tests at the Stade de France on Saturday with a 22-14 win over Samoa.

    Unlike their convincing successes over Australia and Argentina this month, victory didn't come easily for the French, who were trailing the Islanders going into the final quarter.
    The result means France will end the month as Europe's highest-ranked side and will be one of the four top seeds at the 2015 World Cup Draw on December 3.
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    Louis Picamoles and Yannick Nyanga put in the hard yards
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    Man of the match: We usually pick someone from the winning side but a few Samoans really impressed. Kahn Fotuali'i was excellent and Census Johnston was awesome in both the scrums and the tight-loose. But we'll go for Taiasina Tuifua who made huge yards with ball in hand.
    Moment of the match: Samoa's first try was a wake up call for France. Census Johnston's chip ahead to create the try will was straight out of front-row fantasy land!
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