RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL

RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL

by McLintock, Alexander Hare

RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Strange though it may seem, a touring rugby league team left New Zealand almost a year before the game was played in this country. It was this overseas tour which led to the establishment of the code in New Zealand. This was due mainly to the efforts of A. H. Baskerville who, in 1907, organised a team for a tour of England after he had circularised English north union clubs about prospects. Known as the famous “All Gold” team, it contained a number of the 1905 All Blacks. It played 35 matches in England, winning 19 and drawing two. Considering English league had been established for more than 12 years, the New Zealanders did very well, especially as they did not even know the rules of the game when they set out on the tour. On its way home the team played 13 matches in Australia, winning nine and drawing one. The first match in New Zealand was played at Wellington on 13 June 1908 before a crowd of nearly 7,000, which saw an exhibition between two teams drawn from the touring side.

This tour and match established the game and by 1910 it was being played in Auckland, Taranaki, Rotorua, Nelson, Southland, Wanganui, Marlborough, Invercargill, Hawke's Bay, and South Auckland. Other Provinces joined the New Zealand League, which was formed in 1910. In that same year Auckland Rugby League was probably the first to start a regular competition. The Auckland League had a full season in 1912, with its headquarters at Eden Park. Today there are 10 affiliated leagues – Auckland, Canterbury, West Coast, Wellington, Otago, Bay of Plenty, Northland, Manawatu, Waikato, and Taranaki. Each league caters for schoolboys, junior, and senior sides. Manawatu, Northland, Otago, and Bay of Plenty are minor leagues.

New Zealand reached the ultimate in rugby league during the 1961–63 era when in 10 test matches it won seven, including a 2–0 series win over Great Britain, regarded as being the top league nation in the world. Not since the period from 1948 to 1951, when this country was unbeaten in any test series, has New Zealand league ridden so high. During the latter period New Zealand teams won six of their nine tests. The most outstanding performance by the New Zealanders was their record-breaking 19–0 win over Britain in 1962. It was only the second time a British team failed to score points, the other occasion being a 0–0 draw with Australia in 1930.

Leading players in the code include Desmond White, who played at fullback for New Zealand from 1950 till 1956. He holds the world record for the most goals in a test – 11 in the second test against Australia in 1952, which New Zealand won 49–25; and Tom Hadfield, winger, the most prolific try scorer New Zealand league has produced. He played in 17 tests from 1956 to 1961 and during that time scored 15 tries, five more than any other player in New Zealand test league history.

Rugby league has made great advances since the last war. It was well established between 1918 and 1939, but many strong leagues went into recess between 1939 and 1945, never to revive, or to suffer severely from the loss of players. Rotorua, Otago, and Northland were examples. Strong provinces before the war, they are only now making good progress. The innovation of a £1,000 national club tournament – a gesture by a tobacco company – has again stimulated interest. The Northern Union Cup, symbol of provincial supremacy, came back into prominence in 1962, when Canterbury beat Auckland after the latter had had a monopoly of the cup for several seasons.

Record of cup play since 1957:

1957 Auckland beat Canterbury, 20–8
1958 Auckland beat West Coast, 16–12
Auckland beat Canterbury, 36–15
Auckland beat West Coast, 31–8
Auckland beat Wellington, 60–10
1959 Auckland beat Canterbury, 48–5
1960 West Coast beat Auckland, 22–18
Auckland beat West Coast, 8–2
Auckland beat Canterbury, 19–4
1961 Auckland beat Canterbury, 38–4
Auckland beat West Coast, 16–7
1962 Canterbury beat Auckland, 16–13
West Coast beat Canterbury, 6–4
1963 Canterbury beat West Coast, 38–9
Canterbury drew with Auckland, 10–10
Canterbury beat Waikato, 15–0
Canterbury beat Otago, 53–0
Canterbury beat West Coast, 7–5
1964 Auckland beat Canterbury, 13–7
1965 Auckland beat Canterbury, 23–0
Auckland beat Wellington, 19–2
Auckland beat Canterbury, 8–6
Auckland beat Waikato, 44–2

New Zealand's Rugby League Test Record

Versus Great Britain
1908 New Zealand 6, Great Britain 14, at London
New Zealand 18, Great Britain 6, at Leeds
New Zealand 8, Great Britain 5, at Gloucester
1910 New Zealand 20, Great Britain 52, at Auckland
1914 New Zealand 3, Great Britain 11, at Auckland
1920 New Zealand 7, Great Britain 31, at Auckland
New Zealand 3, Great Britain 19, at Wellington
New Zealand 10, Great Britain 11, at Christchurch
1924 New Zealand 16, Great Britain 8, at Auckland
New Zealand 13, Great Britain 11, at Wellington
New Zealand 18, Great Britain 31, at Dunedin
1926–27 New Zealand 20, Great Britain 28, at Wigan
New Zealand 11, Great Britain 21, at Hull
New Zealand 17, Great Britain 32, at Leeds
1928 New Zealand 17, Great Britain 13, at Auckland
New Zealand 5, Great Britain 13, at Dunedin
New Zealand 5, Great Britain 6, at Christchurch
1932 New Zealand 9, Great Britain 24, at Auckland
New Zealand 14, Great Britain 25, at Christchurch
New Zealand 18, Great Britain 20, at Auckland
1936 New Zealand 8, Great Britain 10, at Auckland
New Zealand 11, Great Britain 23, at Auckland
1946 New Zealand 13, Great Britain 8, at Auckland
1947–48 New Zealand 10, Great Britain 11, at Leeds
New Zealand 10, Great Britain 7, at Swinton
New Zealand 9, Great Britain 25, at Bradford
1950 New Zealand 16, Great Britain 10, at Christchurch
New Zealand 20, Great Britain 13, at Auckland
1951–52 New Zealand 15, Great Britain 21, at Bradford
New Zealand 19, Great Britain 20, at Swinton
New Zealand 12, Great Britain 16, at Leeds
1954 New Zealand 7, Great Britain 27, at Auckland
New Zealand 20, Great Britain 14, at Greymouth
New Zealand 6, Great Britain 12, at Auckland
1955–56 New Zealand 6, Great Britain 25, at Swinton
New Zealand 12, Great Britain 27, at Bradford
New Zealand 28, Great Britain 13, at Leeds
1958 New Zealand 15, Great Britain 10, at Auckland
New Zealand 15, Great Britain 32, at Auckland
1961 New Zealand 29, Great Britain 11, at Leeds
New Zealand 10, Great Britain 23, at Bradford
New Zealand 19, Great Britain 35, at Swinton
1962 New Zealand 19, Great Britain 0, at Auckland
New Zealand 27, Great Britain 9, at Christchurch
1965 New Zealand 2, Great Britain 7, at Swinton
New Zealand 9, Great Britain 15, at Odsal
New Zealand 9, Great Britain 9, at Wigan
Versus Australia
1908 New Zealand 11, Australia 10 (in Australia)
New Zealand 24, Australia 12
New Zealand 9, Australia 14
1909 New Zealand 19, Australia 11 (in Australia)
New Zealand 5, Australia 10
New Zealand 5, Australia 25
1919 New Zealand 21, Australia 44, at Wellington
New Zealand 26, Australia 10, at Christchurch
New Zealand 23, Australia 34, at Auckland
New Zealand 2, Australia 32, at Auckland
1935 New Zealand 22, Australia 14, at Auckland
New Zealand 8, Australia 29
New Zealand 8, Australia 31
1937 New Zealand 8, Australia 12
New Zealand 15, Australia 13
1948 New Zealand 21, Australia 19 (in Australia)
New Zealand 4, Australia 13
1949 New Zealand 26, Australia 21, at Wellington
New Zealand 10, Australia 13, at Auckland
1952 New Zealand 13, Australia 25 (in Australia)
New Zealand 49, Australia 25
New Zealand 19, Australia 9
1953 New Zealand 25, Australia 5, at Christchurch
New Zealand 12, Australia 11, at Wellington
New Zealand 16, Australia 18, at Auckland
1956 New Zealand 9, Australia 12 (in Australia)
New Zealand 2, Australia 8
New Zealand 14, Australia 31
1959 New Zealand 8, Australia 9 (in Australia)
New Zealand 10, Australia 38
New Zealand 28, Australia 12
1961 New Zealand 12, Australia 10, at Auckland
New Zealand 8, Australia 10, at Auckland
1963 New Zealand 3, Australia 7, at Sydney
New Zealand 16, Australia 13, at Brisbane
New Zealand 0, Australia 14, at Sydney
1965 New Zealand 8, Australia 13, at Auckland
New Zealand 7, Australia 5, at Auckland
Versus France
1947–48 New Zealand 11, France 7 (in France)
New Zealand 7, France 25
1951 New Zealand 16, France 15, at Auckland
1951–52 New Zealand 3, France 8 (in France)
New Zealand 7, France 17
1955 New Zealand 9, France 19, at Auckland
New Zealand 11, France 6
1955–56 New Zealand 7, France 24 (in France)
New Zealand 31, France 2
New Zealand 3, France 24
1960 New Zealand 9, France 2, at Auckland
New Zealand 9, France 3, at Auckland
1961 New Zealand 6, France 6, at Bordeaux
New Zealand 23, France 2, at Perpignan
New Zealand 5, France 5, at Paris
1965 New Zealand 3, France 14, at Marseilles
New Zealand 2, France 6, at Perpignan
New Zealand 5, France 28, at Toulouse

RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL 23-Apr-09 McLintock, Alexander Hare