Rugby-Pioneers

Anzac teams in London, 1916

2013-04-26T19:05:26+02:00

Yesterday was "ANZAC Day", when people in Australia and New Zealand commemorate their soldiers who fought in WW1 and WW2

I've found this interesting illustation in French newspaper "Excelsior" dated November 20th, 1916 in the middle of WW1 turmoil... the headline reads (in French...) "Australians, Warriors and Sportsmen" whereas the caption indicates "This curious snapshot was taken during a rugby match in England recently played between two teams of Australian soldiers (Anzac). We know that our allies have called 'Anzac' the Australian and Zealander troops that took a brilliant part in the Dardanelles campaign.")

Some research (thanks a lot Sean!) shows that this was a charity game - known as the "Pioneer Exhibition Game" - held at Queen's Club in South Kensington on October 28th, 1916 to raise money for British and French Red Cross. The game was played in front of an estimated crowd of 3,000 which included the (then) Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) and King Manuel II of Portugal (source wikipedia)

Actually, it was not rugby - my newspaper was misleading! - but Australian Rules... two ANZAC units forming a 18 players team, most of them coming from main VFA/VFL clubs: Melbourne, Geelong, Fitzroy, St Kilda, Collingwood... ("footy" history is quite complicated...cf wipedia again...)

Australian War Memorial has kept two great pictures of the teams... both of them showing wonderful jerseys !

Here is the "Australian Training Units" team, led by Captain (Capt) Chaplain Charles Julius Perry (played for Norwood) wearing a red jersey with a "giant" kangaroo...

And here is the "Third Australian Divisional" team, led by Lieutenant (Lt) Bruce Moses Farquhar Sloss (played for South Melbourne) wearing a blue jersey with an "giant" Australian map... and winner of the game by 4 goals and 12 behinds (36 points)...

Lets also notice that this game was organised by Australian Olympic swimmer Lt Franck Beaurepaire (hey, a French name!)... 7 Olympic medals won in London (1908, aged 17), Antwerp (1920) and Paris (1924)!... and later Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 1940...

For the record - and to have their names being remembered - let me also list the players.

Third Australian Divisional team: Identified, but position unknown, are Lieutenant (Lt) Bruce Moses Farquhar Sloss (played for South Melbourne), captain (killed in action 4 January 1917); Lt John Brake (University); Dan Minogue (former captain of Collingwood); C Willis (South Melbourne); L Little (Melbourne); William Isaac Sewart (Essendon); J Pugh (Launceston); H M Moyes (St Kilda); P J Jory (St Kilda); C Lilley (Melbourne); L E Lee (Richmond); Cyril Louis Hoft (Perth); L Martin (University); R Alley (Williamstown); H James (Richmond); B H Mills (Brunswick); J Foy (Perth); Lt W Orchard (Geelong)

Third Australian Divisional team: Identified, but position unknown, are Captain (Capt) Chaplain Charles Julius Perry (played for Norwood), team captain; John Thomas (Jack) Cooper (former captain, Fitzroy) (later killed 20 September 1917); PC Trotter (Fremantle); J Donaldson (Essendon); H Kerly (Collingwood); J Hoskins (Melbourne); H Boyd; S C Martin (University); H C Cosnvi? (Association); C Armstrong (Geelong); J Scullin (South Fremantle); Malfield ( Fremantle); T A Paine (Northam; E Beames; J Bower (Port Melbourne); McDonald (Essendon); Lieutenant Colonel Jackson (South Australia); H Moore (South Australia). Field umpires: Coporal Gray and G Barry.

Boundary umpires: T S Hewitt and E J Watts. Goal umpires: Lieutenant H Olsen and S M Keen.

All the details of the game are known because a programme of the match was published at the time, and now kept at National Library of Australia as "Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian Football : in aid of British and French Red Cross Societies : 3rd Australian Division v. Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington, on Saturday, October 28th, 1916, at 3pm" (record here). This record indicates that this 12 pages programme was richly illustrated, including this "Sport and War - The advantage of the High Mark" by Will Dyson that I was fortunate enough to find on the web in a working document from University of London (credit below)... Nice illustration indeed!

Edit 28/4: Sean has uncovered a British Pathé video showing that game and ceremony - magic and moving! Here it is...

Credit to Australian War Memorial for team pictures and names of players - and many thanks, mates, for sharing it under CC-BY-NC 3.0 AU licence!
Credit to Carol Mills, Univeristy of London, for his/her paper on "Expatriates Australian Black & White artists: Ruby and Will Dyson 1909-1919"

April 20th, 1913 - Aviron Bayonnais anniversary!

2013-04-20T18:56:28+02:00

100 years ago, Aviron Bayonnais (Bayonne) became French Champion for the first time of its short history.

That day, April 20th 1913, the team led by its captain Fernand Forgues and its Welsh playmaker Harry Owen Roe crushed its Parisian opponent SCUF 31-8 (detailed stats at finalesrugby.com - thank you Eric and David) showing 'stunning brio, amazing audacity and, most of all, staggering skill' as Racing Club de France captain Gaston Lane put it...

Please read Huw Richards' excellent article on espnscrum.com about how the players from Bayonne managed to blend the best of Welsh rugby tactics with their native Basque skills,

As Huw explains: "It was, in other words, a foretaste of the way the best French players and teams were to amaze and alarm opposing players and fans over the next century - far from the only French tradition, but the one for which they have been most recognised and admired."

The early days of Aviron Bayonnais, Forgues, Roe etc... are one of my favorite topics already discussed here ("La Methode Bayonnaise") or there ("The Welshmen from France", "Aviron Bayonnais 1914") over the past five years or so...

So here's another portfolio of pictures to celebrate this 100th anniversary!

First is French sports weekly "Plein Air" (April 24th 1913) showing the winning team on its cover. Click to get larger pictures of inner pages (page1 / page2) with match details.

News magazine "Le Monde Illustré" brings superlative comments about the Basque team (sorry, in French!) (large pic)

Here are the players as portayed in "Plein Air" the week before (April 19th)

Some team postcards of Aviron Bayonnais:

I like this last card very much... signed by Fernand Forgues on the front and by the all team on the back... nice memorabilia!

North v South, c.1890

2013-03-27T13:39:56+01:00

He's a great find submitted to us by fellow rugby historian and collector Stuart Quinn in Hull. It's a lovely and colourful illustrated card (larger pic here) depicting a "North v South" game in the late 1880s or early 1890s... It shows no print on the back nor info about publisher or origin... Any input welcome!

Funnily, this nice illustration of dramatic rugby action doesn't show an actual "North v South" game... as it is copied from this other reknowned artwork by Messrs Overend and Smythe (below), i.e. England v Scotland played in Edinburgh in 1886. A mural reproduction of the original hangs in the Library of the Scottish Rugby Union at Murrayfield... (and I don't remember who I should credit for my modern repro...)

Rev.F.Marshall's reference book "Football - the Rugby Union Game" indicates that this yearly game started as early as 1874 (played in Rugby on Januay 20th - drawn, nothing scored !).

Stuart and I would be very happy to know more about these "North v South" games. History, background, anecdots... any document around to be shared here?

Quickly browsing my pictures, I can only share a few press clippings (illustrations or photos) relating the "North v South" game in 1900, 1903 or 1893 below (larger pic here), i.e. a fine engraving by S.T.Dadd captioned "North v South at Manchester" and published in The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News Dec.23,1893. For the records, North won by 2 goals 2 tries (16 points) to 3 tries (9 points) that day...

Incidentally, one of the etchings shows England and North player Dickie - The World's Wonders - Lockwood (full bio)... another opportunity to enjoy these fine Victorian rugby cards!

PS: New Zealand has been also playing "North v South" games since 1897, but that's another story !

France - England, 1906: the very beginning

2013-02-21T21:12:28+01:00

Parc des Princes, March 22nd 1906 : France and England playing the first match of a long lasting rivalry...

This was only the second international game for France, a few months after having hosted an inaugural game vs Gallaher's All Blacks on January 1st... a game which proved that Froggies could be a decent opponent for England. Yet, the match was played on a Thursday: RFU was keen to play in Paris, but not ready to modify the agenda of clubs games traditionally playing on Saturdays!

This game opened the way for other Home Unions to play vs France, i.e. Wales in 1908, Ireland in 1909 and at last Scotland in 1910.

On my photography (click to enlarge), both teams are friendly mixing up outside the changing rooms of the old Parc des Princes. French players wear for the first time a light blue jersey, embroided with "USFSA" (the predecessor to FFR) blue and red rings, while English players show their traditional kit.

Final score 8-35 (2T 1C - 9T 4C) is anecdotical... full stats are here...

Some famous faces of pre-ww1 rugby are here like Adrian Stoop (above, left), John Raphael or Vincent Cartwright for England... Gason Lane (capt.above, right), 18 years old Marcel Communeau or Emile Lesieur for France.

The three referees, Louis Dedet and Cyril Rutherford (yes, an Englishman in Paris...) for USFSA, and George Rowland-Hill for RFU were also to "godfathers" in their respective rugby unions...(below a double page in La Vie Au Grand Air, March 1906)

Two rugby "trivia" about this game if you want to challenge your friends!

Let me first notice that no less than three foreign players were playing in this Equipe de France: Englishman William Crichton and Welshman Ernest Lewis, both playing in Le Havre, and American Allan Muhr (upper left corner below), first try scorer for France in the history of all "Crunches"... later a famous official of USFSA and FFR who died in a nazi camp in 1944...

Let me also mention that three Black rugby players were selected for this "original" Crunch, Georges Jérome (bottom right corner) and André Verges (bottom left corner) both from Stade Français for France, and James "Darkie" Peters (upper right corner) for England... all of these three gentlemen being the first Black sportsmen to earn an international rugby cap for their respective countries.

And now waiting for the 97th France v England next Saturday in Twickenham!! (*)

(*) Since 1906, England leads by 52 won, 37 lost and 7draw... but since WW2, France leads by 35 won, 34 lost and 6 draw... If Englands wins next saturday, both teams will be "leveled" over the past 70 years of rugby...

The Ten World Oldest Rugby Stamps...

2013-02-06T23:42:45+01:00

All of a sudden, I came out with a useless "collector" question... what are the oldest rugby stamps?

And it's pretty easy to answer because my fellow collector Derry W. has already gathered all possible information available about stamps on his website "rugby on stamps". And to be honest, all pictures - except the stamp above - belong to Derry... Thanks a lot (and I hope you won't mind my borrowing...)

The World oldest rugby stamp, a pretty unexpected "winner"..., was issued in Romania in 1944 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Romanian Rugby Union (FRR - formerly CFR as detailed here - in Romanian, so ask google for translation...)

Here's the "Top 10":

1. Romania, 1944 (above)

2. Fiji, 1951

3. Japan, 1953

4. France, 1956

5. Romania (again), 1959

6. Czechoslovakia, 1961

7. Samoa, 1962

8. Korea, 1963

9. South Africa, 1964

10. South Africa, 1964

Interstingly, no stamps before ww2 and no stamps from Home Unions, nor New Zealand nor Australia...

Searching for the World Oldest Scoreboard!

2013-01-30T01:51:30+01:00

Kind of a quiz... I was wondering where and when a scoreboard was used for the very first time?

So far, my best proposal is that French board above, first used during Olympic games in Paris in 1900. The board celebrates French gold medal (ok, only three teams... Moseley for "England" + Frankfurt F.C. for "Germany"... cf more at rugbyfootballhistory.com ) after a 27-17 win over the German team.

The newspaper caption reads (in French) "The Scoreboard - A successful innovation"... can't find more accurate wording!

Please also check this great view of Wellington stadium on this famous Test Match New Zealand vs Britain in August 1904... 9-3 for the Colonials (details here)... I love the massive crowd packing on the hill!

Caption reads (cf larger pic here) "Note the up-to-date method of recording the score" suggesting a very recent use... yet extensively covered by advertising...

I'll be very happy to receive other suggestions and evidences of earlier boards in other countries of our rugby planet!

Edit Jan 30th: First scoreboard in Sydney SCC reported in 1896-1897 - thank you Michel !

The present Ladies Stand was completed. The Ned Gregory Scoreboard was built.
Rugby matches were played at the SCG in this period..New Zealand played Combined suburbs XVII in 1884 at the ground. This was the first overseas tour. New Zealand played 3 matches at SCG in 1897 (year after the scoreboard was built) ...so we can assume the new scoreboard was used. Will search for images
Michael Fahey

You won't kick at my wishing you a Merry Christmas, will you ?

2012-12-23T22:47:01+01:00

Let's share this fine Christmas card with a rugby theme... No date, but c.1900...

The rugby poem reads:

I tackle the job

with the greatest of glee

In touch with Good Luck

at all Points may you be

A jolly Good Run through a Scrum-ptious Yule...

May you Take all your Chances

and Score a Fine Goal

You won't kick at my wishing you a Merry Christmas, will you ?

Middlesex 7s - Twickenham - 1934

2012-12-01T16:42:02+01:00

Here's my tribute to Dubai 7s being played today... a full set of photographies + tournament program from Middlesex 7s played at Twickenham in April 1934, eventually won by the Barbarians...

No comment... Enjoy!

NB: please read this old note for some insights into the birth of 7s rugby in Scotland (Melrose 7s...) and the history of Middlesex 7s (since 1926)

BYRRH Calendar 1928-29

2012-10-28T22:30:20+01:00

Some French memorabilia again... A calendar of French Championship 1928-29 offered by winemaker BYRRH near Perpignan.

Motto reads "Generous Wine with Quinine - Recommended to Families and Sportsmen"... There's a book to write about the relationships between rugby and alcoholic beverages - at least in France!

From a rugby standpoint, French championship 1928-29 (Pool round A : 8 pools x 5 clubs - Pool round B : 8 pools x 3 clubs - QF / SF / Final ) went to Quillan... so far, the smallest town (3,500 hab.) to have won French Championship... a team set-up by local entrepreneur Jean Bourel accused of poaching players in rival clubs, as well as by-passing strict amateurism rules... but that's another story!

Rugby in Syria...

2012-10-02T21:28:45+02:00

Everytime I read the news about this terrible civil war ongoing in Syria, I also think of this old French postcard showing dynamic rugby action under the minarets of Damascus...

No idea of the exact date, but early 20s when Damascus was under French ruling... (cf Wikipedia: French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon)

The back of the card explains that this is a rugby game played by French Army vs British Forces in Palestine (cf Wikipedia: British Mandate for Palestine)... and 19-14 victory for the Frogs !

The card was written by "Fernand", the soldier/rugby player who wrote to his family how he made the decisive pass to the French winger scoring the winning try on this postcard!

I just love when rugby memorabilia also recalls the real people behind the stories...

And, hoping for miracles..., I'd like to identify the army troops playing rugby here and possibly find evidences (newspaper, archives...) of this match somewhere: any hint welcome!

Lions tour to Australia, 1888... and 2013

2012-09-04T19:59:49+02:00

"The British & Irish Lions" are in the news today as Warren Gatland has been appointed today to coach the team that will travel to Australia next June 2013 (cf list of fixtures incl. 3 Test Matches v Australia) in a much awaited tour... just 125 years after these twenty-one pioneers from England, Scotland and Wales proudly posing on board of a steamer leaving England in March 1888... (in "Illustrated London News" - March 1888 - better scan here).

Let's gather a few facts and pictures from that inaugural tour!

The team was captained by England international Robert Seddon while the other capped players in the team were England and Salford Tom Kent, England and Blackheath Andrew E.Stoddart, Cambridge and Wales W.H. "Willie" Thomas (1)

Though a private venture, this first "football" tour down under is seen as the first "Lions" team in History, and the opening of a long and rich history of international tours between the two hemispheres

As Wikipedia puts it:

"The 1888 tour was organised by two professional English cricketers, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury, but they could not obtain patronage from the Rugby Football Union who refused to patronise by the tour, though the RFU was happy for the tour to go ahead, provided there was no infingement of the rules of amateurism."

Rev. Frank Marshall's "Football the Rugby Union Game", published in 1892 (avail.online in full at archive.org - great!), shows several nice pictures of the "pioneers". The tourists played in red, white and blue hooped jerseys and white shorts. Click here for a larger photograph + the names of all players...

"Shaw and Shrewbury's Australian team - June 25, 1888"

This team photograph was shot on June 25,1888...i.e. according to the 1888 fixture list somewhere between Adelaide and Melbourne (ok, just 800 km!!). Coincidentally, the 2013 Lions are expected to play in Melbourne on the same June 25. vs Melbourne Rebels next year...

Edit Sept.18: The team photo above, labelled June 25, 1888 - was taken at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground - then the home ground of the Essendon Australian Rules Football Club. Please read John Williamson's comment below for more details.

The players - and the promoters! - were "flexible" enough to play under different football codes to ensure public interest... and financial return! Lions Rugby website details:

"The oddessy began in New Zealand seven weeks after the team sailed from England on March 8, and the tourists went through the islands unbeaten until falling to Auckland in the last of their nine games there.

Their first four games in Australia were also won and it took a change of code to trip the visitors up. Their next 17 games – and a further one later in the tour – were played under Australian or Victorian Rules.

These matches were staged purely for the benefit of the organisers’ profits as they were guaranteed to draw far bigger crowds than union contests. Remarkably, the British team actually won six of these, before reverting to the 15-man code and concluding the tour with an unbeaten return to New Zealand for the final 10 matches."

BTW 2013 Lions Tour has a Facebook page where some fine memorabilia is displayed, such as this wonderful ticket ("Lions" v NSW in Sydney - August 4th 1888)

A few days after this game in Sydney, things went tragically when team captain Bob Seddon drowned in an accident while sculling on the Hunter River in NSW. He had ventured up river alone, and his team mates Anderton and Stoddart found him dead some time later.

The captaincy was then passed to Andrew Stoddart, a future England rugby captain and Wisden Cricketer of the Year. I will not elaborate much about this remarkable sportsman who captained both England Rugby team (1890-93) and England Cricket team (1894 and 1896/7) but just share some pictures...!

These three cigarette cards (Will's and Ogden's) belong to my friend Richard S. as part of his collection of "double capped" sportsmen... while the etching below - captionned "Mr Stoddart passing the ball" - was published in 1895 in the "Portraits of Famous Footballers" portfolio. It reads "An international of many seasons. Very fast and collared determinedly. A good drop kick, but in his latest apparences scarcely came up to expectations. Played last for South v. North, and against Wales and Scotland in 1892-93"

Andrew Stoddart, no mystery, also had its own "Baines Card"... as well as other protagonists of the tour such as Tom Kent and Jack Anderton (2). These ones come from my own collection but I have little doubt that many other players (esp. from Northern Counties) also have their own..

This last Baines card is displayed at the RFU World Rugby Museum in Twickenham among other memorabilia treasures from the 1888 tour... "In Memoriam Bob Seddon" (poor picture with my phone, I'm afraid... )

(1) nota : this list of four international players is suggested by Wikipedia... in plain contradiction with the ILN article which mentions Harry Eagles (Swinton) instead of Tom Kent... This said, there's no H.Eagles on ESPN stats database and Lions website indicates no England cap for Harry Eagles... Another case where you shouldn't believe what's printed in the newspaper !! Historical researches are a maze... and XIXth "journalists" were sometimes lazy...

(2) I'm not 100% sure that the Anderton featured on my Baines card is "Lion" Jack Anderton. Any hint ?

Edit Sept.10: My friend Richard S. from RFU World Rugby Museum has identified my Anderton Baines card to be Charles Anderton...

"I am almost certain that the Baines card you have posted for Anderton is for the English international – Charles Anderton (1868-1959) - and not Jack Anderton from Salford who toured with the 1888 British team to Australia but did not play for England. The proof lies in a comparison between two photographs – (i) C Anderton in the Lancashire side photographed in Marshall’s book (1895) on page 379; (ii) J Anderton in the team photo of the 1888 tourists printed in any book that refers to the tour.

There is a good photo of Jack Anderton on page 78 in the book “Football’s Forgotten Tour” by John Williamson."

Edit Sept.14: RL collector and historian Stuart Quinn has kindly sent me these two Baines cards to complement this story with two more "tourists". Thanks a lot!

Sam Williams: 170 games for salford between 1881-1890. only managed 50 of the 52 games on the 1888 tour! 4 caps for Lancashire 1886-1887. First Salford player to be selected for the Norths v Souths representative match.

Harry Eagles: Salford pack leader at under 5 feet 7 inches (1m70)! Played 265 times for Salford between 1881-1893. Appeared in all 52 matches of the 1888 tour! Played 18 times for Lancashire 1886-1890. Played in all 3 north v south clashes between 1887-1890.

"A Miss is as Good as a Mile"

2012-08-11T13:53:55+02:00

I'm just passing by and sending a postcard to say "Hello!" during summer holidays here in Europe...

"A Miss is as Good as a Mile"... an English comic postcard sent in December 1911...

That's all, folks !