1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of Britain
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the 1908-09 Australia rugby league tour of Britain
The 1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles was a collection of friendly rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
against invitational and national teams from England and Wales, as well as several games against sides from North America. This was the first Australian tour of the Northern Hemisphere and the side is sometimes referred to as the "First Wallabies".
Both the New Zealand and South African
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
teams had toured Europe in 1905 and 1906 respectively, both achieving unexpected but deserved success against club and international opposition. Despite the success of these two touring teams, Australia suffered poor press and with only a single win after the teams' first twelve international matches in its history to that point, few people suggested the team would do well. Against low expectations the Australians played well, winning 25 of 31 matches played on the tour and with some commentators writing that the team would have achieved better results if they had not picked up so many injuries.
Australia took in two recognised international games, against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
, but failed to play any games in Scotland or Ireland due to the Irish Rugby Football Union
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...
and the Scottish Rugby Union
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...
resenting the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
's attitude regarding the Australian invitation.
The squad's leadership
Stan Wickham
Stan Wickham was a pioneer Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative centre who captained the Australian national side on a number of occasions in the early 1900s...
who had captained the Wallabies on 10 occasions between 1904 and 1905. Tour captain was Dr. Herbert 'Paddy' Moran
Herbert Moran
Herbert Michael "Paddy" Moran was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative flanker who captained the Wallabies' on their first overseas tour in 1908-09.-Early years:...
. The team was also captained in matches during the tour by Chris McKivat
Chris McKivat
Christopher Hobart McKivat was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests and tour matches from 1907 to 1909 and the Kangaroos in 5 Tests from 1910 to 1912...
and by Fred Wood
Fred Wood
Frederick Wood was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back. He was vice-captain of the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908-09 and later captained the side in Test matches in 1910 and 1914...
, the tour vice-captain. They played in blue shirts, emblazoned with the Waratah
Waratah
Waratah is a genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees in the Proteaceae, native to the southeastern parts of Australia...
. Players were paid 3 shillings a day in expenses.
Moran writes in Viewless Winds that when the touring squad first arrived at Plymouth a pack of journalists were there who were anxious to give the team some distinctive name. The "Rabbits" was instantaneously rejected and soon after the team adopted the moniker of "The Wallabies" which for many years was used to describe the Australia national rugby union team
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
when touring to Britain. These days the national side are the Wallabies whether playing at home or anywhere abroad.
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
, Percy Bush
Percy Bush
Percy Frank Bush was a Welsh rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales on eight occasions. Playing at fly-half, Bush is regarded as one of the most talented Welsh players before the first World War.-Rugby career:...
responded to the cry by charging onto the pitch brandishing a sword and shield, in what was intended to be an amusing riposte.
Tour itinerary
The squad left Sydney on 8 August 1908 on board the SS Omrah bound for MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The ship contained 116 passengers, 1579 bales of wool, 2729 carcases of mutton, 4650 carcases of lamb, 2000 quarters of beef, 4800 crates of frozen rabbits and 200 tones of lead and copper. They played a game at the MCG
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
against a Victorian XV which was won 26-6. They docked in Fremantle and played won a fixture against a Western Australian XV 58-6.
On the long voyage Moran introduced the practice of team meetings that were part lecture and part brain-storming with players encouraged to voice their ideas on improving team performance. Moran stood at a blackboard and while his lecturing style was initially derided by the players he managed to instill a sense of cleverness and skill in players, creating thoughts of rugby as similar to a game of chess. The Sydney forward Cecil Murnin became ill on the voyage and left the tour in Naples to return to Australia.
The first tour match in England was against Devon. Peter Burge
Peter Burge (rugby)
Peter Harold Boyne Burge was an Australian rugby footballer and coach. He represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union...
broke a leg in that match and did not play again on the tour. Australia won the match with fourteen men. Bob Craig had brought a carpet snake in his luggage as a tour mascot and the snake died that same day. The fourth tour match saw the Wallabies pitted against the best players from Cardiff and Swansea playing as Glamorgan County
Glamorgan County RFC
Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level...
. The match at Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
drew a crowd of 20,000 who gave the visitors a standing ovation. In that match another player was lost to a broken leg - this time from the sideline. The Queensland forward Flanagan was running the flag as line-umpire and was collected by Boxer Russell
Charles Russell (rugby)
Charles "Boxer" Joseph Russell was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer and coach. He represented his country in both sports and was one Australia's early dual-code rugby internationals...
in a collision. Australia's first loss was the ninth match, against Llanelli RFC
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
- a spirited encounter which saw the Llanelli side win the match 8-3 and themselves a place in local sporting folklore.
Olympic Wallabies
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
were being held in London
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
. The Australian team entered the rugby tournament
Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The event was summarised under the "Football" heading along with association football. The host Great Britain was represented by Cornwall, the 1908 county champion...
and were the only other team alongside Cornwall, who were representing Great Britain. The interest in the Olympic rugby final was only lukewarm with the final being held in the last week of Games that had taken place over six months.
Australia had already beaten Cornwall, the British county champions early in the tour. Scotland
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...
and Ireland
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...
had turned down the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
's invitation to participate in the Olympic bouts. France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
were expected to contest the medal, but had withdrawn, leaving just Australia and Cornwall for England team to play for gold and silver medals.
The match was played on an area alongside the Olympic Games swimming pool which measured 110 yards in length with a long line of netting stretched beside to catch flying balls. Large mattresses were spread along the rim of the pool to prevent injuries to falling players. One day was allocated to what was called the Olympic rugby tournament. Neither Moran, nor the tour vice-captain Fred Wood
Fred Wood
Frederick Wood was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back. He was vice-captain of the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908-09 and later captained the side in Test matches in 1910 and 1914...
played so Chris McKivat
Chris McKivat
Christopher Hobart McKivat was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests and tour matches from 1907 to 1909 and the Kangaroos in 5 Tests from 1910 to 1912...
led the Wallabies to an easy 32-3 victory and to Olympic glory, with each Wallaby in that match thereafter an Olympic gold medallist.
Zavos quotes a contemporary newspaper account by Major Trevor in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
27 October 1908:
Tour statistics
The tour took in 31 games in the British Isles, with the Australians winning 25, losing five and drawing one. Of the Test matches, the team lost against Wales, but beat England. These matches were the first ever encounters between an Australian team and their hosts. A further two matches were played in Australia en route and there were five matches in the USA and Canada.The Wallabies scored 438 points on tour to 149 against, scoring 104 tries in the process and averaging better than three tries per game with 80 scored by the backs and 24 by the forwards.
Touring party
Management
- Manager: James McMahon
- Assistant: Stan WickhamStan WickhamStan Wickham was a pioneer Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative centre who captained the Australian national side on a number of occasions in the early 1900s...
- Captain: Herbert MoranHerbert MoranHerbert Michael "Paddy" Moran was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative flanker who captained the Wallabies' on their first overseas tour in 1908-09.-Early years:...
- Vice-Captain: Fred WoodFred WoodFrederick Wood was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back. He was vice-captain of the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908-09 and later captained the side in Test matches in 1910 and 1914...
Full Backs
- Phil CarmichaelPhil CarmichaelPhilip Patrick "Phil" Carmichael was a rugby union player who represented Australia. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics....
(Brothers) - William DixBill Dix (rugby)William Dix was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Dix, a fullback, was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and claimed a total of 4 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
(Armidale)
Three quarters
- Charles Russell (Newtown)
- Daniel Carroll (St. George)
- Jack Hickey (Glebe)
- Frank SmithFrank Smith (rugby player)Francis Bede "Frank" Smith was an Australian rugby union player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Smith, a centre, was born in Wellington, New South Wales and claimed a total of 4 international rugby caps for Australia...
(Central West) - H.L. Daly (Central West)
- Edward MandibleEdward MandibleEdward Francis Mandible born in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, was an Australian national representative rugby union fly-half and one of the pioneers who broke away from that code to take up rugby league in Sydney in 1910....
(Sydney) - Esmond ParkinsonEsmond ParkinsonCharles Esmond Parkinson was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Parkinson, a wing, was born in Colinton, Queensland and claimed 1 international rugby cap for Australia.-References:...
(Harlin)
Half Backs
- Christopher McKivatt (Glebe)
- Arthur McCabeArthur McCabeArthur John Michael McCabe was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league player. He represented for Australian in rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Rugby union career:...
(South Sydney) - Fred WoodFred WoodFrederick Wood was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back. He was vice-captain of the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908-09 and later captained the side in Test matches in 1910 and 1914...
(Glebe) - Ward PrenticeWard PrenticeWarden Selby Prentice was an Australian sportsman who captained Australia at rugby union and New South Wales at first-class cricket and also played first-grade rugby league for the Western Suburbs Magpies....
(West SuburbsWest Harbour RFCThe West Harbour Rugby Football Club is a team in the Shute Shield, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales.The club is based in Concord in the Inner West of Sydney, and play their home matches at Waratah Stadium, Concord Oval...
) - Joseph M Stevenson (Northern)
Forwards
- Thomas GriffenThomas GriffenThomas Sydney Griffen was an Australian rugby union player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Griffin, a hooker, was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed a total of 6 international rugby caps for Australia....
(Glebe) - Jumbo Barnett (Newtown)
- Patrick McCuePatrick McCuePatrick Aloysius "Paddy" McCue was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league player...
(Newtown) - Sydney MiddletonSydney MiddletonSydney Albert 'Syd' Middleton DSO, OBE was an Australian Army officer and national representative rugby union player and rower. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics and competed in rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He had a distinguished career in World War I being awarded...
(Glebe) - Tom Richards (Charters Towers)
- Malcolm McArthurMalcolm McArthurMalcolm J. "Mannie" McArthur was an Australian rugby union national representative rugby union player. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Rugby career:...
(Eastern SuburbsEastern Suburbs RUFCThe Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club is a team in the Shute Shield and the Tooheys New cup, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales....
) - Charles McMurtrieCharles McMurtrieCharles H. McMurtrie was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who represented his country at both sports...
(Orange) - Robert Craig (Balmain)
- Herbert MoranHerbert MoranHerbert Michael "Paddy" Moran was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative flanker who captained the Wallabies' on their first overseas tour in 1908-09.-Early years:...
(Newcastle) - E. McIntyre (Central West)
- Ken GavinKen GavinKenneth Australia Gavin was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Gavin, a prop, was born in Cudal, New South Wales and claimed 1 international rugby cap for Australia.-References:...
(Central West) - Albert BurgeAlbert BurgeAlbert Bentley "Son" Burge was an Australian rugby union lock who played with the Souths rugby union club in Sydney and at the age of nineteen was selected for the Australian national team in two Tests against New Zealand in 1907....
(South Sydney) - Peter BurgePeter Burge (rugby)Peter Harold Boyne Burge was an Australian rugby footballer and coach. He represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union...
(South Sydney) - Cecil Murnin (Eastern SuburbsEastern Suburbs RUFCThe Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club is a team in the Shute Shield and the Tooheys New cup, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales....
) - Norm RowNorm RowNorman Edward Row was a rugby union player who represented in the Australia national rugby union team. His brother Frank Row was Australia's inaugural rugby Test captain in 1899....
(Eastern SuburbsEastern Suburbs RUFCThe Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club is a team in the Shute Shield and the Tooheys New cup, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales....
) - Peter Flanagan (Brothers)
- Charles HammandCharles HammandCharles Ackroyd Hammand was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Hammand, a lock, was born in Waverley, New South Wales and claimed a total of 2 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
(UniversitySydney University Football ClubSydney University Football Club, founded in 1863 , is the oldest club now playing rugby union in Australia, and as such is nicknamed "The Birthplace of Australian Rugby" or simply "The Birthplace".The club are the current NSWRU Premiers.The club was a member of the inaugural Sydney club competition...
)
Results
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1 | 10 August | Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... , Australia |
Won | 26-6 |
| Match 2 | 17 August | Western Australia | Fremantle Oval Fremantle Oval Fremantle Oval is a stadium in the centre of Fremantle, Western Australia. It currently has a capacity of 17,500 with terracing and a members area holding 750. Fremantle Oval was originally used for cricket, but in 1895 hosted its first game of Australian rules football... , Australia |
Won | 58-6 |
| Match 3 | 26 September | Devon | Rectory Ground, Devonport Devonport, Devon Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889... |
Won | 24-3 |
| Match 4 | 1 October | Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Gloucestershire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union. Formed in 1878, it has won the county championship on numerous occasions.-History:The Union was... |
Kingsholm Kingsholm Stadium Kingsholm Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Gloucester, England, and is the home stadium of Gloucester Rugby. The stadium has a capacity of 16,500. It is sometimes nicknamed 'Castle Grim' after the estate where the stadium is built and also in reference to Gloucester's admirable home form... , England |
Won | 16-0 |
| Match 5 | 3 October | Cornwall | Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.... , Cornwall |
Won | 18-5 |
| Match 6 | 7 October | Glamorgan Glamorgan County RFC Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level... |
Taff Vale Park, Pontypridd Pontypridd Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff... , Wales |
Won | 16-3 |
| Match 7 | 10 October | Penygraig RFC Penygraig RFC Penygraig Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Penygraig, Wales. Penygraig RFC formed in 1877, one of the earlier rugby clubs to emerge, and by 1890's were a strong voice in the Welsh Rugby Union, one of four clubs from the Rhondda Valley that held WRU representation.-Early... |
Athletic Ground, Tonypandy Tonypandy Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots.... , Wales |
Won | 11-3 |
| Match 8 | 15 October | Neath RFC Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem... and Aberavon RFC Aberavon RFC Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, although the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town... |
Neath Football Ground, Neath Neath Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001... , Wales |
Won | 15-0 |
| Match 9 | 17 October | Llanelli RFC Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent... |
Stradey Park Stradey Park Stradey Park was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800... , Llanelli Llanelli Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby... , Wales |
Lost | 3-8 |
| Match 10 | 19 October | Monmouthshire Monmouthshire County RFC Monmouthshire County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Monmouthshire that originally played rugby at county level... |
Football Ground, Pontypool Pontypool Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales.... , Wales |
Cancelled-pitch waterlogged | |
| Match 11 | 24 October | London | Richmond, England | Won | 3-0 |
| Match 12 | 26 October | Cornwall | White City Stadium White City Stadium White City Stadium was built in White City, London, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, often seen as the precursor to the modern seater stadium and noted for hosting the finish of the first modern distance marathon. It also hosted speedway and a match at the 1966 World Cup, before the stadium was... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Won | 3-8 |
| Match 13 | 28 October | Combined Army Army Rugby Union The Army Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the British Army and a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union . The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J.E.C... and Navy Royal Navy Rugby Union The Royal Navy Rugby Union was formed in 1906 to administer the playing of rugby union in the Royal Navy. It fields a representative side that competes in the Army Navy Match, although a side representing the Royal Navy predates the formation of the union by twenty-eight years... |
Recreation Ground, Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... , England |
Won | 8-6 |
| Match 14 | 31 October | Durham | Friarage Ground, Hartlepool Hartlepool Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from... , England |
Won | 29-7 |
| Match 15 | 4 November | Northumberland and Cumberland | St James' Park, Newcastle, England | Won | 18-6 |
| Match 16 | 7 November | Cheshire | Birkenhead Park Birkenhead Park Birkenhead Park is a public park in the centre of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847... , Birkenhead Birkenhead Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool... , England |
Won | 37-3 |
| Match 17 | 11 November | London | Rectory Field Rectory Field Rectory Field is a playing field in Blackheath, London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home of Kent County Cricket Club and rugby union team Blackheath F.C.... , Blackheath Blackheath, London Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west... , England |
Won | 24-3 |
| Match 18 | 14 November | Cambridge University Cambridge University R.U.F.C. The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest... |
Cambridge, England | Won | 11-9 |
| Match 19 | 18 November | Oxford University Oxford University RFC The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:... |
Iffley Road, Oxford Oxford The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... , England |
Won | 19-3 |
| Match 20 | 21 November | Yorkshire | Belle Vue Belle Vue (Wakefield) Belle Vue is a rugby league stadium in Wakefield, England. It is the home stadium of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. It is located beside the A638 Doncaster Road, approximately one mile south of Wakefield City Centre.- Description :Currently, the East stand has a covered stand with seating, with some... , Wakefield Wakefield Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001.... , England |
Won | 24-0 |
| Match 21 | 21 November | Lancashire Lancashire County Rugby Football Union The Lancashire County Rugby Football Union is the society responsible for rugby union in the county of Lancashire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1881... |
Fallowfield Stadium Fallowfield Stadium Fallowfield Stadium was an athletics stadium and velodrome in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. It opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground... , Fallowfield Fallowfield Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:... , England |
Won | 12-6 |
| Match 22 | 28 November | Somerset | Athletic Grounds, Taunton Taunton Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset.... , England |
Won | 8-0 |
| Match 23 | 2 December | Combined Midlands | England | Lost | 5-16 |
| Match 24 | 5 December | Anglo-Wales XV | Richmond, England | Won | 24-0 |
| Match 25 | 12 December | Wales Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with... |
Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World... , Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... |
Lost | 6-9 |
| Match 26 | 17 December | Glamorgan League XV | Taff Vale Park, Pontypridd Pontypridd Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff... , Wales |
Won | 9-5 |
| Match 27 | 19 December | Newport RFC | Rodney Parade Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, south Wales. Located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre it is primarily used for rugby matches and is the home ground of Newport RFC and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team.-History:... , Newport Newport Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent... , Wales |
Won | 5-3 |
| Match 28 | 22 December | Abertillery RFC Abertillery RFC Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their web site, they were founded in 1883, though other sources state 1884. Their team colours are green and white and their home ground is Abertillery Park in Abertillery. The club is a member of the... |
Abertillery Abertillery Abertillery is a town in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in South Wales, north-west of Newport, originally on the Great Western Railway. Its population rose steeply during the period of mining development in South Wales, being 10,846 in the 1891 census and 21,945 ten years later... , Wales |
Draw | 3-3 |
| Match 29 | 24 December | North Glamorgan | Penydarren Park Penydarren Park Penydarren Park is the former stadium for Merthyr Tydfil F.C. in Merthyr Tydfil. It has a capacity of 10,000. A housing estate next to it also carries the name of the stadium. It was also the home of the town's former club, Merthyr Town F.C., members of the Football League between 1920 and 1930,... , Merthyr, Wales |
won | 13-5 |
| Match 30 | 26 December | Swansea RFC Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip... |
St. Helen's, Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands... , Wales |
Lost | 0-6 |
| Match 31 | 28 December | Cardiff RFC Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since... |
Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World... , Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... , Wales |
Lost | 8-24 |
| Match 32 | 9 January | England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in... |
Rectory Field Rectory Field Rectory Field is a playing field in Blackheath, London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home of Kent County Cricket Club and rugby union team Blackheath F.C.... , Blackheath Blackheath, London Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west... , England |
Won | 9-3 |
| Match 33 | 13 January | Bristol Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'... and Clifton Clifton Rugby Football Club Clifton Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club founded in Clifton, Bristol, England. Over the years the club's home games have been played in a variety of locations in northern Bristol, though never in Clifton itself; since 1976 they have been based at the southern end of Cribbs Causeway.Clifton... |
Gloucestershire County Ground, England | Won | 11-3 |
| Match 34 | 16 January | Plymouth | Plymouth, England | Won | 15-6 |
| Match 35 | 6 February | University of California University of California The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University... |
California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , USA |
Won | 27-0 |
| Match 36 | Stanford University Stanford University The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San... |
California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
Won | 13-3 | |
| Match 37 | All California | California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
Won | 17-0 | |
| Match 38 | Vancouver | Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,... , British Columbia, Canada |
Won | 23-0 | |
| Match 39 | Victoria | Australia | Won | 26-3 | |
Wales
Wales Bert WinfieldBert Winfield
Herbert Benjamin 'Bert' Winfield was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and captained Wales against Ireland in 1908...
, Johnnie Williams
Johnnie Williams
Johnnie Williams was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Club. A three times Triple Crown winner, out of seventeen appearances for Wales he was on the losing side only twice....
, Jack Jones
Jack Jones (rugby player)
John "Jack" Phillips Jones was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Pontypool Rugby Club and Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 14 caps for Wales and was known as The Prince of Centres.-Rugby career:...
, Billy Trew
Billy Trew
Billy Trew was a Welsh international centre, outside half and wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club. He won 29 caps for Wales and is seen as one of the key players of the first Golden Age of Welsh rugby union...
captain, Phil Hopkins
Phil Hopkins
Phil Hopkins was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club...
, Dick Jones
Dick Jones (rugby player)
Richard Hughes "Dick" Jones was a Welsh international fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club. He won 15 caps for Wales and played county rugby for Glamorgan.-Rugby career:...
, Dicky Owen
Dicky Owen
Dicky Owen was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFC Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1912, a record that was unbeaten until 1955 when Ken Jones surpassed him.-Influence in rugby:Born Richard Morgan...
, James Watts
James Watts (rugby player)
James "Jim" Watts was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli. He won eleven caps for Wales and was part of the first Grand Slam winning side in 1908.-Rugby career:...
, George Travers
George Travers (rugby player)
George "Twyber" Travers was a Welsh international hooker who played club rugby for Pill Harriers and Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 25 caps for Wales between 1903 and 1911....
, George Hayward
George Hayward
George Hayward was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and was capped for Wales on five occasions and was part of the 1908 Home Nations Championship winning team.-Rugby career:...
, Jim Webb
Jim Webb (rugby player)
Alfred "Jim" Webb was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Abertillery and county rugby for Monmouthshire...
, Phil Waller
Phil Waller
Phil Waller was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Johannesburg. He won six caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa....
, Tom Evans
Tom Evans (rugby player)
Thomas "Tom" Henry Evans was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played club rugby for Llanelli. Evans played in eighteen international games for Wales, and in 1908 was part of the Welsh team that faced touring Australian team...
, Ivor Morgan
Ivor Morgan
Ivor Morgan was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and county rugby for Glamorgan.-Club career:...
, David John Thomas
David John Thomas
David John Thomas was a Welsh international forward who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club. He won ten caps for Wales and is most notable for scoring the only try in Swansea's win over South Africa in 1912....
Australia Phil Carmichael
Phil Carmichael
Philip Patrick "Phil" Carmichael was a rugby union player who represented Australia. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics....
, Charles Russell, John Hickey, Edward Mandible
Edward Mandible
Edward Francis Mandible born in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, was an Australian national representative rugby union fly-half and one of the pioneers who broke away from that code to take up rugby league in Sydney in 1910....
, Daniel Carroll, Ward Prentice
Ward Prentice
Warden Selby Prentice was an Australian sportsman who captained Australia at rugby union and New South Wales at first-class cricket and also played first-grade rugby league for the Western Suburbs Magpies....
, Christopher McKivatt, Thomas Griffen
Thomas Griffen
Thomas Sydney Griffen was an Australian rugby union player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Griffin, a hooker, was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed a total of 6 international rugby caps for Australia....
, Robert Craig, Jumbo Barnett, Peter Burge
Peter Burge (rugby)
Peter Harold Boyne Burge was an Australian rugby footballer and coach. He represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union...
, Charles Hammand
Charles Hammand
Charles Ackroyd Hammand was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Hammand, a lock, was born in Waverley, New South Wales and claimed a total of 2 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
, Patrick McCue
Patrick McCue
Patrick Aloysius "Paddy" McCue was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league player...
, Tom Richards, Herbert Moran
Herbert Moran
Herbert Michael "Paddy" Moran was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative flanker who captained the Wallabies' on their first overseas tour in 1908-09.-Early years:...
captain
After the tours by the New Zealand and South African teams, the Welsh crowds were beginning to become fatigued at greeting another 'colonial' team, and the crowd of 30,000 at the Cardiff Arms Park was smaller than previous in tours. Those that attended were repaid with an exciting and close encounter, with two tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
from both sides and Wales winning by just a single penalty goal. The contest between the forwards was described as 'tremendous', and at the end of the match Moran was chaired from the ground by the Welsh supporters. Moran was later quoted as saying: "It was a very gruelling game; in fact, I think it was one of the hardest games I had ever played in."
Moran describes the last fifteen minutes as tremendously hard. Twice or three times the Australian backs either crossed the line or knocked down a corner post without being able to score. In the dying moments one of the Australian wingers made a break with just Bert Winfield
Bert Winfield
Herbert Benjamin 'Bert' Winfield was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and captained Wales against Ireland in 1908...
to beat. Instead of stepping or fending him the Wallaby three-quarter attempted to barge through and both players collapsed to the ground. The whistle blew and the Test was Wales'.
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England
England George LyonGeorge Lyon (sportsman)
Admiral Sir George Hamilton D'Oyly Lyon, KCB was a distinguished Royal Navy officer as well as an English sportsman who played first-class cricket and represented the England national rugby union team.-Naval career:...
captain, Edgar Mobbs
Edgar Mobbs
Edgar Roberts "Mobbsy" Mobbs DSO was an English rugby union footballer who played for and captained Northampton R.F.C. and England. He played as a three quarter....
, FN Tarr, EW Assinder, BB Bennetts, AH Ashcroft, RH Williamson, JG Cooper, R Dibble, AL Kewney, SH Penny, AD Warrington-Morris, FP Knight, Percy Down
Percy Down
Percy Down was an English rugby union player, best known as a commanding forward in the Bristol pack in the first decade of the twentieth century...
, WL Oldham
Australia Phil Carmichael
Phil Carmichael
Philip Patrick "Phil" Carmichael was a rugby union player who represented Australia. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics....
, Charles Russell, John Hickey, Ward Prentice
Ward Prentice
Warden Selby Prentice was an Australian sportsman who captained Australia at rugby union and New South Wales at first-class cricket and also played first-grade rugby league for the Western Suburbs Magpies....
, William Dix
Bill Dix (rugby)
William Dix was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Dix, a fullback, was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and claimed a total of 4 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
, Arthur McCabe
Arthur McCabe
Arthur John Michael McCabe was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league player. He represented for Australian in rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Rugby union career:...
, Christopher McKivatt captain Ken Gavin
Ken Gavin
Kenneth Australia Gavin was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Gavin, a prop, was born in Cudal, New South Wales and claimed 1 international rugby cap for Australia.-References:...
, Norm Row
Norm Row
Norman Edward Row was a rugby union player who represented in the Australia national rugby union team. His brother Frank Row was Australia's inaugural rugby Test captain in 1899....
, Jumbo Barnett, Patrick McCue
Patrick McCue
Patrick Aloysius "Paddy" McCue was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league player...
, Charles Hammand
Charles Hammand
Charles Ackroyd Hammand was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Hammand, a lock, was born in Waverley, New South Wales and claimed a total of 2 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
, Malcolm McArthur
Malcolm McArthur
Malcolm J. "Mannie" McArthur was an Australian rugby union national representative rugby union player. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Rugby career:...
, Tom Richards, Sydney Middleton
Sydney Middleton
Sydney Albert 'Syd' Middleton DSO, OBE was an Australian Army officer and national representative rugby union player and rower. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics and competed in rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He had a distinguished career in World War I being awarded...
The match was to have been played at Twickenham but bad weather had delayed the construction of the stand and it was moved to Blackheath.
England had ten new caps, including all four three-quarters. England started well and Edgar Mobbs
Edgar Mobbs
Edgar Roberts "Mobbsy" Mobbs DSO was an English rugby union footballer who played for and captained Northampton R.F.C. and England. He played as a three quarter....
scored. Wallaby Norman Row kicked an up-and-under, followed up and scored to level the scores. Half-time came at 3-all. Australia dominated the second half. Boxer Russell scored the Wallabies' second and third tries.
Although the Australian team won by three tries to one, sections of the British press reported that the tourists were fortunate to win. This was typical of the press, which had unfairly compared the Australians to the All Black and Springbok teams throughout the tour. Moran had suffered an Achilles-tendon injury in a prior match and missed the England encounter, so the captaincy was given to McKivat.
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