BRITISH TEAM IS FIFTH TO TOUR NEW ZEALAND

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 59, 21 June 1950, Page 3

BRITISH TEAM IS FIFTH TO TOUR NEW ZEALAND

The British Rugby team of 1950. the team to play Bay of PlentyEast Coast-Poverty Bay combined at Gisborne this afternoon, is the fifth from the United Kingdom to tour New Zealand. The 1888 British team, the first to tour New Zealand, lost only two matches—one to Auckland, and one to Taranaki. It played nineteen matches, winning thirteen, drawing four, and losing two, and scored 83 points, with 33 scored against it. The low scoring is notable but it must be remembered that the points system was entirely different from now. A try counted only 1 point, a conversion 1, and a field goal 3 Many other things were different too. For instance nearly all the players in the touring team maintained the fashion of their day by having moustaches, and their street dress included the old tight trousers, starched dollars, and “hard hitter” bowler hats.

On the field, too, their dress was different, their shorts reaching down to the knees and their stockings almost up to the knees, a good inch or more higher than those worn these days. This British team was unusual in that it made what amounted to two tours of New Zealand. It played nine games in April and May, then went to Australia for nine games there, and then returned to New Zealand for ten more games in September and October. The tourists beat Otago, 8-3, and 4-3, and vanterbury, 14-6 and 4-0, before v/inning 4-1 and drawing 3-3 against Wellington. They then travelled by sea to New Plymouth and lost 1-0 against Taranaki. Going on, by sea again, to Auckland, the tourists beat Aucldand 6-3, and then lost 4-0 before leavmg for Australia.

Returning from Australia in September, the tourists beat Auckland, 3-0, and then played a 1-1 draw with Auckland.

They beat Hawke’s Bay, 3-2. Wai • varapa, 5-1, Taranaki, 7-1 (it is said that they were determined to win this match because they blamed their first defeat on the sea trip); Canterbury, 8-0, and drew with Otago, 0-0, and Wanganui, 1-1. No match was played against New Zealand, there were two against the South'■lsland, fhe British team winning 5-3 and 6-0. Won Last Time

The 1930 British Rugby team played Bay of Plenty-Poverty BayEast Coast combined at Gisborne and won 25-11. That team played 21 games for the loss of six.