SIXTY YEARS OF RUGBY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 July 1939, Page 4

SIXTY YEARS OF RUGBY

From the early infancy of football in the Wairarapa Carterton has played an important part in promoting the game. Though matches were played in 1878 between Masterton and Carterton .combined against Featherston (where the game had made considerable headway through the efforts of the late Messrs John McMaster and H. McMaster and other college boys who returned to their homes in the Lower Valley during the holidays) the first straight out contest between two clubs in the Wairarapa took place at Carterton on July 5, 1879 when the Carterton and Greytown seniors met. The teams took the field that day as follows: —Carterton: J. Snodgrass (captain), Lister-Kaye, P. F. Tancred, Sellar, Ward, Shaw, Nicholls, Hanson, Hooker, Fairbrother, Kemble, Girdlestone, Spatz, Nix, Edmunds. Greytown: T. S. (“Barney”) Ronaldson, Greig, AV. C. Cuff, E. C. W. Porter, F. Tully, G. Tully, A. Hirschberg. W. Hirschberg, J. McMaster, H. McMaster, Desmond, A. L. Webster, Varnham, Burns and Humphries. Nothing was ■gained by either side in the first three spellsi laps thej' were called in those days) but in the last twenty minutes one of the Tully’s touched down for Greytown twice, thus giving the wearers of the red, blue and black jersey (the Grey town colours) the victory. It will thus be seen that what many football followers consider a modern innovation —the game of four spells —was the usual thing in those days. A DIFFERENT GAME THEN. The game of football as played then Was considerably different to that in vogue today. It was confined mostly to the forwards, there being a continuous herculean struggle for the ball in which pluck and brawn counted most

and in which “mauls” were quite common. When two or more players gained possession of the ball over the goal-line a “maul” took place until the players of one side gained absolute possession of the ball when a try or a force down, as the case may be, was registered. The remaining players looked on until the “maul” was over, sometimes the struggle going on for a quarter of an hour, and very often three men would be engaged in trying to take the ball away from one or two opponents. A force down in those days counted half a point, and a try one point. The backs had mostly to make the® own play, running or kicking, there being no back movements as we know them today. The five-eighths system (which was originally adopted in New Zealand by Otago, after the visit of Stoddart’s British team in 1883 was unknown then, but there were what were called half-backs (two players) and quarter-backs (two players) with a full-back, this constituting the rearguard of a team, with nine or ten forwards. Later the formation was one full-back, one three-quarter, two halves, two quarters, and nine forwards. CARTERTON VICTORIOUS. The return match between the Carterton and Greytown teams, was played at Greytown on July 19, 1879. Carterton put up a great fight against their redoubtable opponents and revenged their initial defeat by winning by two points to one. Tancred kicked a goal for Carterton and J. McMaster scored a try for Grey town. These two matches laid the foundation of a football district which in later years was to become famous as the champions of New Zealand. PROGRESS IN CARTERTON. The season 1880 saw substantial progress made in the Wairarapa in the game of football and particularly in Carterton. There were more club matches played; an outside fifteen visited Wairarapa for the first time; Wairarapa played its first representative game (against Wellington at Greytown when the city team won by one goal and three tries to nil); and Wairarapa had four players selected in the Wellington representative team. Among the Carterton seniors that year were P. F. Tancred (captain), S. M. Tancred, Nat Grace, Snodgrass, Ward, H. McMaster, L. Nix, C. Fairbrother, F. Fairbrother, J. Strang, C. J. Jury, G. Bennett, R. Kamble, P. Lee and J. Lee. The first Wairarapa inter-club match in 1880 took place on May 15 when Greytown beat Masterton by 14 points to nil; on June 2G Carterton beat Masterton. 2 points to nil; on July 3 Greytown beat Masterion, G to nil; on July 24 Masterton beat Carterton, 3 to I; on August 21 Greytown beat Carterton. and Masterton combined by 10 to nil. and on September 11 Greytown defeated Masterton by 10 to nil. The Carterton players in Wairarapa’s first senior representative match were J. Snodgrass, P. F. Tancred. R. Kemble and Lee. RUGBY CUP GAMES. In 1885 football had made considerable strides in the Wairarapa and Carterton had some particularly good players, though none of the teams could equal the Masterton seniors in skill. The Wairarapa final for the

Wellington Rugby Union Cup was won by Masterton, who defeated Carterton by 1G to nil, but who in tuny were beaten in the Wellington final by the Wellington Club fifteen by three tries to nil. It may be here explained that in 1882 a cup. known as the Wellington Rugby Union Cud. was played for by Wellington and Wairarapa clubs, the champion team of the Wairarapa meeting the premier fifteen of Wellington in the final at Wellington. In 1883 Greytown and Athletic played a drawn game in Wellington, this accounting for Greytown’s name,being bracketed with that of Athletic in the Wellington senior championship winners list. The Carterton learn in 1885 contained in its Tanks W. Strang, T. A. Ewen, W. Dempsey, R. Kemble, E. Mercer, R. Goodin, A. Mercer, Charlie Reid, A. Armstrong, F. Fairbrother, T. Moore, F. Peters, A. Moore, C. Robinson and Rutherford. FIRST UNION FIXTURES. « The first Wairarapa Rugby Union fixtures were played in 1887. Masterton beat Carterton by two tries to one; Greytown and Carterton drew, no score; Masterton beat Greytown, 1 try to nil; and Greytown defeated ton by 2 tries to nil. Masterton v*’on the championship with Greytown run-ners-up. Jake Baumber, Charlie Reid and C. Fairbrother, of Carterton, played in the Wairarapa representative team in 1887. The first junior representative match in New Zealand was played at Masterton in 1887 between Wairarapa and Wellington, when Wairarapa won by 3 points to one. Snodgrass , and Nicholson 'were the Carterton representatives in the Wairarapa team. Mr

Alf. Hoar, who still resides in Masterton, was a member of the Wairarapa team. Mr Hoar played for the Red Star Club as did six others in the team. The late Tom Hoar, whose sons, Frank, Newman, Waller and Bill, live in Masterton, was in the Wellington team. PLAYED AGAINST BRITISHERS. Charlie Reid and Jake Baumber were the Carterton players in the Wairarapa representative fifteen which played Stoddart’s British team at Masterton in 1888. Charlie Reid, C. Fairbrother and Jake Baumber played in the first match between Wairarapa and Canterbury and were regular players in the Wairarapa team at that period. PROMINENT PLAYERS. Later there came prominently into the football picture as far as Carterton was concerned in the next decade, C. Allen, Harry and Art Cadwallader, Clarrie Moore, the Booths, W. Waterson, Bridge, Burling, Corlett, Callister, Telford, Hoc. Nicholson (who played senior when he was about .thirteen years old), J. Kiddie, Bill Eagle, C. Diamond, Jack McKenzie, Ted McKenzie, most of whom won places in the representative team.

NEW CLUB FORMED In the year 1900 the Carterton Football Club was re-formed, and several old Rover players threw in their lot with the new club. In their first year they won the W.R.U. senior championship. Their colours were maroon and for thirty-nine years the maroon jersey has been recognised, as belonging to a team that was always hard to beat. Over those thirty-nine years the Carterton Club have been successful in winning the Wairarapa senior championship twenty-one times. They have won the club championship nearly every year, and the lower grades have had their fair ;share of wins. The club has always believed in bringing up their young players and to this they owe their great success. The club has also supplied many players in representative honours. in those thirty-nine vein's, such names as the Armstrongs, Johnsons, McKenzies, Hendersons, Reids, Lindops, Callisters. Stafferts, Grouts, Masons, Desmond, Fitzgeralds, Moore?, Massons, Blakes, and hundreds of others, who have been great players. These men have played nearly all their football for Carterton. and although many have now left the district they still have a warm spot in their hearts for the maroon jersey. In 1914-13 like many other clubs their ranks 'suffered. when the Carterton footballers went forth to take a hand in that great game on the fields of France, and we find Carterton players being picked to play football in England, France and anywhere where soldiers were camped. In rep. matches. A. Desmond has played for Wairarapa 120 times. North Island twice and. also in the North Island country team. Bert McKenzie played 08 games for Wairarapa, for the North Island in 1913-14 and the New Zealand Base team in England. C. Groube played for Wairarapa from 1907 to 1914 and was captain of the Carterton senior team over that period. The Carterton Club has a record that every member is proud of.