I'm a Hawkeye Guy

1924

 

 

Colin Campbell became a Hawkes Bay representative in 1924 and would play 51 games for the province until his retirement in 1931. Jack Kirwan moved to Auckland and would later convert to the league code.

 

Quite within their rights, Hawkes Bay’s administrators simply refused to defend the shield anywhere else but at home in the Bay. This caused a deal of criticism from other unions, but the Bay delegates stuck to their guns over the issue.

 

*****

 

Tuesday, June 3rd, 1924. McLean Park, Napier: HAWKES BAY 30, WAIRARAPA 14 (B A Grenside 2, J J Mill, J M Blake, J W D Mardon, A Kirkpatrick, S W Gemmell & A C Falwasser tries. N McCarthy 3 conversions)

  

As with 1923, the first defence of the new season was scheduled for the Kings Birthday, June 3rd against Wairarapa in Napier. This was the same day as the All Black trials in Wellington and both sides were expected to have a fair amount of their players engaged in the latter match.

 

The fact that the Bay were expected to have more involved, was quickly viewed as the Wairarapa’s big chance of finally getting their ‘mitts’ on the shield for the first time.

 

The match was played in dull weather on a greasy ground, with a ‘fair’ wind blowing off the sea.

 

Grenside scored the first try after a spectacular passing rush, McCarthy converting. Desmond dived over from a line out for the Wairarapa and scored his second soon after.

 

Falwasser scored near the posts and the spell ended with Hiroti ‘piloting the leather over’, to give the visitors the lead at half time by 9 – 8.

 

It did not take long for Hawkes Bay to regain the lead however and Blake scored a fine try in the corner. The Bay then continued to ‘knock at the door’ with Mill scoring following a scrum, converted by McCarthy

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Kirkpatrick, Mardon, Grenside and Gemmell scored tries as the holders ran further away with the game.

Parker replied in the last minute for Wairarapa with Hiroti converting a grand kick.

 

Wairarapa were sent home without the ‘wood’. Anticipating that they would win, Hawkes Bay had already accepted a challenge from the Poverty Bay union, set for June 21st.

 

*****

 

Saturday, June 21st, 1924. McLean Park, Napier: HAWKES BAY 46, POVERTY BAY 10 (B A Grenside 4, J A McNab 2, C J Brownlie 2, J Ormond, A C Falwasser & N L Kivell tries. G Nepia 2 conversions and penalty. J J Mill 2 & W R Irvine conversions.

 

On a heavy ground in Napier, the Bay equalled Auckland’s record victory of margin in an interprovincial game in smashing the aspirations of Poverty Bay by 46 points to 10.

 

The match was even and enterprising, given the conditions, with both sets of backs willing to run the ball whenever possible. The defenders were able to turn defence more often into attack and at half time led by 13 – 0, thanks to tries from Ormond and Grenside, with Nepia converting two and adding a penalty.

 

Innovative play continued throughout the second spell with the Bay adding a further nine tries (Grenside 3, Cyril Brownlie 2, McNab 2, Falwasser and Kivell) Mill converting two and Irvine one. Poverty Bay scored two splendid tries of their own, one each to Whaitiri and Scott with Tureia converting both.

 

*****

 

Saturday, August 16th, 1924. Nelson Park, Hastings: HAWKES BAY 35, NELSON 3 (A C Falwasser 4, J M Blake 2, C C Hingston and J Hebberley tries. G L Yates 2 and L A Miller penalties. J W D Mardon conversion)

 

*****

 

Saturday, August 23rd, 1924. McLean Park, Napier: HAWKES BAY 23, AUCKLAND 6 (B A Grenside 2, J Ormond, A C Falwasser & J M Blake tries. G L Yates penalty and conversion. T G Corkill goal from a mark)  

 

Auckland arrived for their challenge on 23rd August. Both sides were without their All Blacks as the national side were en route to the United Kingdom to become ‘The Invincibles’.

 

In fact, at the time they were in the Panama canal and one of the forwards Les Cupples from Bay of Plenty had arranged a bogus telegram, which caused much consternation, stating that Auckland had won the match and shield by the incredible score of 43 – 5. The Brownlie boys were not convinced. 

 

Back at McLean Park, Yates missed with an early penalty from some distance and then it was Auckland who opened the scoring when Neil Ifwerson scored a try. Grenside replied for the holders, with Yates converting.

 

The Auckland backs were playing a very flat line on defence and got up to smother or spoil many moves that the Bay backs were attempting to create. Goals from marks were exchanged, firstly by Corkill, then ex-magpie Kirwan for Auckland. Half time came without further score.

 

It was Hawkes Bay who provided most of the offensive work during the second half. Yates landed a penalty. The Magpies were by now making the pace a cracker and eventually Ormond scored following another of the legendary passing rushes.

Grenside darted down the blindside to score his second, in the corner, both he and Falwasser in ‘fine fettle’ throughout the game. Right on full time, following a length of the field movement, Jackie Blake scored under the posts. Incredibly, Mardon missed with the conversion.

 

*****

 

Saturday, August 30th, 1924. Nelson Park, Hastings: HAWKES BAY 31, MANAWATU 5 (T G Corkill 3, A C Falwasser 3, J W D Mardon 2 & C C Hingston tries. G L Yates and L A Miller conversions)

 

The Manawatu side arrived by car at midnight before their challenge. It had been raining on the Thursday and Friday in Hastings, but the weather cleared in time for the game on Saturday. A crowd of around 4,000 turned up for the match. The soggy ground meant that the proposed curtain raiser between Rovers and Te Aute fourth grades had to be cancelled.

The Manawatu side had established a good reputation and their rugby was known to have shown significant development, coached by two former All Blacks in Jas Ryan and Paddy McMinn.

 

Although Hawkes Bay won by 31 – 5, accounts of the match indicate that the score tendered to flatter the holders. Territorially there was not much between the two teams. Manawatu produced some clever and enterprising rugby, but lacked the finish to upset the well oiled Hawkes Bay machine.

 

The Bay scored their first try within minutes of kick off, and were always in relative control of proceedings. Even a weight advantage over the Magpies up front was of little advantage to Manawatu.

 

***** 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The impressive form of the Hawkes Bay side over the past two seasons resulted in no fewer than six players being picked for the All Blacks tour to the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada, still the  single biggest Hawkes Bay representation in any touring All Black side.

 

Before the side left the shores of New Zealand, unavoidable comparisons with the 1905 ‘Originals’ abounded. It was generally considered that the tour would be tougher than that of their predecessors, as the game in the United Kingdom had showed marked improvement in the nineteen years since.

 

The new All Blacks were expected to be better than the ‘Originals’ up front, but possibly lacking in the back vanguard. The ‘baby’ of the team was the only full back selected in the touring party of 30, 19 year old, George Nepia.

 

The Te Mori Rose Bowl match between northern and southern Maori had been regarded as a trial for the new All Black team. Nepia was moved to fullback to allow the selector's nephew to contest a tour place at five-eighth.

 

In the five eighths, Nepia was strong and hard running and he had then his legendary qualities as a smother tackler and that long spiral punt. But he tended to run too often and too far and this was not good, with backs of such class and quality outside him. Luxford Peeti, Lui Paewai’s father, instigated a switch of position for George Nepia that’s success could never have been imagined. 

 

Surprised, but eager to put every effort into his new position, Nepia sought advice from his cousin Walter McGregor, a winger in the northern Maori team, who suggested he tackle soundly, catch the ball on the full and put it out securely when kicking for touch.

 

As legend would have it, Nepia ended up playing full back in all 32 matches on tour, distinguishing himself as a fierce tackler with great ability at stopping opposition forward rushes.

 

Lui Paewai and Jimmy Mill were the other backs selected while Maurice and Cyril Brownlie and ‘Bull’ Irvine were amongst the forwards.

 

Nepia, Irvine and Maurice Brownlie all made their test debuts against Ireland on November 1st, a match won by the New Zealanders by 6 – 0.

 

All three played the next test against Wales, plus Jimmy Mill and Cyril Brownlie, thus Hawkes Bay provided 1/3 of the test side, a feat never repeated in the year’s post 1925. The Welsh test was the game that the All Blacks most wanted to win on this tour, to avenge the unlucky and controversial loss in 1905, which included the infamous ‘Deans try’ debacle, when the Welsh were victorious by 3 – 0.

 

The match was played on November 29th at St Helens in Swansea and was won by New Zealand by 19 – 0. ‘Bull’ Irvine scored two and Maurice Brownlie one of the All Blacks four tries that day.

 

The same quintet were selected for the English test on January 3rd, 1925, one of the most famous test matches in All Black history, with a particular event equally notorious in Hawkes Bay folklore.

 

Five minutes into the match, after Welsh referee Albert Freethy had already issued two warnings for ‘overzealous’ play, with a shrill blast on his whistle he sent Cyril Brownlie from the paddock. Thus Cyril had the dubious distinction of being the first All Black ever officially ordered from the field of play.

 

Brother Maurice, it was said, was absolutely livid over the decision and played the rest of the match ‘like a man possessed’. His try in the second half, which stretched New Zealand’s lead (after Nicholls converted) to 14 – 3, saw him charge towards the line with three Englishmen on his back, all whom were carried over the try line, with his fury, for the score. The All Blacks eventually won the test by 17 – 11.

 

The New Zealanders did not play Triple Crown winners Scotland on tour, but the same five Bay players were selected for the French test on January 18th, with Irvine scoring one of the eight tries posted, in a 30 points to six win in Toulouse.​