1884 Southern Rugby Union Season

The 1884 Southern Rugby Union season was the 11th season of the Sydney Rugby Premiership. This was the second competition for the Gardiner Cup which was awarded to the winners of the premiership. The football season lasted from May till September 1884 with the main cup games held between June and August. The season culminated in the premiership, which was won by Burwood. Burwood were crowned premiers by a committee of the Union.

1884 Sydney Rugby Premiership
Duration10 May to 7 September
Teams5
Premiers Burwood (1st title)
Runners-up Sydney University
Wooden Spoon Balmain (1st spoon)
Top point-scorer(s) Harold Baylis (26)
Top try-scorer(s) Charles Robberds (7)

Teams

Five Senior Clubs competed for the Gardiner Challenge Cup. Senior Clubs competed against each other for the Cup and played other games against Junior or Country Clubs. Only the first teams from the Senior Clubs were eligible for the Cup.[1]

  • Balmain
  • Formed c.1873
  • Ground: None
  • Captain: C Hawkins
  • Burwood
  • Formed c.1876
  • Ground: Burwood Park
  • Captain: Samuel Chapman
  • Redfern
  • Formed on 24 May 1878
  • Ground: Redfern Ground
  • Captain: George Walker
  • Wallaroo
  • Formed on 19 May 1871
  • Ground: Wallaroo Ground
  • Captain: George Graham

Rule Changes

The Sydney Rugby Premiership was still in its infancy in 1884 with many aspects of the championship undeveloped. It was the second year that the Gardiner Challenge Cup was to be given to the winner of the Premiership. As per the previous year, a committee was setup to organise the competition for the Cup. Their task was to arrange the contests and determine the conditions that the Cup would be awarded.[2] However, the matches were rather sporadic with games intermingled between those against Junior Clubs and Country Clubs. Supporters of the game questioned the arrangement of matches and suggested organising rounds with a concluding final.[3] The first games between Senior teams for the Cup were held on 21 June[4] despite many of the clubs having played games since early May against Junior teams.[5] The premiership was again decided by the committee at the conclusion of the season.[6]

Season Summary

The Wallaroo Football Club began their Cup matches with a string of victories. It wasn't until they met Sydney University in a return match that the Wallaroos lost their first game. Unfortunately, they then lost against both Redfern and Burwood in close matches. Against the 'Varsity, Wallaroo had won one game and had lost the second. This was the same against Burwood. Across the entire season, the Club played 15 games, winning 11 of them. Eight of these games were against Senior Clubs with Wallaroo victorious in 5 of them.[5]

The Sydney University Football Club finished the Cup games strong, winning three out of the last four games. Over the season, the 'Varsity played 15 games and won 11. In the Cup matches, the Club played 8 games against the Senior Clubs, winning 5. The 'Varsity lost against Wallaroo and Burwood but were able to reverse the result against Wallaroo in a return match later in the season. A return match against the Burwood Club saw the game end in controversy when a try was awarded near the end of the game. The first umpire for the game declared no try as time had ended, while the second umpire indicated that time was still available.[7] The matter was passed on to the Union who declared the game as unfinished and therefore no result.[6]

The Burwood Football Club enjoyed a successful season. The team played 13 matches, winning 11 of them and losing only 1.[8] Against the Senior Clubs, Burwood played 7 games and won 5. Their only loss all season was against Wallaroo, whom they beat later in the year. After defeating University in their first matchup, their second match ended in controversy and was eventually declared "no result". This decision by the Union gave the Club the Premiership and the Gardiner Challenge Cup.[6] During their matches, Burwood only had 9 points scored against them, indicating their strength in defence.[8]

Ladder

1884 Gardiner Challenge Cup
Team Gardiner Challenge Cup Complete Season
Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pld W D L B PF PA PD
1 Burwood 75110539+4413111101659+156
2 Sydney University 851208513+72151113020626+180
3 Wallaroo 850305045+5151104017181+90
4 Redfern 510401251-3911[9]407039104-65
5 Balmain 60060890-826[9]0060890-82
  • It is unclear if a premiership ladder was constructed to show the success of the participating football clubs. The ladder shown above is calculated using the data collected from the results of the Challenge Cup games.

Lower Grades

The Southern Rugby Football Union classified the participating clubs into two groups, Seniors and Juniors. Prior to 1883, all clubs were considered for the Premiership. With the introduction of the Gardiner Challenge Cup, only Senior clubs participated in the competition. The Junior clubs competed with each other, but no award was recognised for their achievements. Matches between Senior and Junior teams were common place, with results in those matches assisting in deciding the final Senior Premiership winner.

Representative Games
The 1884 New Zealand Rugby team that toured New South Wales.

The New Zealand Rugby Tour
Main article: 1884 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales

In 1884 the first team from New Zealand toured New South Wales and played a number of matches across the colony. The team was supported by the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, a provincial union who administered rugby in New Zealand until a national body was formed. Despite a New South Wales team having visited New Zealand in 1882, no games were played against a team representing the colony. This meant that the three games held in Sydney were the first time that a New Zealand Rugby team competed in football. In all, the team played eight games during the tour and were victorious in all of them scoring 167 points and conceding 17.[10]

Despite being known in modern times as the "All Blacks", the New Zealanders at the time wore dark blue jerseys with New South Wales playing in olive-green jerseys. The team that the visitors placed into the field was heavier than the local team. Much of the three matches saw play restricted to the NSW line with a number of attempts made by the New Zealanders at scoring. In three games between New South Wales and the visiting team, the New Zealand team scored 48 points to 2. One of the main draw cards for the matches was the Maori player, John Taiaroa, who dazzled whenever he had the ball.[11]

With the three matches being played at the end of May into mid June, the Gardiner Challenge Cup was not begun until late June. At the conclusion of the matches, some of the touring players remained in Sydney and took up positions in the local clubs.


1st New South Wales – New Zealand Intercolonial Football Match
31 May 1884
New South Wales 0 - 11 New Zealand
[12] Try: JG Taiaroa, GS Robertson
Goal: WV Millton (1/1), T Ryan (0/1)
Drop: JA Warbrick (1/2), GHN Helmore (0/1), H Braddon (0/1), T Ryan (0/1)
Agricultural Society Ground
Attendance: 4000
Referee: CL Tange
2nd New South Wales – New Zealand Intercolonial Football Match
7 June 1884
New South Wales 2 - 21 New Zealand
Try: HB Fligg
Goal: HM Baylis (0/1)
Drop: HB Fligg (0/1)
 [13] Try: JG Taiaroa (2), GS Robertson, GHN Helmore, JA O'Donnell, TB O'Connor
Goal: T Ryan (3/4), WV Millton (0/2)
Drop: WV Millton (0/1)
Association Cricket Ground
Attendance: 4500
Referee: SE Sleigh
3rd New South Wales – New Zealand Intercolonial Football Match
14 June 1884
New South Wales 0 - 16 New Zealand
[14] Try: GS Robertson (2), WV Millton
Goal: WV Millton (1/2), T Ryan (1/1)
Drop: JA Warbrick (1/3), GHN Helmore (0/1)
Association Cricket Ground
Attendance: 3500
Referee: R Arnold

Intercolonial Matches

Two intercolonial games were played in July between New South Wales and Queensland at the Association Ground in Sydney. Both matches saw the local New South Wales team display superior play resulting in two easy wins over the Queenslanders. The first match saw the NSW team score 4 tries to defeat the tourists 17 points to 4. The next match was entirely dominated by the local team with NSW scoring 7 tries to win 26 point to nil. In support of these matches, the Gardiner Cup was put on hold in order to allow players to be available for representative duties and not jeopardise their club's performance in the Cup.

5th New South Wales – Queensland Intercolonial Football Match
12 July 1884
New South Wales 17 - 4 Queensland
Try: HB Fligg (2), JR Wood, ES Chapman
Goal: HM Baylis (2/2), HM Osborne (1/1), JR Wood (0/1)
Drop: HM Baylis (0/1), JR Wood (0/1), PS Chapman (0/1)
 [15] Drop: H Pritchard (1/1)
Association Cricket Ground
Referee: JA Brodie
6th New South Wales – Queensland Intercolonial Football Match
19 July 1884
New South Wales 26 - 0 Queensland
Try: LEF Neill, HM Osborne, JR Wood, SL Deane, EM Cameron, HB Fligg, CL Tange
Goal: HM Baylis (3/3), HM Osborne (1/2), LEF Neill (0/1), PS Chapman (0/1)
 [16]

Team & Player Records
The 1884 Queensland Rugby team that toured New South Wales.

Most points in a match
Pts Team Opponent Venue Date
25 Sydney University WallarooAgricultural Society Ground9 August
19 Sydney University RedfernUniversity Ground5 July
19 Sydney University BalmainAgricultural Society Ground23 August
17 Wallaroo BalmainAgricultural Society Ground5 July
16 Burwood BalmainBurwood Park9 August

Greatest Winning Margin
Pts Team Score Opponent Venue Date
23 Sydney University25 - 2 WallarooAgricultural Society Ground9 August
19 Sydney University19 - 0 RedfernUniversity Ground5 July
17 Wallaroo17 - 0 BalmainAgricultural Society Ground5 July
17 Sydney University19 - 2 BalmainAgricultural Society Ground23 August
15 Burwood15 - 0 BalmainBurwood Park21 June

Participating Clubs
Club Senior Grade Junior
1st 2nd 1st 2nd
Arfoma Football Club YY
Balmain Football Club YY
Burwood Football Club YY
Cammeray Football Club Y
Clifton Football Club Y
Double Bay Football Club Y
Glebe Football Club Y
Glen Head Football Club YY
Harrowgate Football Club Y
Liverpool Football Club Y
Manly Football Club Y
Newtown Football Club YY
Oaklands Football Club Y
Parramatta Football Club Y
Parramatta Union Club Y
Redfern Football Club YY
Redmyre Football Club Y
Rugby Football Club Y
St. Leonards Football Club YY
Summer Hill Football Club Y
Sydney University Football Club YY
Wallaroo Football Club YY
Waverley Football Club Y
Wellesley Football Club Y

[5]

References
  1. "FOOTBALL". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 5 July 1884. p. 29. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. "FOOTBALL". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 29 April 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  3. "TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY ℡EGRAPH". Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930). 17 June 1884. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. "FOOTBALL". Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930). 20 June 1884. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. "The 1884 Season". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 27 September 1884. p. 640. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. "Football". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 25 October 1884. p. 848. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. "FOOTBALL". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 19 August 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. "Football". Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907). 15 November 1884. p. 39. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  9. Results incomplete.
  10. "1884 - the year of the first NZ representative football team". All Blacks. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  11. "FOOTBALL". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 7 June 1884. p. 1084. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. "Football". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 – 1912). 7 June 1884. p. 1084. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  13. "New Zealand v. New South Wales". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 – 1912). 14 June 1884. p. 1132. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  14. "Intercolonial Match". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 – 1912). 21 June 1884. p. 1181. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  15. "Intercolonial Match". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954). 14 July 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  16. "Intercolonial Match". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954). 21 July 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
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