1913 New Zealand rugby union tour of North America

The 1913 New Zealand tour rugby of North America was the second tour by the New Zealand national rugby union outside Australasia. Sixteen matches were played (all won) along with a Test match against United States sides.

1913 New Zealand rugby union tour of North America
The New Zealand team wearing blazers and hats, before their departure to North America
ManagerG.H. Mason [1]
Tour captain(s)Alex McDonald
Top point scorer(s)James Graham (66)
Top try scorer(s)Tom Lynch (17)
Summary
P W D L
Total
16 16 00 00
Test match
01 01 00 00
Opponent
P W D L
 United States
1 1 0 0
Tour chronology
Previous tour1910 Australia
Next tour1914 Australia

The tour had a relevance for American rugby because it came at a time when the local code, American football, was widely criticized prompted by worries over violent play, serious injuries and evidence of sharp practice by college coaches. That dispute, originated in 1906, had led some colleges (such as Stanford and California, Berkeley Universities) to switch from football to rugby. The All Blacks (which had toured in North America for the first time in 1905) had already made their contribution to the spread of the sport in the west coast.

New Zealand took the tour seriously, with a squad led by veteran player Alex McDonald that won all their matches in North America with large victories, conceding only 6 points in 16 games. The only test was played against the United States, which included players from Stanford and Berkeley.

The impact of such hard defeats induced a depression by the result, widely covered by the media which emphasized the big difference because Californian players and the New Zealand side.

The Californian players are the best we have developed in seven years of intercollegiate rugby - the very best. And the score against them was 51 to 3. The only conclusion is that we have not yet learned how to play rugby. It is still a foreign game.

The San Francisco Post after the match.[2]

As a result, the University of California returned to football in 1915, although Stanford would remain in rugby, generating an extraordinary performance of the national team in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, winning the Gold medal in both occasions.[2]

Squad

Name Position Province Tour matches Tour points
John Cuthill Full-back Otago 14 31
George "Geo" Loveridge Three-quarters Taranaki 8 20
Tom Lynch Wing South Canterbury 11 50
Alwin "Dougie" McGregor Wing Auckland 10 45
Dick Roberts Centre Taranaki 12 60
Jack Stohr Three-quarter Taranaki 9 59
George "Doddy" Gray Five-eighth Canterbury 11 9
Jock McKenzie Five-eighth Wellington 12 39
Frank Mitchinson Five-eighths Wellington 12 44
Edward "Teddy" Roberts Half-back Wellington 5 18
Henry Taylor Half-back Canterbury 10 15
Harry Atkinson Lock West Coast 8 3
Alex Bruce Loose forward Auckland 2 3
Mick Cain Hooker Taranaki 14 11
Henry "Norkey" Dewar Forward Taranaki 14 3
James Douglas Loose forward Otago 8 21
Albert Downing Lock Auckland 14 18
James Graham Loose forward Otago 11 66
Alex McDonald (captain) Loose forward Otago 13 35
Harold "Toby" Murray Wing-forward Canterbury 12 33
George Sellars Hooker Auckland 14 6
Peter Williams Hooker Otago 8 3
Jim Wylie Loose forward Auckland 11 18

Match summary

Complete list of matches played by the All Blacks in North America:[3][1]

  Test matches

The University of Stanford team that played the All Blacks
USA v All Blacks test
Rival Date Venue City Country Score
Olympic Club4 OctoberSt Ignatius FieldSan FranciscoUnited States19–0
University of California8 OctoberCalifornia FieldBerkeleyUnited States31–0
Barbarians Club11 OctoberSt Ignatius FieldSan FranciscoUnited States30–0
Stanford University15 OctoberStanford ParkPalo AltoUnited States54–0
Stanford University18 OctoberStanford ParkPalo AltoUnited States56–0
University of Santa Clara22 OctoberGolden GateSanta ClaraUnited States42–0
University of California25 OctoberCalifornia FieldBerkeleyUnited States38–3
Univ. of Nevada, Reno29 OctoberUniversity GroundRenoUnited States55–0
University of California3 NovemberCalifornia FieldBerkeleyUnited States33–0
St. Mary's College5 NovemberSt Ignatius FieldSan FranciscoUnited States26–0
Univ. of Southern California8 NovemberBoyard FieldLos AngelesUnited States40–0
University of Santa Clara12 NovemberGolden GateSanta ClaraUnited States33–0
 United States15 NovemberCalifornia FieldBerkeleyUnited States51–3
Victoria (B.C.)19 NovemberOak Bay GroundVictoriaCanada23–0
Victoria (B.C.)22 NovemberOak Bay GroundVictoriaCanada35–0
Vancouver24 NovemberStanley ParkVictoriaCanada44–0

Match details

15 November 1913
United States  3–51  New Zealand
Pen: Peart
Report Try: Gray (2), McDonald (2), McGregor,
McKenzie (2), Murray (2), Roberts (3),
Wylie
Con: Graham (4), McDonald,
Mitchinson

Attendance: 10,000
Referee: W.W. Hill (Australia)

See also

References

  1. New Zealand Teams Overseas, An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
  2. The tour that killed American rugby by Huw Richards on ESPN, 29 Oct 2013
  3. Match centre - In North America on AllBlacks.com
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