Rugby in the Colony of South Australia

Sean Fagan - ColonialRugby.com.au

The first reports of folk football in Adelaide were in 1843 and sporadic games took place over the following decade. In 1854 English migrant John Acraman is said to have imported round footballs from England and erected goal posts on a local field. In 1860 Acraman placed a newspaper advert which led to the formation of the Adelaide FC.

The Adelaide club devised its own playing rules, but were not particularly unique, with a match described in The South Australian Advertiser as players "engaged in this ancient game." Games under variously agreed elements of rugby, soccer and Melboune rules were then played until 1877.

Support for rules that allowed running with the ball (i.e. rugby) were led in the 1860s/70s by Nowell Twopenny of the Adelaide FC. His club also called for a change from goals being scored below a rope/crossbar as in soccer, to the rugby method.

In 1869 The Observer reported that at a club meeting it was decided that "in future the ball be kicked over instead of under the crossbar of the goal".

Though the popularity of rugby-style rules was growing in Adelaide in the 1870s, it coincided with moves to adopt the football rules of Melbourne. As occurred elsewhere, there came a point at which it was found desirable for all clubs to meet and agree on uniform rules. In 1877 twelve local clubs met, forming the South Australian Football Association (SAFA).

In negotiations about playing rules, Twopenny "spoke very warmly in favour of running with the ball, urging that it was sine qua non [the indispensable ingredient] of genuine football, and that, from English experience, he could vouch for there being no disputes when the rule was played". As for Victorian rules, "bouncing the ball had led to endless rows here, and left a great deal too much to the umpire".

South Adelaide FC's Charles Cameron Kingston took an opposing view, and was determined to see South Australia forge a strong connection with Victorian rules.

In the end, Twopenny and his supporters lost out in the final vote and the SAFA began on its path towards full adoption of Victorian rules. The most common reason given is that such a move would provide for inter-colonial matches against Victoria.

It seems unlikely that the SAFA clubs did not know of the existence of the Southern RFU (later NSWRU) in NSW. However, the closer proximity and economic links between Melbourne and Adelaide no doubt had a strong influence. Whatever the cause, the SAFA decision immediately saw crossbars removed and ended any hope of rugby union claiming another Australian colony.

The British rugby union team visited Adelaide in 1888, playing four matches under Victorian rules against local clubs (South Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Adelaide and Norwood).

A rugby union match was also played against an "Adelaide XV", which the British won 28-3. Some accounts indicate the home team actually took the field with 20 players.

A later report in The Register noted there were sufficient "rugbyites" to form a team without too many problems: "When the Englishmen were here last the local rugby players got a side together, but the South Australians were rusty and sadly out of form." In the wake of the 1888 tour "a club was started here, but it died young".

Forlorn efforts to introduce rugby appear to have continued from time to time, and in 1902 The Advertiser made a passing observation that "attempts to make Rugby football popular in South Australia have failed." The newspaper though published amendments to rugby's playing laws in 1903, suggesting some interest existed in the code.

Annual stop-over visits by the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Challenger to Port Adelaide from 1906-08 saw three rugby matches played on the Adelaide Oval between the sailors and a "South Australia" team (3-all in '06, SA won 9-0 in '07, Challenger won 20-0 in '08).

The formation of the 'state' team though did not lead to any permanent playing of rugby fixtures, and the code fell again into obscurity.

References.
Contemporary newspapers as mentioned.
South Australian Football: The Past And The Present 1860-1965 edited by C.K.Knuckey.
Fullpoints Footy

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