Rugby
in the Colony of Victoria
Sean Fagan - ColonialRugby.com.au
Traditional
folk football was first played in Victoria in the late 1840s and
into the 1850s. By 1857 rugby games were held in Melbourne.
However,
disatisfaction with how the game was played led to the Melbourne
FC in May 1859 adopting its own revised laws of football [refer
to "Melbourne's Lost Rugby History"]

Tour
Programme issued for the 1895 visit to Sydney of the Victorian
Rugby Union team. |
Rugby
was not played again in Victoria until June 1878 when Sydney's
Waratah rugby club met Melbourne's Carlton FC - the two clubs
were keen to broker a 'football fusion' between NSW and Victoria.
To
further their cause, the Waratahs met Carlton in matches under
both codes in Sydney (1877) and then Melbourne (1878 at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground).
In an intriguing reference back to
the earlier history of football in the Victorian capital and its
rugby origins, The Argus observed (29 June 1878) in its
preview of the inter-code match that "it will be played under
the rugby union rules, which are never used here now."
The Carlton-Waratah plan failed to
ignite either a merger of the codes, or any support for a permanent
place for rugby in Melbourne (though the latter was not an objective
of the project).
Shortly
afterwards, former Blackheath FC (rugby) captain James Pearson
migrated from England to Victoria, settling in Craigieburn in
Melbourne's north. In 1879 (The Argus, 16 January) Pearson
called on other old rugby players to come together and form a
rugby club for Victoria. Nothing came of Pearson's solitary call.
Melbourne though was the end-point
of sea journeys between Britain and Australasia, and this proved
to ensure some life was regularly breathed into the rugby code
in Victoria during the following decades.
A
rugby team, including Pearson, was raised by the Melbourne Cricket
Club from amongst the city's residents in June 1881. Styled as
the "Wanderers" and wearing dark blue jerseys, the MCC's
rugby side played against officers of the British Navy's "Detached
Squadron" (white jerseys with a crown insignia over the breast)
at the MCG. A dour match, enjoyed by the players but offering
little in the way of thrills to the inquisitive spectators, was
won by the "Squadron" (scoring a try and a goal to the
home team's nil).
The
Sydney Mail (2 July 1881) reported that the inaugural NSW
"Victorian rules" team during its Melbourne visit played
two matches under rugby rules against the "Squadron"
side.
The impending arrival of the British
rugby team in 1888 was sufficient to again ignite interest, leading
to the founding of the Melbourne RFC. Organised by former Cambridge
University rugby player CE Chapman, a young teacher at Melbourne
Grammar School (South Yarra), within weeks the city's first rugby
club boasted over 100 members, with most being former rugby footballers
"who have long been debarred from indulging in their favourite
game."
After playing internal trial matches,
a team was selected to take on the British. The Victorians put
in a respectable performance in front of a crowd of 6,000 at the
East Melbourne Cricket Ground, losing 15-5 to the tourists.
A fortnight later, the Melbourne
side took on the 'New Zealand Native Football Team'. Comprised
mostly of Maori, the New Zealanders were on their way to England.
Before more than 5,000 spectators, the Natives won 3 (tries) to
nil. The home team surprised all by holding the visitors to a
draw in the second match.
At
the Melbourne club's first annual meeting in April 1889, it was
agreed to again adopt the full laws of rugby union, and to seek
direct affiliation with the English RFU (as the NSWRU and QRU
had already done).
It
was also agreed that the size of the club warranted a division
of the playing strength via the formation of new clubs - Pakeha
(New Zealanders) and North Melbourne were subsequently created
(though the latter club at least may have already been in existence
in some form, given The Sportsman of 13 June 1888 records
a rugby match between North Melbourne and Melbourne at the Carlton
Cricket Club ground on 9 June 1888).
In
May 1889 the New Zealand Natives returned, playing (and winning)
three further matches - against the Melbourne club, a British
Navy side (comprised of officers from two visiting warships),
and combined Victoria.
Later
in the season, the Victorian team travelled to Sydney to take
on NSW. As expected, the Victorians were beaten, though the scores
of 13-6 and 17-14 were more than respectable.
Feeling
that it's readers needed an explanation as to the surprising competiveness
of the Victorians, The Sydney Mail wrote that the entire
team was "young Englishmen and New Zealanders who learnt
rugby elsewhere and brought it to the colony." The team's
captain, F.L. Scarborough, speaking at Sydney reception for his
side, said: "I regret to say there is not a single native-born
Victorian in the team."
Club
football for the 1890 season commenced with Melbourne and Pakeha
meeting in a match, but that was the final report of any rugby
in Melbourne - all interest in the code suddenly collapsed.
Rugby
did not re-emerge until early 1893 when The Sydney Mail
reported "a Rugby Union [body] has again been formed in Melbourne,
and four clubs – the Pioneers, Rovers, Crusaders and Pirates –
have joined. There was a Rugby Union [body] in Melbourne three
or four years ago."
Most
of the games were held on the "Friendly Societies Ground"
(which today is the site of Olympic Park) and the East Melbourne
Cricket Ground.
Support held up well enough through
1893 that four clubs again took to the field the following year.
A Victorian Rugby Union had been formed, and it took the positive
step of writing to the NSWRU seeking inter-colonial matches. Agreement
was readily found and a NSW representative team travelled to Melbourne.
In a major shock, Victoria defeated
NSW 3-0 in the first match. However, the Victorians could not
repeat the dose in the second match of 1894.
As with the Victorian teams of the
late 1880s, The Sydney Mail found the competitiveness
was not so unlikely given "the Victorian ranks have been
recruited from New Zealand, England, and NSW."
In 1895, the local competition still
comprised the clubs formed in 1893, apart from a new Melbourne
RFC replacing the Crusaders.
A Victorian team played NSW in Sydney
in 1895. Held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the tourists were
defeated 25-6 and 19-5.
Again, interest in rugby in the southern
colony evaporated - no rugby is known to have been played in Melbourne
during 1896 to 1898.
In a now obvious pattern, the impending
arrival of the 1899 Great Britain tourists saw another Victorian
team of old rugby players roused into action. In the British team's
final tour match, they crushed the Victorians 30-0.
Interestingly, the Victorian team
and the match were organised by the Victorian Football League.
An Australian rules game was played as the early match, and a
crowd of over 10,000 attended.
The "Victorian Rugby Club"
played a "practice match" in May of 1900 at the Middle
Park Ground (Albert Park), but failed to trigger any renewed interest
in rugby and it too vanished. Not even the visit of the 1904 British
team was able to revive rugby in Melbourne, and, with more than
a little justification, all hope for the code appeared over.
With news that the Australian Wallabies would be arriving in Melbourne
in August 1908 to join their ship bound for England, the "Victorian
Rugby Union" was hastily formed in preparation for the visit
and hope for a match.
The
NSWRU agreed and the MCG was secured as the venue. Unsurprisingly,
almost all the Victorian team were men who had learnt to play
rugby elsewhere. A crowd of 1,500 attended, watching on as the
Wallabies won 26-6. The Victorian team wore blue and gold jerseys.
This
renewed push for rugby though was not the 'false dawn' of earlier
attempts. Rugby finally placed itself on a more assured footing
with the establishment of the Melbourne club competition in 1909.
The founding clubs were Melbourne, East Melbourne, South Melbourne,
St Kilda and University.
Melbourne
won the first premiership, securing the 'Dewar Shield'. A combined
Victorian team also played against "Officers of the Navy"
from visiting British warships.
In July 1909 the Sydney University
team journeyed to Melbourne, playing matches against Melbourne
University and Victoria. The Sydney men won the inter-varsity
clash 15-3. In 1910 the Melbourne University team came to Sydney,
playing against Sydney University and a visiting American [Californian]
Universities side. In July 1910 the New Zealand Maori side met
Victoria in Melbourne.
Despite the promising growth in the
code in Melbourne, The Sydney Mail cautioned: "The
material on hand for rugby is limited, and although great enthusiasm
prevails amongst those interested in the game, it will be some
considerable time before they will produce a side to be reckoned
with."
References.
Sean Fagan, The Rugby Rebellion
Greg de Moore, Tom
Wills
Geoffrey Blainey, A Game Of Our Own: The Origins Of Australian
Football
Greg Ryan, Forerunners of the All Blacks
Jack Pollard, Australian RU: The Game and the Players
The Referee
NSWRU / ARU archives
Ron Grainger, Rugby in Victoria:The Early Years (held by
the State Library of Victoria)
©
Copyright
- Sean Fagan - ColonialRugby.com.au
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