This Saturday at Old Anniesland sees Hawks play Berwick "the Blacks" for the first time.

Your scribe whilst researching in connection with a delivery at a recent dinner discovered that it was a Kelvinside Accie one Crawford Findlay who actually refereed the historic first encounter at Lansdowne Road in 1905 between Ireland and New Zealand(the Originals)-the term All Blacks had still to be coined more of which later.

The Irish press reported on their arrival in Dublin
"They're here at last, these wonderful footballers from New Zealand,"
declared The Independent as the Originals arrived in Ireland following
the Scottish leg of their grand tour.

It was a poignant home-coming for captain Dave Gallaher. He had been
born in County Donegal and immigrated with his family to New Zealand
at the age of four.

And it appears the welcome for the team was as rousing as that given
to this year's tourists on their visit to Ireland last week, as
Billy Wallace recalls:

"As our train drew in to the station at Dublin, thousands of people
who had been waiting outside the gates surged forward … the Irish
people took us right into their hearts and hundreds of them came into
our hotel to have a yarn."

The Originals' first outing in Dublin was a visit to the famous
Guinness brewery, with the team clambering aboard a miniature train
for the tour. As Wallace remembers: "We had a great afternoon and
arrived back at our hotel very hungry – but not very thirsty!"

Newspapermen covering the tour were still keen to investigate the New Zealanders daily routine.

One of the squad told The Independent: "I'll tell you what we'll
do between now and Saturday. Tonight we'll be at the Theatre Royal and
we'll go to bed reasonably early. Tomorrow morning we'll get up at
about nine o'clock, have a breakfast and a smoke and saunter off to
your football grounds here for an hour's run around. We'll do as we
jolly well like for the rest of the day. Lunch some time after one,
dine about half past six and after that I believe we're going to a
performance at the Empire palace Theatre."

Is it true the New Zealanders left many broken hearts behind in
England, queried the reporter.

"That little joke is going the rounds of the papers. But don't you
believe it. None of us are much of ladies' men. Though we have had
letters."

According to press reports of the day there was no referee his equal.After the Ireland match the New Zealand captain Dave Gallaher said "We would like to pay tribute to the refereeing of Mr Crawford Findlay.It was excellent".

It was following this win and tourists having beaten the best of England and Wales the press reports were fullsome with their praise.
In one London journal the reporter stated that in comparison with the accepted style of play of that era where it was a forward dominated game the New Zealanders played as if "they were all backs" but unfortunately due to a printing error the paper stated that they had played as if "they were all blacks" This is in contrast to the accepted version where the term came from the colour of their playing kit
Its a good story and why let the truth get in the way of a good story

This article was originally posted on 13-Mar-2007, 09:55 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 13-Mar-2007, 10:06.