Scottish All Blacks captains who helped create a legend

Todays Sotsman features an article below about Scots who have led the All Blacks--do you know that in 1905 a Kelvinside Accie Crawford Findlay refereed the first match between Ireland and the All Blacks in Dublin and and was praised for his performance by All Blacks captain Dave Gallaher

THE SCOTMAN WRITES TODAY
By DAVID FERGUSON
Seventh overseas-born New Zealand skipper follows in the footsteps of a Glaswegian who led team 37 times

THE ALL Blacks continue to set the pace in world rugby, but few realise how much Scots have helped mould the aura that envelops the world's most famous rugby team.

The appointment of Rodney So'oialo as New Zealand's new captain ahead of last weeks opening Tri Nations match with South Africa � the two nations clash in Dunedin today in a hotly-anticipated rematch � re-ignited discussions over how invaluable overseas players have been to the Kiwi cause.

So'oialo, born in Samoa, is only the seventh All Blacks skipper to have been born outside New Zealand, from 1,077 internationalists. His fellow Samoan Jerry Collins was the sixth, while two others hailed from Australia and one, the famous 1905 tour captain Dave Gallaher, from Ireland.

The other two � Cliff Porter and Lawrence Haig � were Scots. Yet, just as when Gallaher led the 1905 team to touring success in the UK, there was no controversy in 1924-5 when Scots-born Porter captained the All Blacks on tour to the UK and France with a squad renowned to this day as the "Invincibles" after their clean sweep of 32 straight victories. Porter's great regret was that they did not play Scotland on that trip because, though few knew it, he was born in Govan and spent many years in Edinburgh before his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was ten. He died in 1976, but his only child, Elaine, lives in Wellington and she recalled for The Scotsman this week how proud he was of his roots, despite a difficult first day at school.

She explained: "Father was one of seven siblings � in fact, they had two more, who died young � and their parents apparently considered South America and Australia before deciding to emigrate to New Zealand.

"The idea was to go farming, not that they had experience, but that was the dream and it didn't happen. They settled in Taihape, in the middle of North Island, and ran a grocery store � father delivered groceries on horseback to Maori settlements in the bush. He told me of his early life in Scotland, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and how, when he arrived in New Zealand, his parents sent him and his twin brother Herbert to school in kilts. They were apparently laughed at as two kids who couldn't speak English and wore skirts. He laughed about it when he told me, but I don't think they wore kilts to school again!"

Cliff and Herbert were also good footballers when they arrived in New Zealand, but quickly adapted to the oval ball game, and Cliff's standing, in particular, certainly changed over the next 30 years. Porter played 41 games for the All Blacks, captaining them in 37 of them, though only seven were full Tests.

Injury and apparent differences with tour manager Stanley Dean, according to the research of Bob Luxford at the New Zealand Rugby Museum, meant he did not play in all the 1924-25 tour games, but that did nothing to alter his popularity within the squad and across New Zealand on their return.

Between September 1924 and February 1925, the team played and won 32 games, beating 16 English counties as well as leading clubs Leicester, Cardiff and Swansea, the Oxbridge universities and Ireland, England, Wales and France in full Tests. They scored 838 points and conceded just 116 � an average win of 26-4, when tries were worth just three points.

Elaine recalled: "The tour to Britain came early in my father's career � he made his All Blacks debut only the year before � so he was quite shocked to be captain. He was told at 11pm the night before they set sail that he would lead the All Blacks and obviously he was hugely honoured, but he had had no idea he would be asked and it was a huge responsibility.

"With no coaching teams like they have now, he said his main challenge was to keep 30 young men under control and fit on a six-week sea voyage. But he was proud of the fact he managed that and they had a wonderful voyage � he felt those six weeks laid the foundations for the success, because they became good, close friends, and that remained true until they died.

"What was also difficult for him was the wealth of social engagements the captain had to attend. They had extremely aristocratic white-tie-and-tails dinners with the Prince of Wales and other well-known guests of honour, in grand hotels, and he had to make speeches. He was just a young boy.

"Also, as they kept winning the pressure built; people's expectations rose, at home and in the UK, and he said keeping it all together on the field and off was tough. But they did it, and the only regret he had was not touring Scotland. I remember him saying he was very disappointed not to have the chance to see relatives, and that none picked up the fact he was there and got in touch."

Porter returned to New Zealand a legend alongside new stars such as 19-year-old full-back George Nepia and, though just 5ft 8in and around 13st 6lbs, the former schoolboy stand-off became one of the country's most adept wing forwards. He finished his career captaining the All Blacks to a series victory over Doug Prentice's British and Irish Lions, and on a controversial note.

The Lions won the first Test 6-3, but the All Blacks dominated from thereon and Porter scored two tries in a commanding six-tries-to-one fourth and final Test victory to claim the series 3-1.



However, Porter's style famously provoked apoplexy from British Lions tour manager Jim 'Bim' Baxter. Playing the 2-3-2 scrum formation Kiwis had used for over 30 years, Porter was what New Zealanders termed a 'rover'; he would put the ball into the scrum and then harass the opposition scrum, while his front row of two hookers fought to feed the ball back to the scrum-half.

There was nothing illegal in the practice at that time as there was no set figure for players in a scrum, and New Zealand found it to be a way of speeding up the game, but Baxter was furious and on return to England had the IRB change the laws to force New Zealand to play three men in the front row.

The fact that New Zealand also allowed players to go into the changing rooms for a ten-minute half-time breather and appear in advertisements did not help the mood of the more conservative RFU.

Porter and his charges were unconcerned, however, and the Scots-born skipper then retired from the sport aged 31 to begin his own crystal importing business, happy with a sporting career that had helped to re-define the All Blacks' global attraction.

"It was not so good for my mother and I!" laughed Elaine. "They were married well after his career finished and I came along when he was in his early 50s, but, still, whenever we went shopping and he'd take off his hat we couldn't go five yards without him being stopped and spoken to.

"My mother was part-Irish and she didn't like competing with this! It was incredible how long people continued to recognise him � when I was at school boys would regularly ask me to get his autograph. Even recently, my husband and I walked into a pub not far from Wellington and one wall was covered with pictures of and articles about my father.

"But, of course, it's great to think how popular and successful he was; great memories. He considered himself a New Zealander, but was very proud of his roots and had a slight Scottish accent until he died. The family have continued the link with Scottish names like Donald, Bruce and Malcolm for children, and I'm sure the poor people who have lived in the house he left in Edinburgh are sick of our relatives streaming to their door over the years."

FACT BOX

THE All Blacks have been represented by 77 players born overseas, and Rodney So'oialo will become the seventh overseas-born player to captain New Zealand. Two of the other six to lead the All Blacks, Cliff Porter and Lawrence Haig, are Scots.


OVERSEAS-BORN CAPTAINS

� Dave Gallaher: born Ramelton, Ireland; captained All Blacks in four Tests and 23 other games; played 1905-06.

� Jimmy Tilyard: Waratha, Tasmania; nine games as captain; 1920.

� Cliff Porter: Glasgow; seven Tests and 30 games as captain; 1924-30.

Lawrence Haig: Tranent; six games as captain; 1953-54.

� Des Connor: Ashgrove, Queensland; two games as captain; 1962.

� Jerry Collins: Apia, Samoa; three Tests as captain; 2006-07.

This article was posted on 12-Jul-2008, 06:56 by Hugh Barrow.