In the year 1905, the New Zealand 'colonial' team were the greatest team ever to visit the British Isles, they were 'The Originals'. Before arriving in Wales they were undefeated, having played 27 matches on tour, scored 801 points with just 32 points scored against. under their
EARLY DAYS of the TOUR
The All Blacks arrived in Britain after 40 days aboard the SS Rimutaka. With nothing to do on board but play cards and train, the 'Originals' honed their rugby skills and tactics to perfection under coach Jimmy Duncan. Duncan was an All Black veteran, captain of the first ever All Black test side and an astute tactician. After a week finding their land legs in Newton Abbot, they were set to face England’s champion county Devon at Exeter. The critics suggested the ‘colonial’ team would struggle against the West countrymen but the All Blacks thumped Devon by 55 points to 4, Cornwall were next, then Bristol, Northampton & Leicester, in their first five matches the All Blacks scored 197 points with just 4 against. News soon spread of this fantastic team, the qualities of the All Black scrum, the fitness of the players and the role of the forwards, who unprecedented at the time even joined in passing movements with the backs. They blazed a trail through England, Scotland & Ireland, defeating clubs, counties and countries alike !
ALL BLACK SUPREMACY
The foundation on which the All Blacks built their victories was the scrum. The rules at that time relating to the scrum were not complex, the laws of the day described it thus
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“A Scrummage, which can only take place in the field of play, is formed by one or more players from each side closing round the ball when it is on the ground, or by their closing up in readiness to allow the ball to be put on the ground between them”.
There were penalties for picking the ball up, a crooked feed and foot up, the number of players however, remained at the discretion of the participating teams. The All Black’s had honed their scrummaging skills almost to perfection. Their success was due to their scrum formation and tactics, only seven New Zealand men packed down against the opposition’s eight but with careful manoeuvring they could engage their seven man shove against only half of the opposing pack, Gallaher in his post tour book called it a ‘wedge formation’. The rule of thumb for British teams was that the forwards packed down as they arrived at the scrummage in a 3 -2 - 3 formation. It was first to arrive was first to pack, a forward could find himself in the front row of the scrum and in the next the back row, the British scrum was haphazard. The All Blacks had a system whereby each man took the same place at each scrum according to his physical characteristics and skills. Some of the names of today’s scrummaging positions derive from ‘the orignals’ scrum. The front row comprised of two hookers, responsible for hooking the ball, then came a ‘lock’ in the second row, with two ‘side men’, two back row men completed the scrum. It’s ‘crowning glory’ was that the two hookers fought tooth and nail to gain the ‘loose head’, once gained, the wedge formation drove against one side of the opposition scrum, either pushing them off the ball or turning the scrum. The photograph below shows the Middlesex match, the nearside Middlesex front row forward has nothing to push against and is turned sideways while the ball is being channelled nicely to the waiting Roberts. The ball has been put into the scrum by Gallaher who is unsighted behind the scrum. Co-incidentally 2 of the Welsh forwards played in this match, Jack Williams and Arthur Harding, both London based Welshmen packed down against the New Zealand seven.
