St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
Four
Transcript:
This is part four of the seven part audio trail sharing the tours of the New Zealand All Blacks in the UK between 1905 and 1989.
This part in the trail is split into two however, two tours post World War II as rugby returned to the world. Slightly cheating the topic of the trail however, the first half of this part looks towards the tour of 1945 as the New Zealand Expeditionary Force arrived in the UK. The Expeditionary Force were not the All-Blacks, but were made up of soldiers that were selected after active service in North Africa and Italy and, in some cases, after lengthy spells in prisoner of war camps in Italy, Austria and Germany.
The Expeditionary Force were known as the ‘Kiwi’s’, a nickname at times for the people of New Zealand, however henceforth in this entry in the trail it will refer to the rugby team. The Kiwi’s were acclaimed for the open, adventurous style of football played. They played Swansea at St Helen’s on 27 October 1945 winning by 22 to 6 in a game more characteristic of a Barbarians fixture. The open and adventurous style of play that so delighted crowds weary of the war years, was more akin to Barbarian rugby than any other touring team. The team became one of the most influential and significant teams in rugby history. Their contribution to rugby lore was twofold: they resuscitated international rugby after World War II and they played a brand of rugby that set new standards of innovation and entertainment, in much the same way as the 1905 Original All Blacks had.
This jersey belonged to Private. J B Smith. It was presented to Swansea RFC by C K ‘Charlie’ Saxton. Saxton, the 1938 New Zealand half-back and the only All Black among the team, captained them. The quality of play by the Kiwi’s however lead 15 of the team of 29 to later play for the All Blacks. This was no forgettable second XV. The tour itself was organised by General Bernard Freyberg with the Kiwis playing 33 matches in Europe, winning 29 and with two draws and two losses. They scored a formidable 605 points and conceded only 185. They beat the full international sides of England, Wales and France and lost just one international, to Scotland.
To describe the jersey, the Kiwis like the All Blacks still played in black. This jersey has a white buttoned collar, with the fern on the left breast within a black square with the letters ‘NZEF’ below it. On the rear of the jersey in a white square is the number three. Unfortunately, the jersey has suffered some major fading due to ultraviolet damage. The front is such a pale grey it almost appears white. Interestingly the patch square containing the fern has maintained its colour, and where the jersey has been folded in its presentation has also maintained its vibrancy.
The wearer of this jersey, J B (Jonny Burns) Smith, a Māori player, was an outstanding player at centre for the Kiwis and went on to win four caps for the All Blacks from 1946 to 1949. His exclusion from the 1949 All Blacks tour to South Africa was a sad moment for international rugby as the hosts refused to allow the Māori players in the All Blacks squad to tour to South Africa and New Zealand complied. Smith was never again capped by New Zealand but his reputation as a player remains high to this day.
Moving forward to the next All-Blacks tour however, that is in 1953-54, New Zealand would once again face Swansea RFC at St Helen’s on the 12th of December. This match ended in a draw, 6 to 6. The overall tour saw less success for the All Blacks than in previous tours, although this is relative to the sometimes total domination of the New Zealanders. Nonetheless, New Zealand lost to Cardiff, Wales, France and South West France. As well as a tie with Swansea, they also drew with Ulster.
The material legacy of this tour is a Swansea RFC blazer, also on display at St Helen’s. A rare example of such, it was presented to Swansea outside-half John "Jack" Marker to mark his participation in the Swansea RFC team. Marker was a former spitfire pilot in the Far East theatre of WWII. He had played for Llanelli RFC in 1946-48 as a centre before transferring to Osterley RFC in London. Followed by a successful stint at London Wasps, where he twice won the Middlesex sevens title. In 1953-54 he joined an injury struck Swansea RFC, for whom he played 10 matches that season. At the time the All Blacks arrived at St Helen's, Marker had played just four matches for the All Whites, having made his club debut on 14th November at Old Deer Park against London Welsh. Partnering Goronwy Morgan at half back against the All Blacks, Marker was part of a team that astonished everyone and held New Zealand to a draw, despite a very much reshuffled team being put out by Swansea.
The blazer itself is single breasted, it’s black with 3 plain silvered buttons and single plain silvered cuff button. It bears the combined badge of Swansea Cricket & Football Club and the New Zealand Fern on the left breast pocket. The scroll beneath the badge reads, ‘Swansea RFC v New Zealand Dec 12th 1953’. Both the words and the scroll are sewn in a metal stitching. The blazer produces an interesting effect on the display at St Helen’s. Its uniqueness makes it stand out among the many jerseys, and other interesting objects on display, some of which have already been explored in this trail.
Next up however are the tours of the 1960’s… Please don’t forget to click next to follow on to the next part.