Auckland4ever
Juniors
- Messages
- 1,243
Not sure where to post this, as there is no NZ RL forum.
Des White, one of NZ's greatest fullbacks was being interviewed on Radiosport about his career in the fifties. He described a famous win against the French at Carlaw park in 1951, who at the time were a RL powerhouse.
It was brutal, with the French punching, biting, clawing & kicking in the tackle.
The Kiwi 5/8 was forced off with a smashed cheekbone after a headbutt, then our halfback suffered the same thing, only his cheekbone actually fell to his mouth.
Then someone from the crowd hit one of the Frenchmen in the head with an apple.
Then a brawl broke out that lasted about 5 minutes, ending with the referee sending off the wrong man who refused to leave the field. It took the French & NZ RL presidents to come on to the park & eventually convince the real culprit to come off.
The game ended with White kicking the winning goal after a headshot in the dying seconds. As the Kiwis were leaving the field, one of them was attacked by a French player & a touchjudge was knocked over. As the NZ crowd gathered to congratulate their team, the French players spat at them.
White also went on to talk about a 7 month tour of GB that included the whole team being infected with cowpox on the ship, coming down with fevers & growing lumps in their arms.
How times have changed. I've got no doubt that modern players are better athletes, but those guys were 20 times tougher. Unlimited tackle & no replacements meant smashing your opponent was essential.
Des White, one of NZ's greatest fullbacks was being interviewed on Radiosport about his career in the fifties. He described a famous win against the French at Carlaw park in 1951, who at the time were a RL powerhouse.
It was brutal, with the French punching, biting, clawing & kicking in the tackle.
The Kiwi 5/8 was forced off with a smashed cheekbone after a headbutt, then our halfback suffered the same thing, only his cheekbone actually fell to his mouth.
Then someone from the crowd hit one of the Frenchmen in the head with an apple.
Then a brawl broke out that lasted about 5 minutes, ending with the referee sending off the wrong man who refused to leave the field. It took the French & NZ RL presidents to come on to the park & eventually convince the real culprit to come off.
The game ended with White kicking the winning goal after a headshot in the dying seconds. As the Kiwis were leaving the field, one of them was attacked by a French player & a touchjudge was knocked over. As the NZ crowd gathered to congratulate their team, the French players spat at them.
White also went on to talk about a 7 month tour of GB that included the whole team being infected with cowpox on the ship, coming down with fevers & growing lumps in their arms.
How times have changed. I've got no doubt that modern players are better athletes, but those guys were 20 times tougher. Unlimited tackle & no replacements meant smashing your opponent was essential.
