Ponsonby Rugby Club

As Auckland rugby emerged from the First World War, and before that the rugby league tug-of-war, and before that the rather untidy end to the District Scheme, the hope was clearly that things would be better. And, in many ways, they were. Rugby union and rugby league had settled down to a relatively peaceful co-existence, and each sport had its body of ardent fans. In many areas people supported both codes, especially if they were representing a proud district like Ponsonby. The uncertainty of the War had settled into a club arrangement that is more or less the one we know now; the big clubs of today (Ponsonby, Marist, Grammar, University and College Rifles) were already established and the Old School Tie had gained at least an equal footing with the Suburbs.

The world was getting itself back in some sort of order, and for those who were sharp enough there was some good money to be made. making it didn't necessarily endear you to the rank and file, but it wasn't a bad time to have a few bob. The city was growing quickly, business was booming, the new-fangled motor cars were readily available if you could afford one and life was for living. It might have ignored what we now know as PTSD, which every soldier was trying to cope with in his own way, but if you hadn't been there you didn't know - and those who had been there tended to keep it to themselves.

What Auckland rugby didn’t know was coming, although the keener students of the game might have been growing more aware of, was the arrival of the first super club. Of course we’re talking about Ponsonby here; in the 1920s the club had results that were unmatched by anyone over such a long period in the first 100 years of the Auckland Union’s existence.

The 1920s were a fantastic time to be a Ponsonby fan. It almost didn't matter who you watched, you were going to see winning rugby played by well-drilled teams who operated at a level no other club could consistently match. And that was despite a number of others having very powerful teams up and down the grades.

It's easiest to back this up is simply by trotting out numbers. So, without further ado, I give you (drum roll) The Ponsonby Champions of the 1920s:

Senior: 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929

Junior: 1920, 1921

Third Grade: 1920, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929

Third Intermediate (started in 1924): 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929

Fourth Grade: 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928

Fifth Grade: 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929

Sixth Grade (started in 1925): 1928

Aaaannnnd … the Silver Football: 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929

In the 1933 Auckland Union Jubilee book, celebrating the first 50 years of the ARFU, a table was provided which showed the number of individual grade championships each club had won since 1883. Ponsonby was at the top, of course. The next best, with 20, was Grafton. Something to think about: There are 30 Ponsonby titles listed above, in a ten-year burst. That’s 50 percent more than anyone else managed over 50 years. And that’s not counting the ten consecutive Silver Football wins, for the club with the best record in all grades.

Nothing was very different on the rep scene. No fewer than 28 Ponsonby players were chosen for Auckland A during the decade (none had been an Auckland player before 1920), and 17 played first-class matches for Auckland B, although many of the B players also made the As at some stage. The club had six All Blacks in the decade, all of whom were at the heart of the great Gallaher Shield run, and at least one more who was considered dead unlucky to miss.

The story behind those years of phenomenal success is told in a few other places on the website. But what you pick up from the papers is the almost ready acceptance that Ponsonby was just better; in 1926 the season prospects noted Ponsonby in 1925 got a flying start because they were at full fitness from Day One and wondered if they would be again (Yes); it was often said the Ponsonby Junior teams played open, attacking football which was a hallmark of the whole club (True); and many writers felt the opposition didn’t rate itself a real chance (Most likely true as well).

Ponsonby played 114 Senior championship games during the decade, and another dozen non-championship affairs that were for the strongest team – including two Ponsonby v The Rest rep trials. Three of the six All Blacks were there in 1920 and still there in 1929; 28 players made 20 or more appearances in the decade. No fewer than 17 of the 28 played in 1924, and 16 a year later. Players were phased in and out at the rate of one or two a season; the club turned its roster over year by year.

It really was a brilliantly orchestrated performance from the whole club. For it to work as smoothly as it did, the club had to come first for all the players, and it did. It wasn’t until the 1980s, just after the ARFU centenary, that a club could put together a similar performance through the grades for such a time period. That story will be told in its proper place.

The George Nicholson Finishing School For Footballers

The Training Shed Fires