Ponsonby Rugby Club

As a rugby decade, the 1930s are overlooked more than any other in New Zealand except the 1910s. Perhaps not surprisingly, as both decades ended with a global conflict raging, what had immediately preceded the wars tended to be overshadowed. When teams of the century were being named around 2000 very few players from either decade rated a mention, and yet there were some brilliant footballers among them.

The other problems that tended to cause rugby watchers to hit the ‘Delete’ button when the 1930s were being talked about were unsuccessful tours, and the transition to the three-fronted scrum in 1932. The scrum change came about after the 1930 British team had objected in the strongest possible terms to the wing forward, and the 2-3-2 scrums packed by the local teams. As New Zealand wanted a say in world rugby they had to toe the IRB party line, which meant several changes in the way the game was played here and not all were for the better (as an example, the revised kick into touch rule, the one we know now, had to be abandoned and the international rule, which permitted kicking the ball out on the full to gain ground from anywhere on the field, reinstated).

Then the 1935-36 All Blacks toured Britain and came home with a record of three losses and a draw in 28 matches. That’s pretty good going by most measures, but as the yardsticks being applied were the Originals and the Invincibles, three losses stunk. Overlooked was the huge improvement in British rugby; overrated were those three defeats.

Eighteen months later one of the great teams, the 1937 Springboks, toured New Zealand and left with a record of 16 wins in 17 matches, and a 2-1 series win, the first by any visiting team on New Zealand soil. So far the 1930s don’t seem to have a lot to recommend them, rugby wise.

At Ponsonby, the decade followed one which saw the club achieve success that Auckland rugby had never seen the like of before, and wasn’t to do so again for another 60 years. A decade that saw 30 individual grade championships won, as well as the Silver Football every year, was never going to be topped. Still, you’d be a tough taskmaster to cavil at a decade that saw five Senior titles annexed (one was shared), four in Junior, two in Third Intermediate, one each in Fourth and Fifth Grade, and two in Sixth.

It has been mentioned before in these articles that in 1933 the Auckland Union’s Jubilee book had a table showing grade championships by club, and Ponsonby was naturally miles in front, with Grafton (20) having the next best record over the 50 years. Well, in the forgotten 1930s, Ponsonby added another 15 championships to its already imposing collection. That decade would have placed them behind only Grafton and Parnell (17) on the 50-year table. Think about that for a moment.

It was unfortunate that circumstances decreed the very fine Ponsonby side of 1936-38 should not receive its due recognition. They are covered in a separate feature in this section. For now it needs to be pointed out that they won a Gallaher Shield hat-trick, something repeated only by University (1955-57), Otahuhu (1959-61) and Ponsonby (2004-11) since, and that the team set scoring records, admittedly in longer seasons, that topped their 1920 forebears to realise what a good side it was.

Of greater importance to the club was, perhaps, the beginning of schoolboy rugby. Until 1935 Ponsonby had never fielded a schoolboy team – the schools themselves had their own competition, and both Ponsonby School and Marist Vermont St were regularly near the top of it – so it was a step into the unknown. Ponsonby was extremely fortunate to have the Scott partnership, husband-and-wife Jack and Alva, to look after this section. Jack got the job more or less by default, because he wasn’t quick enough to say no, and he proved a giant. Alva did every bit as much, away from the field rather than coaching but just as vital, and both deservedly were elected club Life Members.

As we know today, the Junior section is one of the many important strands that make up the Ponsonby thread.

We also had the first real input from the Ponsonby ladies, who got involved in the social side of the club even though it was still stag in those days. Their contribution, often but not exclusively in tandem with husbands and not necessarily because the husband was a keen club man who dragged his wife along, was the start of another social movement within the club. Now, of course, the women’s section includes a strong playing group, something unknown back in the 1930s.

Various clubs grew bigger numerically than Ponsonby, and simply due to the sheer weight of teams Marist, Manukau, Suburbs and Takapuna grew to dominate the Silver Football. Ponsonby was still the envy of the city; its players tended to be the best-coached and its teams were expected to be good simply because of the jersey they wore. The club didn’t have a lot, the Depression had seen to that, but it still had the loyal backing of the district. That loyalty was being manifest in a variety of ways, many of which were new for Auckland rugby, and the majority are now part of the landscape.

It’s easy to see why so much of the club’s social history was overlooked then and later, but that overlooking has also led to under-rating. The players and club people, despite the limited publicity, were still champions of their time.

The Death of Bert Palmer

1933 Items

1933 Stats

Those Eternal Seasons

1934 Items

1934 Stats