New Zealand return to Exeter 116 years on
By Jack Lewis
25/10/21
New Zealand’s Black Ferns rugby union team travel to Devon this week to take on England’s Red Roses in what promises to be a titanic tussle between the world’s top two sides. However, look back through the history books, and you’ll find that the legend surrounding the Southern Hemisphere giants of our sport can be traced back to these shores, over 116 years ago.
When they disembarked in Plymouth harbour in September 1905, New Zealand’s first touring rugby side were arriving as seemingly easy pickings for the dominant English teams who had pioneered the game.
A fixture against a local county team less than a week after coming ashore, seemed a daunting enough opening prospect for the colonial tourists, lining up against Devonshire side who were true powerhouses of domestic rugby.
The English County Championship commenced in 1896, with Devon claiming their first title in 1899, finishing runners up in 1900 before re-claiming their crown in 1901. When the tourists arrived at the Exeter County Ground on September 16, 1905 – the expectation was for an easy win for the men from the South West.
There is debate as to whether it was the Daily Mail who first used the moniker ‘All Blacks’, derived from the All Black uniform of New Zealand’s rugby pioneers, or whether there was an error in the transposition of a fleet street telephone operator when faced with the phrasing ‘all backs’ in description of their fast, flowing style of play.
What is not in contention, is the result, a resounding 55-4 defeat for the Devonshire side. An outcome so unlikely and unexpected that it was reversed by many newspapers of the day, presuming that a simple mistake had been made, reporting a resounding win for the home team.
The All Blacks went on to remove any doubt of their superiority, and across a nine-month tour of the British Isles dismantled all in their path, ending with a record of 30 matches played, 29 won, scoring 976 points, and conceding just 59.
It was reported by Leonard Tosswill, a journalist and hooker for both Devon and England, that “the conclusion is irresistibly borne upon me after every game, that they are not only better men physically, but quicker in conception, possess much more initiative, and, moreover, a greater amount of resolution.”
When New Zealand Women take the field on October 31 to face the Red Roses, they will be underestimated by no-one, such is the reputation that has been built by the fearsome All Blacks over the decades. One thing is for sure, the scoreline will be considerably closer than that fabled fixture 116 years prior, upon which the foundations for a rugby legend were laid.
