BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

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Lions in Otago

Wednesday 15th June 2005

History in the South

The Lions have headed for South Island, the mainland to South Islanders, and they are heading to the South of South Island.

First they visit Dunedin whose name suggests that lots of Scots settled there. Dunedin is after all Edinburgh in a different guise where the burgh has become a dun and pout in front of the name.

There they play Otago.

Otago? It is a Maori name of uncertain meaning. It is, apparently, a corruption of Otakou and may refer to the current in the whaling harbour.

The rugby union was formed as Otago Rugby Union in 1881, the third in New Zealand after Canterbury and Christchurch.

James Duncan was a cobbler in New Zealand. He was taken with the novel idea of playing seven backs. As there was a halfback and three three-quarters and a fullback, he looked at his measure and decided that to add another would mean finding a fraction between a half and a three-quarter and so came up with a five-eighth. When the halfbacks acquired separate functions, the outer one of the two became the first five-eighth and the one next to him - inside centre to the rest of the world - became the second five-eight. It was all so logical it was eccentric.

Centric is operative, because a line does not have a centre, let alone two of them!

When that British side came in 1888 they started in Dunedin and beat Otago twice in five days - 8-3 and 4-3 at the Caledonian ground. They returned later in their tour and drew 0-0 with Otago.

The 1904 British team was back at the Caledonian Ground in Dunedin, this time to play an Otago-Southland combination and beat them 14-8.

In 1908 the Anglo-Welsh came and Otago beat them 9-6, this time at Carisbrook, the famous/notorious House of Pain, with its joyous students whom they call Scarfies.

The Lions came in 1930 and played an Otago team which was regarded as strong. The Lions thrashed them 33-9. They were brilliant, scoring seven tries to two. Tall wing Jim Reeve of the Harlequins scored three of the Lions' tries.

Otago made up for it in 1950. They scored four tries to one and won 23-9. At that time Otago were the holders of the Ranfurly Shield, and the match was regarded as the toughest apart form the Tests. They had an All Black pack and three All Black backs.

Otago did it again in 1959. They scored five tries to two in beating the Lions 26-8, scoring four tries to two. The Lions led 8-6 at half-time but the second half belonged to the home side who were not regarded as a strong team that year. But the Lions had serious injury problems and were forced to play flanks Noel Murphy and Haydn Morgan in the backs, Murphy on the wing, Morgan at centre.

In 1966 Otago made it a hat-trick, winning 17-9, though the try count was three-all. It was the third match of the tour and the Lions' second defeat.

The great Lions of 1971 gave it to the whole of New Zealand, including Otago whom they beat 21-9 with tries by John Taylor, JPR Williams and the captain John Dawes.

Phil Bennett's Lions won again in 1977 and he did all the scoring for them - four penalties against a try and a penalty goal by Bevan Wilson, the Otago fullback.

The 1983 did not play Otago at all but they did in 1993 for the highest scoring match of the lot between the two teams. Otago scored five tries to two and won a handsome 37-24. Paul Cooke, John Leslie, captain David Latta and John Timu scored the tries for Otago, while Dean Richards and Ieuan Evans scored tries for the Lions.