RL1895 - Rugby League

The Legend of Rorke's Drift
by Harold Wagstaff
Captain 1914 Lions
from the "Sports Post" - Yorkshire - May 4,1935

Prelude:
The 1914 Lions tour erupted in controversy after the first two Tests produced wins for England and Australia. Despite the 3rd Test being scheduled for weeks after, the NSWRL decided to bring the game forward to immediately cash-in while the public interest was so high. The touring party objected as they only had 7 fit players from those who took the field in the First Test, but to no avail.

The Lions captain was the legendary Huddersfield centre Harold Wagstaff. Here is his account of his team's heroic performance on that astounding day at the Sydney Cricket Ground (from the "Sports Post" - Yorkshire - May 4,1935):

"My first memory of the day on which that match, which came to be known as the Rorke's Drift Test, was played has to do with the fighting speech of our manager, Mr J. Clifford, who was so upset about the way in which arrangements for the match had been rushed through behind his back.

He called the men who were playing that afternoon into a room at the hotel and outlined the whole story of the revision of the fixture. Then he said that he expected every one of us to play as we had never played before.

"You are playing in a game of football this afternoon," he told us, "but more than that you are playing for England and more, even, you are playing Right versus Wrong. You will win because you have to win. Don't forget that message from home: England expects every man to do his duty."

The men in my team were moved. I was impressed and thrilled as never before by a speech. You could see our fellows clenching their fists as Mr Clifford spoke.

We were prepared to go all out when we went on to that field, but before there had been a scrum Frank Williams on the wing twisted a leg. We took Chick Johnson out of the pack to help Williams on the wing.

We managed to lead 9-3 at halftime; Percy Coldrick scored a try and Alf Wood had kicked three goals.

Immediately we started the second half Douglas Clark smashed his collarbone. He had broken a thumb in the first half and it had been bandaged tightly so that he could continue. Early in the second half Clark got a pass and went racing clear, it seemed, for the Australian line but Pony Halloway challenged him.

Clark put his hand out to push Halloway off then remembered his broken thumb. He withdrew the hand and went in to give Halloway the shoulder, but Pony stalled and Clark, unable to regain his balance, fell on the shoulder and the collarbone went.

Clark had the shoulder strapped and twice made efforts to return to the game, but in the end had to realise it was impossible for him to carry on. There were tears in his eyes as he left the field for the last time.

Frank Williams hurt his leg again and had to go off and we were left with 11 men. Then Billy Hall was carried off with concussion - he received the injury when he went down on the ball - and we had 10 men to face 13. Ten men and 30 minutes to go!

But never had I nine such men with me on a football field as I had that day. We were in our own half all the time and most of it seemed to be on our own line. But we stuck it. Our forwards gave their all. In the scrums the remnants of the pack that was left did its job and in the loose the men who had been brought out tackled as fiercely and finely as the backs did. As often happens in such circumstances, we continued to win the ball from the scrums. Holland, Ramsdale and Chilcott were heroes.

There were 20 minutes left when I managed to cut through when we were defending as usual, and going to John Johnson's wing I gave him the ball with only fullback Hallett to beat. Chick, a forward on the wing, went away with it, but then none of us dreamt that we were to witness the scoring of as wonderful a try as Test football will ever produce.

A few yards from Hallett, Johnson put the ball on the ground and began to dribble it. He had half the length of the field to go but he did it. And the ball never left his toes. It might have been tied by a piece of string to his feet so perfectly did he control it. No soccer international could have dribbled the ball better than did Johnson on the Sydney Cricket Ground that afternoon. Alf Wood kicked the goal and there we were, 14-3.

Billy Hall recovered and came back for the last 10 minutes to help us in a defence that was successful until the last few minutes when Sid Deane scored Australia's second try to make it 14-6.

But the victory was ours and the Australian crowd gave us full credit for it. They swung around to our side in the second half and they were with us to the end, cheering us on in inspiring fashion.

When the final whistle sounded we were done. We had gone to the last gasp and were just about finished."

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