1920 Auckland Rugby League season

Auckland RL management committee.

The Auckland Rugby League was in its 12th season.

On 25 March, North Shore Albions held a meeting to discuss whether they should amalgamate with Sunnyside League Football Club, who were also based in Devonport and had been in existence since 1914. The following week both clubs agreed to merge. After some debate they decided their club name would be 'Devonport United' and they would wear green and white broad bands.[1] In addition Grafton and Richmond Rovers amalgamated, while new clubs were also formed in Kingsland (Kingsland Rovers), and at Point Chevalier.[2]

First grade games continued to regularly draw large crowds, especially matches involving the likes of Maritime, City Rovers, and Ponsonby United. The round 6 match between Maritime and Ponsonby drew what was thought to be a record crowd for a club match in Auckland of 9,000.[3] Maritime would go on to win the first grade title for the first time after a strong season where they won nine games and were only defeated twice. They were awarded the Monteith Shield at the 1921 annual general meeting while Newton Rangers won the Roope Rooster for the second year in a row by defeating Maritime in the final.

The highlight of the year was the match between Auckland and the touring England team on 24 July. A crowd of 30,000 packed into the Auckland Domain to witness an Auckland win by 24 points to 16.[4]

Preceded by 12th Auckland Rugby League season
1920
Succeeded by

Club news

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Club teams by grade participation

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The Grafton and Richmond clubs fielded combined teams in the 4th, 5th (2), and 6th grades hence the 'half numbers'.

Team 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade Total
Devonport United 1 2 1 1 1 1 7
Ponsonby United 1 1 0 1 1 1 5
City Rovers 1 1 0 1 1 1 5
Maritime 1 1 0 1 1 1 5
Grafton Athletic 1 0 0 .5 1 .5 3 (5)
Richmond Rovers 0 0 0 .5 1 .5 2 (4)
Newton Rangers 1 1 1 0 0 0 3
Manukau Rovers 0 0 1 0 1 1 3
Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
Marist Old Boys 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
Kingsland Rovers 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
Otahuhu Rovers 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
Māngere Rangers 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Thames Old Boys 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Point Chevalier 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Total 7 8 5 9 9 6 44

Carlaw Park site found

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At the end of the season an inspection was made of the site where Carlaw Park would emerge. It was decided that the ground would be named ‘Carlaw Athletic Park’. The land had been purchased years earlier. It was noted that the site was “excellently situated for the purpose for which it is intended, and provides sufficient space for two playing grounds. Natural slopes on two sides will give room for a large number of spectators…”.[5]

Monteith Shield (first grade championship)

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Maritime won the first grade title with City Rovers finishing in second position. Three grounds were used for the competition, Victoria Park, the Auckland Domain, and the Devonport Domain. Thirty eight matches were played which was the most in the competitions history to this point. Unlike in previous seasons all clubs were able to survive until the end of the season and fulfill the majority, or all, of their fixture obligations.

Monteith Shield standings

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Team Pld W D L F A Pts
Maritime 11 9 0 2 168 93 18
City Rovers 12 8 0 4 270 131 16
Marist Old Boys 11 7* 1 3 102 79 15
Newton Rangers 11 6 1 4 133 132 13
Devonport United 12 4* 2 6 98 151 10
Ponsonby United 11 2 2 7 125 160 6
Grafton Athletic 11 1 0 10** 78 228 2

(*) Two of Grafton's defeats were by default, while one of Marist's wins and one of Devonport's wins were by default.

Monteith Shield fixtures

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Round 1

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Wally Somers

Wally Somers scored for Newton in their win over Grafton. The Marist club took the field in their familiar green colour after having played their first senior season in 1919 season wearing blue jerseys.

1 May Ponsonby 21–14 Marist Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: Bill Walsh, Sam Lowrie, Laurie Cadman, W Henderson, Eric McGregor
Con: A Cross
Pen: A Cross 2
[6] Try: C Clarke, Sheehan, Arthur Eustace, James (Sonny) Hing
Pen: Billy Ghent
Referee: J Eddowes
1 May Newton 30–15 Grafton Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: E Adams, Wally Somers 3, Arthur James 2
Con: Craddock Dufty 6
[7] Try: Anderson, Karl Ifwersen, C Owen
Con: Karl Ifwersen 3
Referee: William Mincham
1 May Devonport 10–32 City Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Penalty Try, George Seagar
Con: G Stewart
Pen: G Stewart
[8] Try: Bill Davidson 3, Maurice Wetherill, George Paki 2, Robert Clark, Harry Wynn, Ivan Stewart, Unknown x 1
Con: George Reid
Referee: Len Farrant

Round 2

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The draw by Marist saw them accrue their first ever first grade championship point after going through the 1919 season win-less in the same competition. Future New Zealand prop Jim O'Brien played at fullback in his first grade debut for Maritime. He moved into the forwards in the following weeks and the following season transferred to Devonport United where he was from.

8 May City 18–16 Ponsonby Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Ivan Stewart, Bill Davidson, J Mitchell, George Paki
Con: Bill Davidson 2
Pen: Bill Davidson
[9] Try: Bill Walsh 2, Eric McGregor, Dougie McGregor
Con: Thomas McClymont
Pen: Thomas McClymont
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Archie Ferguson
8 May Maritime 25–0 Grafton Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: John McGregor, Ernie Herring 2, Arthur Sutton, Bill Arndt, Bert Avery, Jim O'Brien
Con: Arthur Sutton, Tierney
[10] Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Frank Thompson
8 May Newton 5–5 Marist Victoria Park 2  
3:00 Try: Bill Cloke
Con: Craddock Dufty
[11] Try: Norm Loveridge
Pen: Neville St George
Referee: A Ripley

Round 3

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A Godick of Devonport in attempting to stop a try struck his head on the goal post and was knocked unconscious and taken from the field.

15 May City 16–3 Newton Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: George Reid, Bob Clarke, Bert Laing
Con: Bill Davidson, Maurice Wetherill
[12] Try: Nelson Bass Attendance: 3,500
Referee: J Ball
15 May Maritime 16–11 Marist Victoria Park 1  
3:00 Try: Arthur Sutton 2, Eric Grey 2
Con: Arthur Sutton
Pen: Arthur Sutton
[13] Try: Roly Tate, Sid McNamara, Unknown x 1
Con: Bill Stormont
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Billy Murray
15 May Devonport 17–17 Ponsonby Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Keith Helander, Cyril Nicholson 2
Con: Arthur Matthews 3
Pen: Arthur Matthews
[14] Try: Arthur Pooley, A Halliday, Dougie McGregor, Frank Delgrosso, Laurie Cadman
Con: A Cross
Referee: Clow

Round 4

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Marist recorded their first ever victory in the first grade championship with Bill Stormont scoring one of their three tries.

22 May Maritime 8–6 City Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: Bert Avery, Eric Grey
Con: John Lang
[15] Pen: Bill Davidson 3 Attendance: 5,500
Referee: A Ball
22 May Marist 15–3 Grafton Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Bill Stormont, Billy Ghent, Unknown x 1
Con: Billy Ghent, Arthur Eustace, Unknown x 1
[16] Try: Horace Neal Referee: Clayton
22 May Newton 15–5 Devonport Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Jack Keenan, Ronald Lovett, Albert Ivil
Con: Craddock Dufty 2
Pen: Craddock Dufty
[17] Try: Cyril Nicholson
Pen: G Stewart
Referee: Eddowes

Round 5

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The match between City and Grafton had the score reported by both the Auckland Star and the New Zealand Herald but had no match report and scoring. The Observer had a brief description of the match where they described one of Karl Ifwersen's "tries" indicating he scored at least 2.

29 May Newton 12–11 Ponsonby Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Nelson Bass, Wally Somers
Con: Craddock Dufty
Pen: Craddock Dufty 2
[18] Try: Eric McGregor 2, Thomas McClymont
Pen: A Cross
Attendance: 5000
Referee: A Ferguson
29 May City 24–17 Grafton Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Unknown 24 pts [19] Try: Karl Ifwersen 2, Unknown 11 pts Attendance: 5,000
29 May Maritime 17–3 Devonport Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Bert Avery, John McGregor 4
Con: Arthur Sutton
[20] Try: George Seagar Referee: Len Farrant

Round 6

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Karl Ifwersen

Arthur Cadman was sent off in the Maritime match versus Ponsonby for kicking a Maritime player, while the Auckland Star suggested in their match reports that the 9,000 in attendance was possibly the largest ever Auckland Club Rugby League crowd to attend a match to this point. Two weeks later the Auckland Star reported that a player sent off in the match was suspended for two weeks for using bad language towards an official. In the City v Marist match two City players and one Marist player were ordered off in the first half. Grafton defaulted their match against Devonport as Joe Bennett was injured, Karl Ifwersen was sick, Horace Neal had a "broken shoulder", and Owen, Moir, and Norton were out of town.

12 June Maritime 11–8 Ponsonby Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Harry Grey, John McGregor, Bert McGregor
Con: Eric Grey
[21] Try: Thomas McClymont, Eric McGregor
Con: A Cross
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: J Eddowes
12 June Marist 19–5 City Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Billy Ghent 2, Arthur Eustace, Sid McNamara, Bill Stormont
Con: Unknown x 2
[22] Try: Bill Davidson
Con: Bill Davidson
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Vause
12 June Devonport WBD-LBD Grafton Devonport Domain 1  
3:00 [23] Referee: Jim Rukutai

Round 7

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2 Players were ordered off in the 2nd half of the Maritime versus Newton match. While in the Grafton v Ponsonby match Grafton had two players ordered off including Horace Neal, and had another injured meaning they finished the match with just 10 players on the field. Both ordered off players were suspended for two weeks.

26 June Maritime 14–7 Newton Victoria Park 1  
3:00 Try: Eric Grey 3, John Lang
Pen: Arthur Sutton (1 mark)
[24] Try: Wally Somers
Pen: Craddock Dufty 2
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Billy Murray
26 June Ponsonby 26–0 Grafton Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: William Southernwood 2, Dougie McGregor, Sam Lowrie, Eric McGregor, W Henderson
Con: Eric McGregor, A Cross 4
[25] Referee: Frank Thompson
26 June Devonport 8–3 Marist Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Alex Godick, Cyril Nicholson
Con: Arthur Matthews
[26] Try: Arthur Eustace Referee: Clayton

Round 8

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3 July Marist 8–4 Ponsonby Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Bill Stormont, Unknown x 1
Con: White
[27] Pen: A Cross 2 Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Walter Ripley
3 July Newton 24–15 Grafton Auckland Domain 3  
3:00 Try: Thomas Virtue, Charles James, S Delaney 2, Unknown x 2
Con: Clarrie Polson, Unknown x 2
[28] Try: Charles Woolley, Yates, McGinley
Con: Charles Woolley 3
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: J Clow
3 July City 19–5 Devonport Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Bill Davidson 2, Maurice Wetherill, George Paki, Miller
Con: Bill Davidson, Maurice Wetherill
[29] Try: Alex Godick
Con: George Seagar
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Archie Ferguson

Round 9

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Massa Johnston (William Johnston) played for Grafton in their 10-5 win over Maritime. The following week the Maritime club protested his playing for them. Johnston had returned from the war and returned to Dundedin, however as there was no rugby league played in the area at the time he moved to Auckland and joined the Grafton club. The Auckland Rugby League held over their decision and after further discussion decided that the match result should stand. Johnston was 39 years old and had played rugby union for Otago, the South Island and New Zealand before switching to rugby league and playing for Wigan and Warrington in England from 1908 to 1912. At some point after he transferred to Coventry but that club went out of existence so he was not tied to any particular club. Remarkably he was playing for the first time in nearly 8 years.

10 July City 37–5 Ponsonby Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Ben Davidson, Harry Francis, J Mitchell, George Paki + Unknown 19 pts
Con: Bill Davidson 3
[30] Try: Laurie Cadman
Con: A Cross
Referee: A Ball
10 July Marist 9–5 Newton Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Bill Stormont
Con: Bill Stormont
Pen: Billy Ghent, Bill Stormont
[31] Try: Dempsey
Con: E Adams
Referee: Jim Rukutai
10 July Grafton 10–5 Maritime Auckland Domain 3  
3:00 Try: F Collins, A McSweeney
Con: Joe Bennett
Pen: Charles Woolley
[32] Try: Harry Grey
Con: George Yardley
Referee: William Mincham

Round 10

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17 July Marist 8–7 Maritime Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Norm Loveridge, George Cargill
Pen: Billy Ghent
[33] Try: George Yardley
Pen: John Lang, Eric Grey
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Billy Murray
17 July City 31–10 Newton Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Bert Laing, Ben Davidson, George Paki, Maurice Wetherill, Bill Davidson, Bob Clarke 2
Con: Maurice Wetherill, Bill Davidson 3
Pen: Bert Laing
[34] Try: Leonard Newdick, Thomas Biggs
Con: Craddock Dufty 2
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Frank Thompson
17 July Ponsonby 7–7 Devonport Auckland Domain 3  
3:00 Try: Bill Walsh
Con: Thomas McClymont
Pen: Thomas McClymont
[35] Try: Alex Godick
Pen: Arthur Matthews 2
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Len Farrant

Round 11

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The City v Grafton match resulted in a 66–13 win to City but the Auckland Star and New Zealand Herald did not report any of the scoring details. Grafton were missing Karl Ifwersen, Joe Bennett, and Charles Woolley who were on representative duty and could only field 11 players.

7 August City 66–13 Grafton Victoria Park 1  
3:00 Try: Unknown 66 pts [36] Try: Unknown 13 pts Referee: T Hill
7 August Newton 10–0 Ponsonby Victoria Park 2  
3:00 Try: Bill Cloke, Ballyntyne
Con: Craddock Dufty
Pen: Craddock Dufty
[37] Referee: J Clow
7 August Maritime 24–19 Devonport Victoria Park 3  
3:00 Try: J Brien 2, Bert McGregor, John Lang, Harry Grey, Unknown x 1
Con: Arthur Sutton, John Lang
Pen: Vivian Hogg (1 mark)
[38] Try: Cyril Nicholson 2, Unknown x 1
Con: G Stewart 2, Unknown x 1
Pen: G Stewart, Unknown x 1
Referee: Walter Ripley

Round 12

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14 August Maritime 15–11 City Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: John McGregor 2, Jim O'Brien
Con: John Lang 2
Pen: John Lang (1 mark)
[39] Try: George Paki 2, W Green
Con: Bill Davidson
Attendance: 7000
Referee: Archie Ferguson
14 August Newton 12–11 Devonport Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Craddock Dufty, Thomas Virtue
Con: Craddock Dufty
Pen: Craddock Dufty, W Knox
[40] Try: Cyril Nicholson 2, B Voss
Con: G Stewart
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Frank Thompson
14 August Marist WBD-LBD Grafton Auckland Domain 3  
3:00 [41] Referee: William Mincham

Round 13

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21 August Marist 10–5 City Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Arthur Eustace, Sid Fry
Con: Billy Ghent 2
[42] Try: George Paki
Con: Maurice Wetherill
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: Walter Ripley
21 August Maritime 26–10 Ponsonby Auckland Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Harry Grey, Eric Grey 3, Bert Avery, Ernie Herring, Vivian Hogg
Con: Eric Grey
[43] Try: George Mormon 2
Con: A Cross
Pen: A Cross
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: Len Farrant
21 August Devonport 13–5 Grafton Auckland Domain 3  
3:00 Try: Webb, H Mann, Rundle, C Nelson
Con: G Stewart
[44] Try: E Elliot
Con: Brady
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: H Clayton

Roope Rooster knockout competition

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The Roope Rooster began on 28 August with 3 first round matches and Ponsonby United receiving a bye. Newton Rangers defeated Maritime in the final for the second consecutive year.

Round 1

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City had six of their senior players away and had to field juniors in their place though still beat Grafton 14-3. Grafton played a lot better than they did in their previous meeting when they conceded over 60 points. In this game City only led 3-0 at halftime. At a very muddy Devonport Domain the visiting Newton side knocked out the local team thanks to two converted tries to Ronald Lovett. A player was ordered off in the Maritime v Marist game and suspended for a week though they were not named in the newspapers.

28 August City 14–3 Grafton Victoria Park 2  
3:00 Try: J Mitchell, W Horne
Con: Bill Davidson
Pen: Bill Davidson 2
Drop: Bob Clarke
[45] Try: Yates Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Frank Thompson
28 August Maritime 9–6 Marist Victoria Park 3  
3:00 Try: Arthur Sutton
Con: Eric Grey
Drop: Arthur Sutton, Eric Grey
[46] Try: Bill Stormont, Arthur Eustace Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Archie Ferguson
28 August Devonport 7–10 Newton Devonport Domain 1  
3:00 Try: H Mann
Con: G Stewart
Pen: G Stewart
[47] Try: Ronald Lovett 2
Con: Craddock Dufty 2
Referee: A Vause

Semi finals

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Bill Davidson dislocated his collarbone in City's 19-5 loss to Newton. Ponsonby was unable to field the same team that beat Federal the previous Saturday to retained the Thacker Shield and instead fielded a number of junior.

11 September Newton 19–5 City Devonport Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Bill Cloke, Ronald Lovett, S.B. Delaney, Clarrie Polson, Unknown x 1
Con: Wally Somers
Pen: Craddock Dufty
[48] Try: Maurice Wetherill
Con: Bill Davidson
Referee: Billy Murray
11 September Maritime 11–5 Ponsonby Devonport Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Harry Grey, Eric Grey, John McGregor
Con: John McGregor
[49] Try: Tickner
Con: Eric McGregor
Referee: A Ball

Final

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An enormous crowd of 10,000 packed into Victoria Park to witness Newton winning the Roope Rooster trophy for the second consecutive year.

18 September Newton 12–6 Maritime Victoria Park 1  
3:00 Try: Bill Cloke, S Delaney
Con: Craddock Dufty
Pen: Craddock Dufty 2
[50] Try: Ernie Herring, Bert Avery Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Archie Ferguson

Top try scorers and point scorers

[edit]
Bill Davidson
George Davidson

The following point scoring lists include Senior Championship matches and the Roope Rooster competition matches only. The lists are extremely incomplete for players from the City Rovers club who had no scoring whatsoever for their 24–17 win over Grafton Athletic, and their 66–13 win over the same opponents. In total the City team was missing the scorers of 118 of its points. Likewise Devonport United was missing scorers for 7 points, Newton Rangers for 13, Maritime for 3, Marist Old Boys for 15, and Grafton Athletic for 30 (from the two matches with City).

Bill Davidson replicated the feat of his younger brother George of the previous season by leading the point scoring while playing for Maritime. George had qualified for the Antwerp Olympics where he ran 5th in the 200m final and did not play in the Auckland Rugby League competition at all in 1920. He was to return and join his brothers in the City Rovers team from the 1921 season onwards.

The games played is approximate only as not all teams published their team lists in the Friday newspapers and changes were often made on match day. Players from teams that did not publish team lists each week have been asterisked and likely played more games.

Thacker Shield

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Ponsonby in 1920 with the Thacker Shield.

Ponsonby United defended the Thacker Shield from Federal (of Christchurch) at Victoria Park in front of 10,000 spectators. They had won the shield from Sydenham in Christchurch two years earlier. They had been unable to arrange a defence in the 1919 season. Eventually the shield was to be returned to Christchurch and played for amongst teams in the South Island.


4 September Ponsonby 29–19 Federal (Christchurch) Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Arthur Pooley, A Cross, Dougie McGregor 2, George Mormon, Jim Clark, Thomas McClymont
Con: A Cross 4
[51] Try: L Thackwell, F Kidd, E Cunningham
Con: Billy Mitchell 2
Pen: Billy Mitchell 3
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Archie Ferguson

Other club matches and lower grades

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Exhibition and benefit matches

[edit]
3 July Lower Waikato 20-31 Maritime Victoria Park 1  
3:00 Try: Unknown 20 points [52] Try: John McGregor 2, Eric Grey 3, John Lang 2, Bert Avery 2
Con: Arthur Sutton
Attendance: 2,000
10 July King Country 0-15 Devonport Taumarunui  
3:00 [53] Try: Stan Walters 2, Alex Godick, Cyril Nicholson, E Chivers
18 September Marist 21–14 Hamilton Victoria Park 1  
1:30 Try: Arthur Eustace 2, Percy Gallagher, George Cargill, Bill Stormont
Con: Bill Stormont 2, James (Sonny) Hing
[54] Try: Shirtcliff, Payne, Vernall, Clarkin
Con: Manning
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: A Ball
14 August Hamilton 30-28 Ponsonby Seddon Park, Hamilton  
3:00 Try: Dufty, Clarkin, Halliday, Hamilton, Brady, Brain, Prickett, Fitzgerald
Con: Dufty 2, Cave
[55] Try: Bolton, Black, A Halliday, W Henderson, Sam Lowrie, Arthur Pooley, Unknown x 2
Con: A Cross, A Halliday
Referee: Jim Rukutai

Devonport XIII v King Country (Taumarunui)

[edit]

On September 25 a King Country side traveled to Auckland to take on a Devonport XIII at the Devonport Domain. King Country had played against Cambridge mid week. The match was played in atrocious conditions with half the Devonport Domain field under muddy water. Ben Davidson from the City club played for Devonport thus it was not an official full Devonport side. Davidson scored a try in their 13-8 defeat.

25 September Devonport XIII 8-13 King Country (Taumarunui) Devonport Domain 2  
3:00 Try: Cyril Nicholson, Ben Davidson
Con: Alex Godick
[56] Try: Kahu, Logan, London
Con: Kahu, Doran
Referee: H Clayton

Hamilton Hospital Benefit Match

[edit]

On September 25 the Maritime and Marist clubs sent teams to play an exhibition match at Seddon Park in Hamilton to raise money for Hamilton Hospital. The match was played in poor weather conditions. Craddock Dufty from the Newton side played for Maritime and scored their first try.

25 September Maritime XIII 18-3 Marist XIII Seddon Park, Hamilton  
3:00 Try: Craddock Dufty, George Yardley, Bill Arndt, Ernie Herring
Con: John Lang 3
[57] Try: Unknown
List of Matches
Date Score Score Venue Attendance
Exhibition match 29 May [58] King Country 6 Marist Old Boys 12 Taumarunui

Lower grade teams and clubs

[edit]

There were 5 lower grades in 1920. Richmond and Grafton fielded a combined side in the 5th grade, though Richmond also fielded their own side in the same grade.

Point Chevalier fielded their first ever side in the Third Grade competition. They lost their first ever match to Devonport United (North Shore Albions) by 22 points to 6. Their only other reported results were a 21-7 loss to the same opponent in round 7 and a 14-2 loss in round 8 to Manukau.

Second Grade

[edit]

The full results were not reported with just 18 reported and 38 not reported therefor the standings are very incomplete. City Rovers won the competition. Devonport United B withdrew after 7 rounds, Thames Old Boys withdrew after 10 rounds Marist and Māngere Rangers both withdrew after 11 rounds.

Team Pld W D L B F A Pts
City Rovers 6 3 1 2 1 63 32 7
Ponsonby United 5 4 0 1 0 61 40 8
Maritime 5 3 1 1 1 78 49 7
Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 5 3 0 2 1 55 31 6
Devonport United A 4 2 0 2 1 24 43 4
Marist Old Boys 3 1 0 2 0 15 16 2
Newton Rangers 3 0 2 1 0 17 19 2
Devonport B 3 1 0 2 2 19 27 2
Māngere Rangers 3 1 0 2 1 9 46 2
Thames Old Boys 8 0 0 2 2 15 53 0

Third Grade

[edit]

Manukau won their first ever grade title. The full results were not reported with only 8 scores published in the newspapers and 16 not published. Maritime withdrew after 4 rounds, and Newton Rangers withdrew after 5 rounds. Ellerslie United played a friendly match with Kingsland on September 25 when the season had finished.

Team Pld W D L B F A Pts
Manukau 5 5 0 0 1 64 26 10
Devonport United 5 3 0 2 0 75 45 6
Kingsland Rovers 2 0 0 2 1 7 27 0
Point Chevalier 3 0 0 3 1 15 57 0
Newton Rangers 1 0 0 1 1 5 11 0
Maritime 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Fourth Grade

[edit]

Ponsonby United won the competition. There were 19 results reported and 20 not reported. The round 1 match between Kingsland and City was abandoned with the referee refusing to play the match due to the extremely poor standard of the field at the newly developed. Thirty shillings had been spent on clearing the ground prior. Maritime withdrew after just one round while Marist withdrew a week later. Northcote & Birkenhead withdrew following round 8, as did Devonport United. On August 28 Ellerslie (who were reforming) played a match against Grafton-Richmond, which they lost 10-6. On the same day City beat Ponsonby 43-0 in a knockout match. Knockout matches were played over the following 3 weeks but no results were reported.

Team Pld W D L B F A Pts
Ponsonby United 6 5 0 1 0 59 31 10
Grafton-Richmond 7 4 0 3 0 92 26 8
City Rovers 4 3 1 0 0 59 6 7
Otahuhu Rovers 4 2 1 1 0 33 13 5
Maritime A 6 2 0 4 0 25 66 4
Kingsland Rovers 5 1 0 4 0 17 97 2
Devonport United 2 0 0 2 0 3 40 0
Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 2 0 0 2 0 3 12 0
Maritime B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Marist Old Boys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fifth Grade

[edit]

Manukau won the competition and were undefeated in reported results (20-0, 17-0, 22-8, 9-3, 10-6, and 3-0). There were 17 results reported and 41 not reported. Northcote & Birkenhead withdrew after round 6 rounds, while both Ponsonby sides withdrew after 9 rounds. The round 9 match between Maritime and Grafton-Richmond was the curtain-raiser to the Auckland v England match.

Team Pld W D L B F A Pts
Manukau 6 6 0 0 0 81 17 12
Devonport United 6 4 0 2 0 75 43 7
Maritime 7 3 0 4 0 68 41 6
City Rovers 3 2 0 1 0 26 6 4
Grafton-Richmond A 1 1 0 0 2 16 5 5
Otahuhu Rovers 2 1 0 1 1 13 16 2
Grafton-Richmond B 3 0 0 3 0 2 44 0
Ponsonby United A 3 0 0 3 0 3 46 0
Ponsonby United B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 2 0 0 2 0 8 49 0

Sixth Grade

[edit]

Ponsonby won the championship, sealing it with their 5-0 win over Manukau on August 14. There were only 14 results reported with 18 not reported. The round 10 match between City Rovers and the combined Grafton-Richmond side on July 24 was a curtain-raiser to the Auckland v England match.

Team Pld W D L B F A Pts
Ponsonby United 7 7 0 0 0 42 10 14
Manukau 6 3 0 3 0 15 26 6
Maritime 5 2 0 3 0 16 26 4
City Rovers 4 2 0 2 0 21 9 4
Devonport United 4 0 0 4 0 15 27 0
Grafton-Richmond 2 0 0 2 0 0 11 0

Representative fixtures

[edit]

Auckland played a Rest of New Zealand team as part of the selection process for the New Zealand team to play England. They trounced them by 54 points to 0. They later played a trial match between and A and B team before the Auckland side was selected to play England. The match was played at the Auckland Domain in front of 30,000 spectators. Unfortunately the English halfback fractured his tibia in the first few minutes and they were forced to play with 12 for the remainder of the game as the rules at the time did not allow for substitutions of injured players.[59]

Auckland v Rest of New Zealand

[edit]

The match was postponed a day due to bad weather and played on the Sunday.

23 June Auckland 54–0 Rest of New Zealand Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Bill Cloke 3, Charles Woolley, Bill Davidson 3, Billy Ghent, Stan Walters 2, Wally Somers, Bert Avery
Con: Bill Davidson 9
[60] Referee: A Ball

Auckland trial match

[edit]
14 July A Team 12–19 B Team Victoria Park 1  
3:00 Try: Joe Bennett, Charles Woolley
Con: Bill Davidson 2
Pen: Bill Davidson
[61] Try: Ernie Herring 2, Bill Stormont, Dougie McGregor 2, George Paki
Con: Bill Stormont 2
Referee: A Ball

Auckland v England

[edit]
24 July Auckland 24–16 England Auckland Domain 1  
3:00 Try: Bill Cloke, Stan Walters 2, Wally Somers, Nelson Bass (Penalty Try), Thomas McClymont
Con: Bill Davidson 3
[62] Try: Jonty Parkin 2, Billy Stone, Jim Bacon
Con: Billy Stone, Gwyn Thomas
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Bill Murray

Auckland representative matches played and scorers

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No Name Club Team Play Tries Con Pen Points
1 Bill Davidson City 2 3 12 0 33
2 Bill Cloke Newton 2 4 1 0 12
2 Stan Walters Devonport 2 4 0 0 12
4 Wally Somers Newton 2 2 0 0 6
5 Nelson Bass Newton 1 1 0 0 3
5 Charles Woolley Grafton 2 1 0 0 3
5 Thomas McClymont Ponsonby 2 1 0 0 3
5 Billy Ghent Marist 1 1 0 0 3
5 Bert Avery Maritime 2 1 0 0 3
10 Jim Brien Maritime 1 0 0 0 0
10 Eric Grey Maritime 2 0 0 0 0
10 Joe Bennett Grafton 1 0 0 0 0
10 Vic Thomas City 1 0 0 0 0
10 Roly Tait Marist 1 0 0 0 0
10 Karl Ifwersen Grafton 1 0 0 0 0
10 Clarrie Polson Newton 1 0 0 0 0
10 Bill Stormont Marist 1 0 0 0 0
10 Billy Wilson City 1 0 0 0 0
10 Ivan Stewart City 1 0 0 0 0

References

[edit]
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[edit]