1913 New Zealand rugby union tour of North America

1913 New Zealand rugby union tour of North America
The New Zealand team wearing blazers and hats, before their departure to North America
Manager	G.H. Mason [1]
Tour captain(s)	Alex McDonald
Top point scorer(s)	James Graham (66)
Top try scorer(s)	Tom Lynch (17)
Summary	P W D L
Total	16 16 00 00
Test match	01 01 00 00
Opponent	P W D L
United States	1 1 0 0
Tour chronology
Previous tour	1910 Australia
Next tour	1914 Australia

The 1913 New Zealand tour rugby of North America was the second tour by the New Zealand national rugby union outside Australasia. Sixteen matches were played (all won) along with a Test match against United States sides.

The tour had a relevance for American rugby because it came at a time when the local code, American football, was widely critiziced prompted by worries over violent play, serious injuries and evidence of sharp practice by college coaches. That dispute, originated in 1906, had led some colleges (such as Stanford and California, Berkeley Universities) to switch from football to rugby. The All Blacks (which had toured in North America for the first time in 1905) had already made their contribution to the spread of the sport in the west coast.

New Zealand took the tour seriously, with a squad led by veteran player Alex McDonald that won all their matches in North America with large victories, conceding only 6 points in 16 games. The only test was played against the United States, which included players from Stanford and Berkeley.

The impact of such hard defeats induced a depression by the result, widely covered by the media which emphasized the big difference because Californian players and the New Zealand side.

As a result, the University of California returned to football in 1915, although Stanford would remain in rugby, generating an extraordinary performance of the national team in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, winning the Gold medal in both occasions.^[2]

Squad

Matches

Complete list of matches played by the All Blacks in North America:^[3][1]

The University of Stanford team that played the All Blacks

USA v All Blacks test

Opposing Team	For	Against	Date	Venue	Status
Olympic Club	19	0	4 October 1913	St Ignatius Field, San Francisco	Tour match
University of California, Berkeley	31	0	8 October 1913	California Field, Berkeley	Tour match
Barbarians Club	30	0	11 October 1913	St Ignatius Field, San Francisco	Tour match
Stanford University	54	0	15 October 1913	Stanford Park, Palo Alto	Tour match
Stanford University	56	0	18 October 1913	Stanford Park, Palo Alto	Tour match
University of Santa Clara	42	0	22 October 1913	Golden Gate Stadium, Santa Clara	Tour match
University of California, Berkeley	38	3	25 October 1913	California Field, Berkeley	Tour match
Univ. of Nevada, Reno	55	0	29 October 1913	University Ground, Reno	Tour match
University of California, Berkeley	33	0	3 November 1913	California Field, Berkeley	Tour match
St. Mary's College	26	0	5 November 1913	St Ignatius Field, San Francisco	Tour match
Univ. of Southern California	40	0	8 November 1913	Boyard Field, Los Angeles	Tour match
University of Santa Clara	33	0	12 November 1913	Golden Gate Stadium, Santa Clara	Tour match
United States	51	3	15 November 1913	California Field, Berkeley	Test match
Victoria (B.C.)	23	0	19 November 1913	Oak Bay Ground, Victoria	Tour match
Victoria (B.C.)	35	0	22 November 1913	Oak Bay Ground, Victoria	Tour match
Vancouver	44	0	24 November 1913	Stanley Park, Victoria	Tour match

See also

• List of All Blacks tours and series
• History of rugby union in the United States

References