The 1908–09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against invitational and national teams from England and Wales, as well as several games against sides from North America. This was the first Australian tour of the Northern Hemisphere and the side is sometimes referred to as the "First Wallabies".

Both the New Zealand and South African teams had toured Europe in 1905 and 1906 respectively, both achieving unexpected but deserved success against club and international opposition. Despite the success of these two touring teams, Australia suffered poor pressThomas (1954), p. 52. and with only a single win after the teams' first twelve international matches in its history to that point,Griffiths (1987), 8:3–4. few people suggested the team would do well. Against low expectations the Australians played well, winning 25 of 31 matches played on the tour and with some commentators writing that the team would have achieved better results if they had not picked up so many injuries.Griffiths (1987), 8:4.

Australia took in two recognised international games, against Wales and England, but failed to play any games in Scotland or Ireland due to the Irish and Scottish Unions resenting the International Rugby Board's attitude regarding the Australian invitation.

The squad's leadership

Tour manager, who performed the role of coach was New South Wales state selector James McMahon, a veteran of the early NSWRU representative fixtures of 1889 and 1894 against New Zealand. He was assisted by Stan Wickham who had captained the Wallabies on 10 occasions between 1904 and 1905. Tour captain was Herbert Moran. The team was also captained in matches during the tour by Chris McKivat and by Fred Wood, the tour vice-captain. They played in blue shirts, emblazoned with the Waratah. Players were paid 3 shillings a day in expenses.Zavos p. 90.

At a pre-tour function in Sydney it was announced the Australian team would be called "the Rabbits", which British newspapers soon picked up on. The side played two matches on the way to England, but after arrival decided to hold a team meeting to choose an alternative name, with the "Wallabies" ultimately voted upon to replace "Rabbits".Moran, Herbert (1939) Viewless Winds reproduced in The Spirit of Rugby p. 179. From the 1930s onwards "Wallabies" was used to describe the Australia national rugby union team when touring to Britain. These days the national side are the Wallabies whether playing at home or anywhere abroad.

The Wallabies in 1908 also had a war-cry which the NSWRU in Australia had suggested the team should use (following the style of the 1905 All Blacks and 1906 Springboks tours) for its "box-office value". The team's captain Moran wrote:

Echoing the feelings of the Australian team towards the war-cry, there was little respect shown from their opponents towards it either. In the encounter with Cardiff at the Cardiff Arms Park, Percy Bush responded to the cry by charging onto the pitch brandishing a sword and shield, in what was intended to be an amusing riposte.Thomas (1954), p. 58.

Tour itinerary

The squad left Sydney on 8 August 1908 on board the SS Omrah bound for Melbourne. The ship contained 116 passengers, 1579 bales of wool, 2729 carcasses of mutton, 4650 carcasses of lamb, 2000 quarters of beef, 4800 crates of frozen rabbits and 200 tonnes of lead and copper. They played a game at the MCG against a Victorian XV which was won 26–6. They docked in Fremantle and played and won a fixture against a Western Australian XV 58–6.

On the long voyage Moran introduced the practice of team meetings that were part lecture and part brain–storming with players encouraged to voice their ideas on improving team performance. Moran stood at a blackboard and while his lecturing style was initially derided by the players he managed to instill a sense of cleverness and skill in players, creating thoughts of rugby as similar to a game of chess.Zavos p. 109. The Sydney forward Cecil Murnin became ill on the voyage and left the tour in Naples to return to Australia.Davis JC (1934) reproduced in The Spirit of Rugby p. 25.

The first tour match in England was against Devon. Peter Burge broke a leg in that match and did not play again on the tour.Howell p. 32. Australia won the match with 14 men. Bob Craig had brought a carpet snake in his luggage as a tour mascot and the snake died that same day. The fourth tour match saw the Wallabies pitted against the best players from Cardiff and Swansea playing as Glamorgan County. The match at Pontypridd drew a crowd of 20,000 who gave the visitors a standing ovation. In that match another player was lost to a broken leg – this time from the sideline. The Queensland forward Flanagan was running the flag as line–umpire and collided with the winger "Boxer" Russell.Davis p. 25. in The Spirit of Rugby. Australia's first loss was the ninth match, against Llanelli RFC – a spirited encounter which saw the Llanelli side win the match 8–3 and themselves a place in local sporting folklore.

Olympic Wallabies During the tour, the Olympic Games were being held in London. The Australian team entered the rugby tournament and were the only other team alongside Cornwall, who were representing Great Britain. The interest in the Olympic rugby final was only lukewarm with the final being held in the last week of Games that had taken place over six months.Zavos p. 111.

Australia had already beaten Cornwall, the British county champions early in the tour. Scottish and Irish Unions had turned down the RFU's invitation to participate in the Olympic bouts. France were expected to contest the medal, but had withdrawn, leaving just Australia and Cornwall for England team to play for gold and silver medals.

The match was played on an area alongside the Olympic Games swimming pool which measured 110 yards in length with a long line of netting stretched beside to catch flying balls. Large mattresses were spread along the rim of the pool to prevent injuries to falling players.Zavos p. 114. One day was allocated to what was called the Olympic rugby tournament. Neither Moran, nor the tour vice-captain Fred Wood played so Chris McKivat led the Wallabies to an easy 32–3 victory and to Olympic glory, with each Wallaby in that match thereafter an Olympic gold medallist.

Tour statistics The tour took in 31 games in the British Isles, with the Australians winning 25, losing five and drawing one. Of the test matches, the team lost against Wales, but beat England. These matches were the first ever encounters between an Australian team and their hosts. A further two matches were played in Australia en route and there were five matches in the US and Canada.The rise and fall of American rugby by Tony Collins, 11 June 2015

The Wallabies scored 438 points on tour to 149 against, scoring 104 tries in the process and averaging better than three tries per game with 80 scored by the backs and 24 by the forwards.Zavos 9285.

Touring party

Management Manager: James McMahon Assistant: Stan Wickham Captain: Herbert Moran Vice-Captain: Fred Wood

Full backs Phil Carmichael (Brothers) William Dix (Armidale)

Three-quarters Charles Russell (Newtown) Daniel Carroll (St. George) Jack Hickey (Glebe) Frank Smith (Central West) Herbert Daly (Central West) Edward Mandible (Sydney) Esmond Parkinson (Harlin)

Half backs Christopher McKivatt (Glebe) Arthur McCabe (South Sydney) Fred Wood (Glebe) Ward Prentice (West Suburbs) Joseph Stevenson (Northern)

Forwards Thomas Griffen (Glebe) Jumbo Barnett (Newtown) Patrick McCue (Newtown) Sydney Middleton (Glebe) Tom Richards (Charters Towers) Malcolm McArthur (Eastern Suburbs) Charles McMurtrie (Orange) Bob Craig (Balmain) Herbert Moran (Newcastle) Ted McIntyre (Central West) Ken Gavin (Central West) Albert Burge (South Sydney) Peter Burge (South Sydney) Cecil Murnin (Eastern Suburbs) Norm Row (Eastern Suburbs) Peter Flanagan (Brothers) Charles Hammand (University)

Match summary Complete list of matches played by Australia at British Isles and North America:

Test matches

# Date Rival City Venue Score 1 10 August 1908 Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 26–6 2 17 Aug Western Australia Fremantle Fremantle Oval 58–6 3 6 Sep Devon RU Devonport Rectory Ground 24–3 4 1 Oct Gloucestershire RU Gloucester Kingsholm Stadium 16–0 5 3 Oct Cornwall RU Camborne 18–5 6 7 Oct Glamorgan Pontypridd Taff Vale Park 16–3 7 10 Oct Penygraig RFC Tonypandy Athletic Ground 11–3 8 15 Oct Neath/Aberavon Combined Neath Neath Football Ground 15–0 9 17 Oct Llanelli RFC Llanelli Stradey Park 3–8 10 19 Oct Monmouthshire Pontypool Football Ground – 11 24 Oct London Richmond 3–0 12 26 Oct Cornwall London White City Stadium 32–3 13 28 Oct Army/Navy RU Combined Portsmouth Recreation Ground 8–6 14 31 Oct Durham Hartlepool Friarage Ground 29–7 15 4 Nov Northumberland/Cumberland RU Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 18–6 16 7 Nov Cheshire Birkenhead Birkenhead Park 37–3 17 11 Nov London Blackheath Rectory Field 24–3 18 14 Nov Cambridge University Cambridge 11–9 19 18 Nov Oxford University Oxford Iffley Road 19–3 20 21 Nov Yorkshire RU Wakefield Belle Vue 24–0 21 25 Nov Lancashire RU Fallowfield Fallowfield Stadium 12–6 22 28 Nov Somerset Taunton Athletic Grounds 8–0 23 2 Dec Midlands Combined 5–16 24 5 Dec Anglo-Wales XV Richmond 24–025 12 Dec Cardiff Cardiff Arms Park 6–9 26 17 Dec Glamorgan League Pontypridd Taff Vale Park 9–5 27 19 Dec Newport RFC Newport Rodney Parade 5–3 28 22 Dec Abertillery RFC Abertillery 3–3 29Do you have any record relating to the 1908 Wallabies playing against Merthyr on 24 December 1908? Scrum.com 24 Dec North Glamorgan Merthyr Penydarren Park 13–5 30 26 Dec Swansea RFC Swansea St. Helen's Ground 0–6 31 28 Dec Cardiff RFC Cardiff Cardiff Arms Park 8–24 32 2 January 1909 Colombes – 33 9 Jan Blackheath Rectory Field 9–3 34 13 Jan Bristol / Clifton Combined Gloucestershire Ground 11–3 35 16 Jan Plymouth Plymouth 15–6 36 6 Feb University of California Berkeley, California California Field 27–0 37 Stanford University Stanford, California Stanford Field 13–3 38 13 Feb All-California Combined California 17–0 39 Vancouver Vancouver 23–0 40 Victoria Victoria, BC 26–3

Notes

Test matches Wales

Team detailsWales: Bert Winfield, Johnnie Williams, Jack Jones, Billy Trew (captain), Phil Hopkins, Dick Jones, Dicky Owen, James Watts, George Travers, George Hayward, Jim Webb, Phil Waller, Tom Evans, Ivor Morgan, David John Thomas Australia: Phil Carmichael, Charles Russell, John Hickey, Edward Mandible, Daniel Carroll, Ward Prentice, Christopher McKivatt, Thomas Griffen, Bob Craig, Jumbo Barnett, Peter Burge, Charles Hammand, Patrick McCue, Tom Richards, Herbert Moran (captain)

After the tours by the New Zealand and South African teams, the Welsh crowds were beginning to become fatigued at greeting another 'colonial' team,Smith, David Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union University of Wales Press (1980) p. 187. and the crowd of 30,000 at the Cardiff Arms Park was smaller than previous in tours. Those that attended were repaid with an exciting and close encounter, with two tries from both sides and Wales winning by just a single penalty goal. The contest between the forwards was described as 'tremendous',Thomas (1954), p. 55. and at the end of the match Moran was chaired from the ground by the Welsh supporters. Moran was later quoted as saying: "It was a very gruelling game; in fact, I think it was one of the hardest games I had ever played in."