The 1886 Southern Rugby Football Union season was the 13th season of the Sydney Rugby Premiership. This was the fourth competition for the Gardiner Challenge Cup which was awarded to the winners of the premiership. The football season was from May till September 1886. The season culminated in the premiership, which was won by Gordon who were newly formed at the beginning of the year. Gordon were crowned premiers by a committee of the Union.
Teams For the 1886 season, the Union decided to elevate 5 Junior clubs into the senior competition. Albion, Balmain Wellington, Glebe, Parramatta and Rosedale had performed well during the previous season. In addition, they also included 3 regional clubs from Newcastle, Bathurst and Goulburn. These clubs had successfully competed against metropolitan clubs prior to their admission. A new club, exclusively for New Zealand players, was formed and successfully petitioned to be included in the senior competition. This club took on the name Gordon. Many of their players had competed previously for other clubs. After poor performance during the previous season, the St. Leonards club was not reformed and thus did not participate in the Gardiner Challenge Cup. +ClubColorsFormedGroundCaptainAlbionc.1885Rushcutters Bay OvalGeorge FosterArformaprior to 1883NoneEC EbsworthBalmainc.1873NoneC HawkinsBalmain Wellingtonc.1884NoneArmitBathurstprior to 1883Railway Oval, BathurstYeomansBurwoodprior to 1883Burwood ParkSamuel ChapmanGlebeprior to 1883Wentworth ParkBourkeGordon26 February 1886NoneJames O'DonnellGoulburn22 July 1872Eastgrove Park, GoulburnUnknownNewcastleprior to 1883Newcastle Cricket GroundAB FordNewtownprior to 1883MacDonaldtown ParkP AllenParramattac.1879NoneW CoatesRedfern24 May 1878NoneJames CleeveRosedalec.1884NoneJames McMahonSydney Universityc.1863University OvalJames MacManameyWallaroo19 May 1871NoneGeorge Graham
Rule Changes With the addition of regional clubs and the promotion of junior clubs, the Sydney Rugby Premiership saw sixteen teams compete for the Gardiner Challenge Cup. This increase in teams competing for the cup caused many of the senior clubs to limit their games to only those which would count towards the final results. Previous competitions between junior and senior clubs were thus rare. Growing crowd numbers saw games moving from the open Moore Park to more enclosed fields. The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW arranged for three fields to be available upon their grounds, however the third area was of poor quality. The Association Cricket Ground was made available from July.
Season summary In their first season of football, the Gordon Football Club performed well against the more established senior clubs. In fifteen games, the club was only defeated once by the Balmain team. Amongst their victories during the season, Gordon had defeated Sydney University, Redfern, Burwood and Wallaroo who were amongst the best teams. Much of their success was attributed to their captain, James O'Donnell. At the conclusion of the season a committee of the union awarded Gordon the premiership with Sydney University recognised as coming second.
In 1885, Balmain Wellington had been the premier junior club. Now in the senior ranks, the club performed well displaying improvement as the season progressed. Many of their games were played on inferior grounds with the club not once playing on the Association Cricket Ground. the club had the benefit of all of their players remaining fit for the entire season. Their game against Gordon was a highlight of the year.
The new regional clubs that had been added to the premiership only played a handful of games. At a meeting of the Union in September, it was suggested that branch unions be formed in the Newcastle, Bathurst and Goulburn regions to deal with disputes.
Ladder
1886 Gardiner Challenge Cup
TeamPldWDLBPFPAPD1 Gordon151131012415+1092 Sydney University131102018226+1563 Arfoma15933010436+684 Wallaroo1682609867+315 Balmain Wellington1272305439+156 Burwood1042403874-367 Rosedale1041502843-158 Balmain1135303929+109 Redfern11317029124-9510 Newcastle620402144-2311 Glebe1034302726+112 Parramatta511302327-413 Newtown112270785-7814 Albion912602977-4815 Bathurst20110213-1116 Goulburn20020429-25
The ladder shown above was calculated using results of games published in newspapers of the period. Only games indicated as Gardiner Challenge Cup games or games between cup teams were included. Games against non-cup teams were not included. Ladders published in newspapers of the period included games against teams not included in the cup. Inconsistencies occur between the ladders published and the results recorded. This may be due to the Union altering results as a result of protests.
Lower Grades In 1886, a Sydney businessman donated a cup for the development of a Junior Rugby Football competition. The MacGregor Junior Challenge Cup was open to clubs not participating in the senior competition. Fifteen clubs submitted applications to enter the competition. The competition was due to begin 24 May and run each Saturday until 1 August. Each club was balloted with a game for each weekend. It was planned that the best 8 clubs would then be matched up with another ballot. The final for the MacGregor Cup occurred on 4 September between Oxford and Randwick. Oxford won the match 5 points to nil to win the cup.
Balmain LorettoCammerayClevelandDouble BayHarrowgateImperialManlyOxfordParramatta Union Petersham Randwick StrathfieldSummer HillSydney GrammarVictoria House
Representative Games
Intercolonial Matches In late July, the Gardiner Cup took a break in order to play two matches against a visiting Queensland team. When the visitors arrived in Sydney, it was obvious that they were far larger and heavier than the local players. The first match saw showers, making the ground and ball slippery. During the game, when the play was of a more tight nature, the Queenslanders were dominate. However once the play moved into being more open, the two teams were more equal. In the end an exciting game saw Queensland victors 4 points to 2. After making some changes for the second match, New South Wales were superior to the Queensland team winning the match 26 points to 5.
The New South Wales Tour of New Zealand In 1886 a team of New South Wales players were chosen and sent to New Zealand to play a number of matches against the local teams. The NSW team departed Sydney at the conclusion of the Gardiner Cup. No games were scheduled to play against a New Zealand team with games being against only local clubs. Unfortunately, the tourists did not fare well with a number of disappointing results. The merit of sending a team of young and inexperienced players was questioned and it was hoped that the results would not cause opposing teams to not value the New South Wales rugby players.
Team & Player Records
Top 10 Point Scorers PtsPlayerTGFG 53 John Wood7130 38 Byers581 15 Harris050 15 Wiseman212 14 Fred Hillyar501 14 George Walker103 14 Robert Warren700 14 George McArthur700 13 Fred Weaver311 12 E Hungerford320
Top 10 Try Scorers TPlayer 7 John Wood 7 Robert Warren 7 George McArthur 5 Byers 5 Fred Hillyar 5 Joseph Doyle 5 Leo Neill 5 William Bennett 4 Francis Baylis 4 Jenkins
Most points in a match (Team) PtsTeamOpponentVenueDate 30 Sydney University RedfernAgricultural Society Ground10 July 28 Gordon RedfernAgricultural Society Ground3 July 22 ArfomaGoulburnEastgrove24 May 22 WallarooAlbionAgricultural Society Ground29 May 19 Sydney University WallarooNorwood Park19 June 19 Sydney University NewtownAgricultural Society Ground3 July 19 Glebe RedfernRedfern Ground14 August
Greatest Winning Margin PtsTeamScoreOpponentVenueDate 30 Sydney University30 - 0 RedfernAgricultural Society Ground10 July 28 Gordon28 - 0 RedfernAgricultural Society Ground3 July 22 Arfoma22 - 0GoulburnEastgrove24 May 22 Wallaroo22 - 0AlbionAgricultural Society Ground29 May 19 Sydney University19 - 0 NewtownAgricultural Society Ground3 July
Participating Clubs ClubSenior GradeJunior Grade1st2ndAlbion Football ClubYY Arfoma Football ClubYY Balmain Rugby Football ClubYYBalmain Harrowgate Football ClubYBalmain Loretto Football ClubY Balmain Wellington Football ClubYBathurst Football ClubYY Burwood Football ClubYYCammeray Football ClubYCleveland Football ClubYDouble Bay Football ClubYGlebe Football ClubYY Gordon Football ClubYYGoulburn Football ClubYImperial Football ClubYManly Football ClubY Newcastle Football ClubY Newtown Football ClubYYOxford Football ClubYParramatta Football ClubYParramatta Union Football ClubY Petersham Rugby Football ClubY Randwick Football ClubY Redfern Football ClubYY Rosedale Football ClubY Strathfield Football ClubYSummer Hill Football ClubYSydney Grammar SchoolY Sydney University Football ClubYYVictoria House Football ClubY Wallaroo Football ClubYY
References
External links
Sydney Club Rugby History.