The Invincibles was a nickname given to the 1924–25 New Zealand national team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada. The team was captained by Cliff Porter, and numbered among its top players George Nēpia and brothers Cyril and Maurice Brownlie. During the test against England Cyril Brownlie was sent off by the Welsh referee Albert Freethy, the first player to be sent off from a test.
Between September 1924 and February 1925, the team played 32 games including four test matches, one each against Ireland, England, Wales, and France. They won all 32 games, scoring 838 points and only having 116 points scored against them.
Cliff Porter was tour captain, but played only 17 of the 32 games due to injury, including just one test (against France). During the remaining games, tour vice-captain Johnstone Richardson (Jock) took over the captaincy.
Touring party
Management Manager: Stanley Dean (Wellington) Captain: Cliff Porter
Full-backs George Nēpia (Hawke's Bay)
Three-quarters Handley Brown (Taranaki) Gus Hart (Taranaki) Fred Lucas (Auckland) Alan Robilliard (Canterbury) Snowy Svenson (Wellington) Jack Steel (West Coast)
Five-eighths Ces Badeley (Auckland) Bert Cooke (Auckland) Neil McGregor (Canterbury) Mark Nicholls (Wellington) Lui Paewai (Hawke's Bay)
Half-backs Bill Dalley (Canterbury) Jimmy Mill (Hawke's Bay)
Wing forwards Jim Parker (Canterbury) Cliff Porter (Wellington)
Forwards Cyril Brownlie (Hawke's Bay) Maurice Brownlie (Hawke's Bay) Les Cupples (Bay of Plenty) Quentin Donald (Wairarapa) Ian Harvey (Wairarapa) Bull Irvine (Hawke's Bay) Read Masters (Canterbury) Brian McCleary (Canterbury) Abe Munro (Otago) Jock Richardson (Southland) Ron Stewart (South Canterbury) Alf West (Taranaki) Andrew White (Southland)
Match summary Complete list of matches played by the All Blacks in the British Isles, France and Canada:90 years on Invincibles remain larger than life part of All Blacks history by James Mortimer on All Blacks website, 9 Dec 2014 Test matches
# Date Rival City Venue Score 1 13 Sep 1924 Devonshire RU Devonport Rectory Ground 11–0 2 18 Sep Cornwall RU Camborne Recreation Ground 29–0 3 20 Sep Somersetshire RU Weston-super-Mare Weston Ground 6–0 4 25 Sep Gloucestershire RU Gloucester Kingsholm Stadium 6–0 5 27 Sep Swansea RFC Swansea St Helens Ground 39–3 6 2 Oct Newport RFC Newport Athletic Ground 13–10 7 4 Oct Leicester Tigers Leicester Welford Road Stadium 27–0 8 8 Oct North Midlands RU Birmingham Villa Park 40–3 9 11 Oct Cheshire RU Birkenhead Birkenhead Park 18–5 10 15 Oct Durham Sunderland Roker Park 43–7 11 18 Oct Yorkshire RU Bradford Lidget Green 42–4 12 22 Oct Lancashire RU Manchester Old Trafford 23–0 13 25 Oct Cumberland Carlisle Brunton Park 41–0 14 1 Nov Dublin Lansdowne Road 6–0 15 5 Nov Ulster Rugby Belfast Ravenhill Stadium 28–6 16 8 Nov Northumberland RU Gosforth 27–4 17 12 Nov Cambridge University Grange Road 5–0 18 15 Nov London Counties London Twickenham Stadium 31–6 19 20 Nov Oxford University Oxford Iffley Road 33–15 20 22 Nov Cardiff RFC Cardiff National Stadium 16–8 21 29 Nov Swansea St Helens Ground 19–0 22 2 Dec Llanelli RFC Llanelli Stradey Park 8–3 23 6 Dec East Midlands Northampton Cricket Ground 31–7 24 11 Dec Warwickshire RU Highfield Road 20–0 25 13 Dec Combined Services London Twickenham Stadium 25–3 26 17 Dec Hampshire RU Portsmouth Fratton Park 22–0 27 27 Dec London Counties London Rectory Field 28–3 28 3 Jan 1925 London Twickenham Stadium 17–11 29 11 Jan Selection Francais Colombes Stade Olympique 37–8 30 18 Jan Toulouse Stade des Ponts Jumeaux 30–6 31 14 Feb Vancouver Vancouver Cricket Oval 49–0 32 18 Feb Victoria Vancouver Island Victoria Ground 68–4
The test matches
Ireland
Ireland: 15.Ernie Crawford, 14.Henry Stephenson, 13.George Stephenson, 12.James Gardiner, 11.Tom Hewitt, 10.Frank Hewitt, 9.John McDowell, 8.James Clinch, 7.Robert Crichton, 6.Norman Brand, 5.William Collis, 4.Alex Spain, 3.Dick Collopy, 2.Thomas McClelland, 1.Jim McVicker New Zealand: 15.George Nēpia, 14.Snowy Svenson, 13.Frederick Lucas, 12.Bert Cooke, 11.Augustine Hart, 10.Mark Nicholls, 9.Bill Dalley, 8.Les Cupples, 7.Son White, 6.Jock Richardson (c), 5.Read Masters, 4.Maurice Brownlie, 3.Bull Irvine, 2.Quentin Donald, 1.James Parker
Wales
Wales: Tom Johnson (Cardiff), Ernie Finch (Llanelli), Albert Jenkins (Llanelli), Albert Stock (Newport), Rowe Harding (Swansea), Jack Wetter (Newport) capt., Eddie Williams (Neath), Bobby Delahay (Cardiff), Dai Parker (Swansea), Jack Gore, (Blaina), Charlie Pugh (Maesteg), Steve Morris (Cross Keys), Cliff Williams (Llanelli), Douglas Marsden-Jones (London Welsh), Dai Hiddlestone (Neath) New Zealand: G Nēpia, J Steel, AE Cooke, KS Svenson, NP McGregor, MF Nicholls, J Mill, JH Parker, WR Irvine, Q Donald, RR Masters, LF Cupples, CJ Brownlie, MJ Brownlie, J Richardson (capt.)
England
England:15.Jim Brough, 14.Richard Hamilton-Wickes, 13.Vivian Davies, 12.Leonard Corbett, 11.Cliff Gibbs, 10.Harold Kittermaster, 9.Arthur Young, 8.Tom Voyce, 7.Geoffrey Conway, 6.Freddie Blakiston, 5.Ron Cove-Smith, 4.Wavell Wakefield (cap.), 3.Ronald Hillard, 2.Sam Tucker, 1.Reg Edwards New Zealand:15.George Nēpia, 14.John Steel, 13.Bert Cooke, 12.Mark Nicholls, 11.Snowy Svenson, 10.Neil McGregor, 9.Jimmy Mill, 8.Jock Richardson (cap.), 7.Son White, 6.Cyril Brownlie , 5.Read Masters, 4.Maurice Brownlie, 3.Bull Irvine, 2.Quentin Donald, 1.James Parker,
France
Team detailsFrance: 15.Chilo, 14.Jauregui, 13.Ballette, 12.Ballarin, 11.Hallet, 10.du Manoir, 9.Piteu, 8.Boubee, 7.Ribere, 6.Bioussa, 5.Cassayeet (capt), 4.Laurent, 3.Maury, 2.Marcet, 1.Montade New Zealand: 15.George Nēpia, 14.John Steel, 13.Frederick Lucas, 12.Bert Cooke, 11.Snowy Svenson, 10.Mark Nicholls, 9.Jimmy Mill, 8.Cliff Porter (capt), 7.Son White, 6.Jock Richardson, 5.Cyril Brownlie, 4., 3.Maurice Brownlie, 2.Quentin Donald, 1.Bull Irvine
Bibliography Chester, R., Palenski, R., and McMillan, N. (1998) The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Rugby. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.
References