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A remarkable feature of the Rugby game in Edwardian times was the arrival in town of touring teams from overseas, the First All Blacks in 1905 played on the Friarage, the first Springboks at the Victoria Ground in 1906 and then the 1908 Australians at the Friarage.
The trail had been blazed 17 years earlier when a Maori XV played in 1888 on their famed 74 match overseas tour!
It appears that there is no photographic evidence of their visits to the town but several programmes have survived.
1888
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MAORI XV v Hartlepool Rovers |
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1905
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NEW ZEALAND v Hartlepool Rovers & West Hartlepool XV |
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1906
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SOUTH AFRICA v Durham |
AUSTRALIANS 1908 v Durham.
It is now largely forgotten that this per iod in the games history was marked by disputes over the monies raised from the All Black and Australians tours. The game between Australia and Durham is recorded in the 1936 history but no match report? A programme is in existence but cannot presently be traced.