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Clarrie Polson

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Clarrie Polson
Personal information
Full nameClarence Percival Polson
Born27 July 1900
New Zealand
Died7 February 1970 (aged 69)
New Zealand
Playing information
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1919 Ponsonby RFC 12 3 0 0 9
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1919 Auckland Juniors 1 0 0 0 0
1919 Auckland 3 1 0 0 3
1919 Auckland B 2 0 0 0 0
Rugby league
PositionScrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1920–26 Newton Rangers (ARL) 83 22 43 0 152
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1920–25 Auckland 18 8 18 0 59
1920–24 New Zealand 9 (4) 0 1 0 2
1925 Auckland C 1 0 1 0 2
Source: [1]

Clarence Percival "Clarrie" Polson[2] was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. He debuted for New Zealand in 1920 and became Kiwi number 143.

Personal life

[edit]

Clarrie Polson was born Clarence Percival Polson on 27 July 1900. His parents were Catherine (Kate) Polson (1860-1938), and Ole (Oliver) Polson (1856-1915). Catherine had been born in Ireland. He was the youngest of 11 children. His siblings were Mary Ann (b.1880), John (b.1882), Maggie (1884), Eliza Jane (b.1886), Dennis Oliver (b.1888), Andrew (b.1890), Eric (b.1892), Arthur Paul (b.1894), Annie (b.1896), and Amelia Gertrude (1899).[citation needed]

His brother John was killed in action in 1917 during World War 1.[3]

Clarrie's brother Dennis Oliver Polson who also spent 3 years fighting in World War 1 was also involved in rugby league and was the honorary secretary of the Ponsonby United club in the 1920s before his death in 1932.[4][5]

Playing career

[edit]

Rugby union with Ponsonby and Auckland representative team

[edit]

Clarrie Polson began playing senior rugby for Ponsonby in the Auckland club competition in 1919 in May, 2 months before his 19th birthday. He played 12 matches for them during the season, scoring 3 tries. On 5 July he played for the Auckland Junior team against a combined College representative side. Then on 19 July he played in the Auckland team against a Returned Soldiers side. This was somewhat of an unofficial Auckland appearance as the Returned Soldier side featured Auckland representative players who would have been in the Auckland team otherwise. He was then picked as a reserve for the Auckland team in their August 16match with Thames but did not take the field. In September he played twice for Auckland B in matches with Waihi and Hamilton. Polson was again picked in the reserves for the Auckland side against Bay of Plenty but did not take the field in the 27 September match.[6] He then made an official Auckland debut in a match against Thames on 4 October which was won by Auckland 17-0. Two weeks later he played again for Auckland against the New Zealand Army side on 18 October. Auckland lost the match 16-6 with Polson being said to have put in "a lot of good defensive work".[7][8]

Switch to rugby league, Newton Rangers and Auckland

[edit]

Polson played in the Auckland Rugby League competition at Scrum-half for the Newton Rangers. He played 7 seasons for them from 1920 to 1926 and made 83 appearances for them scoring 22 tries, and kicking 43 goals.

In his first season of rugby league he was selected in the Auckland team to play the touring England side. Auckland pulled off a huge 24-16 upset win with Polson playing halfback in the match at the Auckland Domain in front of an estimated 30,000 spectators.[9]

The 1922 season saw him play 8 matches for Auckland. The first was against New Zealand Maori where he scored a try in a 28-18 loss against a Maori side which was about to embark on a tour of Australia.[10] He then played in 2 matches against the touring Australian Universities side on 21 and 24 June. Auckland lost both matches 13-12 and 18-7.[11][12] The first match was played at Carlaw Park while the second was played at the Auckland Domain. The Australian University side was made up of players from Sydney University and Brisbane University.

Polson then played in a match against Cambridge which Auckland won easily by 73 points to 29 with Polson kicking 2 conversions.[13] Later in the season he played against South Auckland in a Northern Union Challenge Cup match. Auckland were upset 21-20 although the South Auckland team did feature several New Zealand players. Polson scored a try for Auckland.[14] Two weeks later he played for Auckland against the touring New South Wales side in a 40-25 defeat in front of 20,000 spectators at the Auckland Domain.[15] His final two matches of the representative season were against South Auckland and Bay of Plenty. The match with South Auckland was for the Northern Union Challenge Cup which Auckland failed to win back, going down 26-18 at Steele Park in Hamilton with Polson kicking 1 conversion.[16] They then beat Bay of Plenty 33-26 at Tauranga. Bay of Plenty featured New Zealand players George Iles and George Gardiner. Polson scored a try and kicked 2 conversions.[17]

In 1923 Polson played 5 matches for Auckland. On 22 August he was at his usual position of halfback against Wellington. Auckland trounced Wellington 71-12 in front of 5,000 spectators at Carlaw Park. Polson converted 3 of Auckland's 17 tries though Auckland used at least 6 goal kickers.[18] On 12 September Auckland played Hamilton and won 22-16 with Polson scoring 2 tries and kicking a conversion.[19]

Auckland then took on South Auckland in an effort to regain the Northern Union Challenge Cup in Hamilton. The match was drawn 20-20 which meant the South Auckland side retained it. Polson kicked 2 conversions for Auckland.[20] Polson then played for Auckland against the Auckland Province side which was made up of Auckland 'city' players but also players from the wide region. Auckland won 44 to 15 with Polson again in the points with 1 try and 2 conversions.[21] His final representative match of the 1923 season was against South Auckland though as the match was at Carlaw Park in Auckland it was not for the Northern Union Challenge Cup. Auckland won comfortably by 35 points to 11 in front of 6,000 spectators with Polson scoring a try and kicking 3 conversions.[22]

In 1924 Polson made 3 more appearances for Auckland. The first 2 were a mirror of 1922 when he played 2 matches against a touring Australian University side. On 7 June he was part of the side which won 15-7 which he was also in the victorious side which won on 4 June by 14 points to 4. He scored a try in the latter match but he collided badly with team mate George Davidson who had to leave the field to be replaced by Frank Delgrosso. Polson received a bad cut over his eye and later left the field to be replaced by Billy Ghent.[23][24] At the end of the season Polson played against South Auckland in a 21-5 win at Steele Park in Hamilton.

The 1925 season would be the last where Polson played representative rugby league. On 27 June he scored a try for an Auckland C team in a match with South Auckland. On the same day the North Island played the South island, while Auckland A played Auckland B. All 3 matches were played at Carlaw Park and were played in order to assist the New Zealand selectors who were trying to pick the New Zealand side to tour Australia. South Auckland won 13-11 with Polson kicking a conversion for the losing Auckland side.[25] His final ever match for the full Auckland side was against South Auckland in a Northern Union Challenge Cup clash. Auckland won 24-16 at Carlaw Park with 3,000 spectators in attendance. Polson kicked 2 conversions for Auckland.[26]

New Zealand selection

[edit]

Clarrie Polson was selected for New Zealand against England for the second and third tests of the 1920 tour which was remarkable considering he had only begun playing senior football the year prior and not even in the rugby league code. He had turned 20 only a month prior to the match. New Zealand lost 19-3 at Lancaster Park in Christchurch before a crowd of 6,000. The match was played in heavy rain and parts of the field were underwater. At one point early in the game the diminutive halfback "sat on the ball to stop a rush, and was pushed about ten yards along the ground and over the goal line" "in a sitting position, right over, and he forced".[27][28]

Polson 2nd from the right in the Auckland team to play the 2nd match against the Australian Universities side at the Auckland Domain on 24 June 1922.

Polson's second match for New Zealand came in the third test of the series which was played at the Basin Reserve with 5,000 present. It had rained for three days prior and the field was described as a quagmire as it cut up during the match. New Zealand went down by a point, 11-10. Polson was involved in a passing movement with Thomas McClymont, Jim Sanders, Charles Woolley, and Karl Ifwersen with the latter scoring New Zealand's second try which pushed New Zealand's lead out to 10-0 before England came back.[29] Polson was said to have been "very prominent in stopping rushes" as the game became more strenuous however it was not enough to stop England scoring a converted try with three minutes to go to claim the win.[30]

In 1921 Polson was picked in the New Zealand team to tour Australia under coach Jim Rukutai, although the team played in no Test matches.[31] He played in 5 of the tour matches. The first was against New South Wales on 4 June at the Sydney Cricket Ground. New Zealand was thrashed by New South Wales 56-9 in front of a huge crowd of 50,000. Polson next played against Queensland also at the Sydney Cricket Ground and this time New Zealand performed much better winning the match 25-12 before 35,000 spectators. He played Queensland again on 11 June though this time the match was in Brisbane and Queensland turned the tables with a 21-16 win. Polson fielded a kick in his own 25 and passed to Charles Woolley who gave to Billy Wilson who went the rest of the way to score and give New Zealand an 8-3 lead. Then late in the match Polson made a break up to halfway before New Zealand worked their way to Queenslands line and Wally Somers crossed to narrow the score to 21-16 which it remained.[32] Polson played Queensland for the third time on 18 June with the local team again winning 8-3. Polson then missed 3 matches before appearing again in the final match of the tour against Newcastle on 2 July. His only points of the tour were in this game when he kicked a conversion in a 27-14 win at the Newcastle Showgrounds. Polson was involved in a movement with Thomas McClymont which resulted in George Paki scoring to make the lead 22-14. Polson's conversion of Wally Somers try were the last points of the match and the tour.[33]

Polson, 3rd from the right in the Auckland team to play England on 26 July 1924 at Carlaw Park.

Polson's next appearance in the New Zealand jersey was in the second test against England on 6 August 1924 at the Basin Reserve. The match was played on "a heavy ground" with "a cold southerly of gale force". New Zealand trailed 11-0 at halftime before a comeback and converted try on full time saw them snatch victory 13-11.[34] Polson's final ever match for New Zealand was in the third test in Dunedin which New Zealand lost 31-18, though they had already secured the series by this point after their first test win. Polson had a hand in New Zealand's first try after putting Hec Brisbane through with Frank Delgrosso fielding a loose pass to score.[35]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Clarence married Winifred Violet Sweet (1906-) on 16 February 1927.[36] Winifred had been born in South Petherton, Somerset, in England. On 6 August 1938 Clarrie's mother, Catherine, died in Auckland. Clarrie lived in Grey Lynn in the 1960s according to census records. He died in 1970 aged 69.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ POLSON, Clarence Percival 1920 - 21, 1924 - Kiwi #143 nzleague.co.nz
  3. ^ "Polson, John - WW1 40841 - Army". National Library New Zealand. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Ponsonby United Football Club". Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 54. 5 March 1927. p. 13. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Mr. D.O. Polson". Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 204. 29 August 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Auckland V. Bay of Plenty". New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17276. 27 September 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Won By the Diggers". Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 249, Issue 17276. 20 October 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Military Team V. Auckland". New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17295. 20 October 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  9. ^ "English Team Beaten/Opening Match of Tour/Auckland Scores 24-16/Good Display By Forwards/Visitors Play One Man Short". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVII, no. 17532. 26 July 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Maori's Play Well/Defeat of Auckland/28 Points to Eighteen/Fast and Exciting Game/Visitors Show Great Dash". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18096. 22 May 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Australian University V Auckland/Visitors Win By a Point". Auckland Star. Vol. LIII, no. 146. 22 June 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Universities V Auckland/Australians' Second Win/Good Game at Domain". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18126. 22 June 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Auckland Defeats Cambridge/Won by 73 Points to 29". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18153. 27 July 1922. p. 4. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  14. ^ "League Challenge Cup/Win by South Auckland/Fast and Exciting Game/Twenty-One Points to Twenty". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18186. 4 September 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. ^ "New South Wales Team". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18198. 18 September 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  16. ^ "South Auckland Win/Fast and Open League Play/Auckland Thirteen Defeated/28-16 At the Close". Waikato Times. Vol. 96, no. 15056. 2 October 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Auckland League Team in Tauranga/Match Against Bay of Plenty". Bay of Plenty Times. Vol. LI, no. 8109. 7 October 1922. p. 3. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Auckland V Wellington". Auckland Star. Vol. LIV, no. 201. 23 August 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  19. ^ "Auckland Defeats Hamilton/22 Points to 16 in Good Game". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LX, no. 18503. 12 September 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Northern Union Cup". Auckland Star. Vol. LIV, no. 222. 17 September 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Auckland Beats Province/In Match of Big Scoring". Auckland Star. Vol. LIV, no. 234. 1 October 1923. p. 9. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Close of the Season/Auckland 35; S. Auckland 11". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LX, no. 18530. 15 October 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Visiting League Team/Australian Universities/Auckland Wins First Game/Fifteen Points to Seven/Superiority Throughout". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXI, no. 18727. 5 June 1924. p. 9. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Universities and Auckland Draw/Thrilling Second Half/Visitors Dashing Backs". Auckland Star. Vol. LV, no. 141. 16 June 1924. p. 9. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  25. ^ "The Minor Trial Games/A Win for South Auckland/Play Marred by the Rain". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXII, no. 19056. 29 June 1925. p. 12. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  26. ^ "Northern Union Cup/South Auckland Defeated/Local Thirteens's Success". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXII, no. 19101. 20 August 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  27. ^ "League Football/The Second Test/Won by England/Nineteen Points to Three/Match in the Rain". Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 189. 9 August 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Game Played in Rain". New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17544. 9 August 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  29. ^ "English Team's Tour/Final Test Game". Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 195. 16 August 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  30. ^ "League Football/Final Test Match". Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 276. 16 August 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  31. ^ John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-86969-331-2.
  32. ^ "Queensland Defeats New Zealand". Queensland Times. 13 June 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  33. ^ "League Rules". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 4 July 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  34. ^ "A Notable Success". Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 33. 7 August 1924. p. 11. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  35. ^ "League Test/Win for England". Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 189. 11 August 1924. p. 9. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  36. ^ "Clarence Percival Polson". Births, Deaths & Marriages Online. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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