Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 081: Graham Delamore

Graham “Red” Delamore was Wellington’s only representative in the 1949 All Blacks touring party to South Africa.

Several Wellington players had been in the running to make the trip to South Africa nine years earlier in 1940, with local players such as Ernie Todd and Jim Sherratt being two examples of players not becoming All Blacks because their careers intercepted the second world war

Nine years later a team was selected for a full tour and a four-test series, the first to South Africa since 1928.

With Wellington halfback Vince Bevan a certainty to tour any other country but prevented to go to this one on racial grounds, and a couple of other perhaps ‘unlucky’ players not selected, Delamore was the Wellington union’s sole representative.

Who was “Red” Delamore?

He was a five-eighths/midfielder, not big at 1.68m and barely 70kg, but skilful and fast off the mark according to reports of the day.

Delamore was born in Thames in 1920 and educated locally, before making his first-class debut for Hawke’s Bay in 1941 out of the wartime combined Napier Tech-HSOB club. He joined the Air Force in the war and played for Manawatu out of the Levin Air Force and Ohakea clubs and also played with distinction in various Air Force and Services teams throughout the war years.

In 1943 and 1944 he represented the North Island, in 1944 the North Island Services and in 1945 the Central Services – playing against Wellington in a 20-5 loss on 4 June 1945.

He had also trained as a school teacher and taught at Hutt Valley High School in 1945.

With the war over, he then sustained a long-term ankle injury, which mostly kept him out of rugby altogether in 1946-47.

In 1948 he returned to full fitness and to rugby in Wellington and his brief association with the province commenced. He played for the Hutt Club.

In 1948 Hutt finished seventh in the Jubilee Cup, behind winners Marist Brothers Old Boys.

Delamore played eight matches for Wellington in 1948, which was not a vintage season for the union, with the team’s line-up chopping and changing throughout the year.

Delamore didn’t play in Wellington’s 39-20 win in Christchurch on 10 July but was first-five in the return 14-14 draw in Wellington on 7 August.

He was in the team and scored one of seven tries and kicked a dropped goal in the 37-14 win over Hawke’s Bay in Wellington on 21 August.

He appeared in the New Zealand trials for the 1949 tour, held throughout the country in September 1948, and was selected to prepare for departure early the following year.

At the end of the 1948 season, Delamore and Vince Bevan were Wellington’s only two players selected to play for the North Island team in the 40^th inter-island match. The South won 12-11 at Athletic Park, despite the North scoring three tries to one. Delamore played first-five, outside halfback Bevan and inside captain Fred Allen.

In South Africa Delamore was 29, so not a young player, and he made his All Blacks debut against Boland on 4 June. He would play eight tour matches against domestic opposition, five at first-five and three (in the middle of the tour) at centre.

He then played his one and only test in the fourth rubber against the Springboks at Port Elizabeth on 17 September 1949. The Springboks had already wrapped up the series 3-0, but the All Blacks were motivated to prevent a whitewash.

Delamore came into the side at first-five, one of two All Blacks on debut (the other being Auckland’s Des Christian at No. 8). He played outside halfback Larry Savage who was a Cantabrian but subsequently came to Wellington and played for the University club.

History will show that South Africa won the test 11-8, but future Petone fullback Bob Scott missed three kickable penalties in the first half. Still the All Blacks scored the only try of the half and it was almost to Delamore, chasing up a centre kick but mistiming his run to the loose ball and Otago flanker Johnstone scoring it instead.

The Springboks came back and took the lead. A few minutes from the end, Delamore dashed through a gap to set up a try to second five and captain Ron Elvidge, but it was too late and the home side won.

The 1949 tour will go down as one that the All Blacks lost 4-0.

But Swan in his History of New Zealand Rugby Football Part 2 mitigates this: “Unfortunately the tour was not without some dissent in regard to the control in several of the matches, and the fact that New Zealand scored more tries in the Tests than the home XVs and had numerous penalties inflicted from which vital goals were gained, did not altogether make the visit a satisfactory one. The remarkable defence of the side may be emphasised when it is recalled that only eight tries were scored against the All Blacks in all matches – 24 points in the total of 146 gained by opposing teams.”

Delamore headed to Auckland in 1949 and joined the teaching staff of Takapuna Grammar School that year. He would remain on the staff of that school until 1977 and rose to become deputy principal.

His playing career came to a close, but still in his early 30s Delamore had much to offer the game, and he took up the coaching reins at his school’s First XV and was their coach from 1950-61.

Delamore passed away on 2 May 2008 in Auckland. He was 88.

References:

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• All Blacks A-Z profile Graham ‘Red’ Delamore, but Bob Luxford.
• Chester, Rod, Palenski, Ron, McMillan, Neville. Men in Black Commemorative 20th Century Addition, Moa Beckett, 2000, Auckland.
• Hutt Old Boys Marist Centenary 1910-2010 Souvenir Booklet. HOBM 2010.
• Swan, Arthur C.; Jackson, Gordon F. W. (1952). Wellington’s Rugby History 1870 – 1950. Wellington, New Zealand: A. H. & A. W. Reed
• Swan, A.C. History of New Zealand Rugby Football. Vol. 2 1946-1957. Whitcombe & Tombs, Wellington 1958.
• Headline photo credit: G W Delamore, member of the All Blacks, New Zealand representative rugby union team. Crown Studios Ltd :Negatives and prints. Ref: 1/1-030722-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23245794