No 40: First All Black test in Dunedin (1905)
Pop quiz for all devout rugby fans.
The All Blacks played in Dunedin twice in 1905. How many of those games were held at Carisbrook?
The answer is neither. The All Blacks had a 10-10 draw with Otago-Southland at the Caledonian during an internal tour, and they beat Australia 14-3 at Tahuna Park on September 2.
The Tahuna test was only the second to be played in New Zealand, with Great Britain having visited Athletic Park the previous year.
It was actually a second-string All Black side that played Australia - but the word "rotation" hadn't been invented, at least not in a rugby sense, and you can guarantee there were no philosophical discussions about devaluing the jersey.
The leading New Zealand players, the Originals, had already left for the ground-breaking northern tour.
The best of the rest, including no fewer than nine men who would win their first and only cap, were given the task of defending home turf against the Australians.
In the backs, Otago fielded the entire three-quarter line, with Colin Gilray and Don MacPherson on the wings and Robert Bennet at centre.
Gilray was set to go with the Originals but had to attend to pressing studies - he was later a Rhodes Scholar and won his Blue at Oxford. Both Gilray and MacPherson would later play for Scotland.
One of the star All Blacks was fullback Jum - that's Jum, not Jim - Turtill, later to switch to rugby league.
The test was scheduled to be played at the Caledonian but heavy rain forced it to be transferred to Tahuna Park.
Just 3000 fans were in attendance, with the Otago Witness later reporting many sneaked in through a gap in the fence, leading to a modest gate of 85.
It was 3-3 at halftime before the All Blacks pulled away in the second half, scoring four tries to one.
