King's Cup (rugby)
The King's Cup is one of King George V. founded in 1919 by the Inter-Service and Dominion Forces Rugby Competition being played or rugby union -Pokal, the selection of the New Zealand Armed Forces won and since then owned by the New Zealand Rugby Union is. The tournament was the first with participants from all major rugby nations in the southern and northern hemisphere, only France was missing. However, during the tournament, a meeting between the winner and France had been agreed immediately after the end of the tournament, which New Zealand also won.
The trophy was donated shortly after the armistice in November 1918 and was one of the many competitions on the occasion of the victory of the Allies in the First World War . The tournament was advertised for selections from the various British military branches and the Dominion expeditionary corps ; Participants were the Royal Air Force , the Dominions of New Zealand , Australia , the South African Union and Canada, as well as the British Army selection as Mother Country . After a simple round- robin tournament , New Zealand and the Mother Country selection led the table with one defeat and four wins each, which made a decision game between the two selections necessary. New Zealand beat Mother Country 9-3 at Twickenham Stadium .
The competing teams had a very high level, which was close to that of the respective national teams. So 18 of the 36 members of the New Zealand roster were later or current All Blacks .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c 1987 Rugby World Cup - Origins of international rugby . In: New Zealand History . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , April 15, 2008, accessed August 19, 2009 .
- ^ H. Stewart: New Zealand Rifle Brigade , In: The New Zealand Division 1916–1919: A Popular History Based on Official Records , Whitcombe & Tombs, 1921, pp. 603ff, 613f.
- ^ WF Ingram: Sport in Wartime , In: The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 7 of October 2, 1939.