When you think of rugby league, places like Wigan, Hull and St Helens automatically spring to mind. But almost nobody, even some of the biggest fans don’t spare a thought for Cheltenham, but, the small Cotswold spa town is indeed the birthplace of International rugby league.
February 15th 1908, Great Britain, then the Northern Union, faced the New Zealand All Golds in Cheltenham, in what was the decider of New Zealand’s 1908 tour of England. With the series poised at 1-1, it was all eyes on Cheltenham, as Rugby Leagues first ever test series reached a conclusion.
The game was played at the Athletic Ground, which was located off Albion street, and has played host to a range of sport, including Motorcycle racing, Rugby Union, including the All Blacks, and Football, where Cheltenham Town’s highest ever attendance was recorded, in an FA Cup tie vs Blackpool, in 1934.
But, on February 15th 1908, some of the finest players to ever play the game took the field in Cheltenham, in a game, more commonly known as the “great match of the Edwardian era”. Unfortunately, over time the game and series in general has been forgotten about, but the All Golds name lives on in Bristol, with one man to thank, Lionel Hurst, who tells the story of the All Golds so passionately, it really is an amazing story.
“It was actually when they set out through Australia, the rugby union correspondent for the Sydney morning herald said, well, you’re calling yourselves the All Blacks, but you’re only going there because you’re going to get paid, so we’re calling you the All Golds.
“It was meant to be a term of insult, but it actually became a badge of honour, because these men acted and performed so brilliantly when they were over here. The crowds were huge and there was real anticipation for this series”
The rivalry between the two codes is extremely minimal nowadays, something that can be seen through the 745 game, where the two come together to celebrate ex-players who have been diagnosed wit MND, including Rob Burrow, Doddie Weir and Ed Slater. This years version is set to take place at Gloucester’s Kingsholm.
But back in the Edwardian era the rivalry was much stronger, “Albert Baskerville, who led the tour, was banned from every rugby union ground, when he wanted to go he had to dress as a woman just so they wouldn’t know who he was. Sometimes he would sit high up in a tree outside the ground to watch players aswell.”
Some of the sports greatest names took part that day. Lance Todd lined up for the visitors, his name has been immortalised, with Man of the match in the Challenge cup final winning the Lance Todd trophy. Dally Messenger also played for the All Golds, the award for the best NRL player of the season is awarded the Dally M medal. The centre, who represented Australia in Rugby Union was named in the top 100 players ever, and was made a Rugby League immortal in 2018.
“Lance Todd, everyone knows him because of the trophy you win at Wembley, but also Dally Messenger, the medal you win for being the best player in Australia, it’s named after him. There is a photo that I have, no one else, of those two, Lance has his arm around Dally, I mean it’s just incredible.
“Infact, a very good friend of mine wrote a book, ‘All blacks to all golds,’ not even he had those photographs, that’s how incredible it was. Someone said they had something for me, and they gave me an envelope, which had these photos in them. I’m probably the only person in the world that has got these photos.
“They weren’t the only greats playing that day, possibly Hull’s greatest ever player, Billy Batten made his debut for the country in Cheltenham” – Hurst explained. “He was so popular in Hull, to the point there would be posters advertising the game all over the city, saying, Hull vs Wigan or Hull vs Warrington or whatever, and then they would have a special poster across that one saying Batten is playing. He was such a star.”
Billy Batten is most well known for his nine year spell at Hull, who he joined for a then record fee of £600, and helped them on their way to Challenge cup success in the 1913-14 season. The centre, made his international debut for the Northern Union, almost stepped away from rugby, having been offered £4 a week to sign for Manchester United while at Hunslet. He was paid £14 a match + bonuses, making him the highest paid player in Britain, and potentially the world at the time.
The game itself ended in a win for the All Golds, although it was the Northern Union who held the advantage at half-time, taking a 5-0 lead into the sheds, but in the second half, the Northern Union faced treacherous conditions, and a motivated All Golds side, and ultimately the visiting side went on to win 8-5 and write their names into sporting folklore.
The game was celebrated on it’s 100-year anniversary, with Hurst leading the celebrations with a memorial service, where an centenary plaque was unveiled Infront of a large crowd. The event was attended by the Mayor of Cheltenham, the local MP, President of the RFL, as well as representatives from New Zealand Rugby and Cheltenham Rugby. It took place at the sight where the Athletic ground once stood.
The name “All Golds” lives on through the Bristol based team, and were formerly the Gloucestershire All golds, representing the University.
“This is why my club are called the All Golds, we’re based in Bristol now, but we were the University of Gloucestershire All Golds, I went to see the director, and I explained who I was, but I had a dream to make his rugby league team the best in England. So I said, here’s a cheque for £10,000, if you match it we can bring players from the north of England in on scholarships, and eventually we’ll be British champions.
“In 2013, we beat Loughborough university to win the national title.”
