When Norths third grade became Canberra Royals RUFC
CANBERRA Royals was spawned from the disaffected third grade of Northern Suburbs RUFC after the players were informed, through their coach Jack Waters, that a Norths official had told them they could “buy their own fucking jumpers.” It was 1948 and Norths’ third grade was their U/18s and largely the same hot side that was undefeated for three seasons in local competition and in one-off invitationals against strong sides from Sydney. But they were growing lads and their jumpers were ragged and ill-fitting. Despite this, the players were told that 18 shillings per jumper would not be coming from Norths’ club coffers, stick that in your pipes, even if you don’t smoke yet, boyos. In their coach, Waters, however, the team had a stubborn, irascible, forthright-to-a-fault champion who, it has been suggested, was not the most diplomatic in his dealings with committees, boards and ‘suits’ of various pinstripes. And he did not take Norths’ edict with particularly good grace, according to foundation player Bob Brown. “Jack went into bat for us,” Brown says in Royals’ 75th anniversary book, Blue Bloods. “We were tight as a team and stuck together. And Jack liked that. When the committee told us to buy our own jumpers, we were of the opinion they could stick it. Jack was also of that opinion. And he bloody told them as much.” Further clouding Waters’ opinion of Norths’ stance was that the committee, looking ahead to season ‘49, wanted to pick the eyes out of the young thirds and promote the best players up the grades. Waters was having no truck with that either, claiming that his players were not physically or emotionally mature enough to cope with senior football. Further, the young third graders didn’t want to be split up. They knew each other’s games, enjoyed each other’s company. They had beaten everybody who had come their way. Under Waters’ tutelage they played fast, open, fun rugby. It was rugby so attractive they had “gained a big following because of their open style,” according to The Canberra Times. And thus there was an impasse. Yet Waters had his backers at Norths, too, according to foundation ‘49er Ken Whigham, quoted in Royals’ 50th anniversary book, Canberra Royals 1949-1998: A Half Century of Rugby Excellence. “Despite considerable opposition at Norths, [senior committee figures] George Vincent and Bill Hanley were strong supporters of Jack for the move. They could see it would eventually benefit the ACT competition,” Whigham said. Vincent and Hanley were good men to have in a corner. Vincent was one of the famous Rats of Tobruk and had played rugby for Western Australia and for the Australian Infantry Force (AIF). Charles William ‘Bill’ Hanley was a Navy man who’d served as an able seaman at HMAS Rushcutter. Both men respected Waters and were supportive of Norths’ thirds forming their own club, believing, as Waters did, that expansion could only benefit the local competition as Canberra grew. Norths committee conferred with ACT rugby officials and there followed an “important Norths meeting,” according to a passage in Norths: The Galloping Greens - the First Fifty Years. “There was a feeling that what was previously our U/16, U/17 and later third grade team (1946-1948) that the players would like to continue in the same team,” it was written. “[And] it was agreed that the team known as Norths third grade could, if it wished, form a separate club. There was a good deal of feeling and opposition to the move which actually saw Norths lose its proposed fourth team as well.” And so, in part begrudgingly, in part as a magnanimous and decisive gesture for the good of ACT rugby, and in part, one might fairly suggest, to shut bloody Waters bloody up, Norths agreed that a new club be formed from “the hiving off of our third grade team.” Waters promptly departed stage left and took Hanley and all the kids with him. And there went the neighbourhood. This has been provided as an excerpt from Blue Bloods by Matt Cleary - if you would like to purchase a copy of the book, click here
