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Great moments in Lions tour history: The All Blacks captain who scored with a broken collarbone

Ron Elvidge

The story of Ron Elvidge is so good it should be made into a movie.

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Chasing Great. The Kick. Old Scores. There have been a few attempts to make the great New Zealand rugby film.

Probably the most well-known motion picture involving the All Blacks is the Clint Eastwood-directed Invictus. However, it left a sour taste in the mouth of many Kiwi fans as it completely overlooked the ‘Suzie the Waitress’ food poisoning scandal that clearly cost the team the 1995 World Cup Final. (Fun fact: Matt Damon, who played Francois Pienaar in the film, also briefly played a flanker in The Departed).

But what about this tale for the Hollywood treatment: the 1950 All Blacks captain leads the team against the best of the British, gets his face gashed open in a ruck and later in the game breaks his collarbone. His team needs him – there’s no subs in these days – so he returns to the field and scores the winning try despite being in agonising pain. He never plays again, finishing his career with one of the most glorious and courageous plays in All Blacks history.

That’s all true: Ron Elvidge was the All Black midfielder and skipper that day against the Lions at Athletic Park some 67 years ago.

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Elvidge had already captained the Otago side to a 23-9 win over the Lions earlier in the tour, but the blustery Wellington weather meant that the aggregate of points in the second test was never going to be as high as that. In fact, it was the staunch defensive nature of the game that gave Elvidge the injury that forced him from the field.

Rugby was different back in the years following the Second World War, but you can tell it was starting to take shape into the highly physical contest we see today. Tackles were a bit meaner, and the All Black captain found himself with a fractured collarbone after one fierce collision.

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While he was getting treatment for that and a deep gash on his face, team mate Johnny Simpson had to leave the field injured. Substitutions were still another 18 years away, so the All Blacks were down to 13. Elvidge returned to the field despite one arm hanging limply by his side.

With one good arm he held onto a pass and dove over, despite the try being probably one of the most painful acts imaginable in his condition. But, as they say, they bred them tough in the old days. Final score: All Blacks 6, Lions 3.

His injury meant he missed the final test in a series won 3-1 by the All Blacks. He was never picked again, but today has the honour of being the oldest living All Black at the grand old age of 94.

His story has everything a decent movie needs: triumph over adversity, an interesting period setting, and plenty of opportunities for montage and slow motion sequences. The character of Elvidge as a good, honest Kiwi bloke could be filled by any number of Hollywood leading men – although the New Zealand accent is notoriously difficult to pull of, so they might want to get someone local.

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One thing is for sure though, and I’m well aware I’m breaking my self-imposed ban on the subject. Someone has to invite Brian O’Driscoll to the premiere, so he can see the proper way you deal with a collarbone injury.

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J
JW 2 hours ago
Mick Cleary: 'These blokes have done the jersey proud, with their buy-in and with their relish.'

Jesus PR that’s another great conclusion. I can definitely see it as blocker to bringing through new talent in time for the WC. NZ underwent a lot of change in 2018 following the Lions tour, in part thanks to key injuries. Despite the revenue spending Aaron Cruden (getting frail even at his young age then) and Lima Sopoaga (along with Julien Savea), 2 of the 3 1st5s in the Lions squad, both left before the 2019 WC for example. But when we apply your logic, their delayed departure prevented Richie Mounga and Damien McKenzie (the 15 who got injured and threw a spanner in the works) from brought through in what would possible now be considered the preferred WC preparation. Ditto on the win with a scramble of constant change their all the way through to their WC 3rd/4th playoff.


Theres certainly cause to account for certain circumstances eventuating being influenced by a Lions tour. But as both nations here select from domestic players only, theres also cause to put similar emphasis on the contracting model in general, as sometimes you can hold on too long. Ireland has a similar model, talking to another irishman here he suggests it has lead to selecting based on contracts, money being spent on a player centrally contracted. So I would not so much worry about fatigue (in part because some incomplete analysis I had done on all.rugby shows the Irish contingent have low minutes this year) but continuing to select underperforming and aging players. When in a pure context of building for a WC, one would normally want to move on an develop the future.

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