page_title: Dave Gallaher
section_title: Scotland, Ireland and England internationals
hierarchical_section_title: Dave Gallaher / 1905 tour / Scotland, Ireland and England internationals
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of DaveGallaher. From: The king and his navy &amp; army. A weekly illustrated journal for society, the salon and the services. 1905. Auckland Libraries.
context_page_description: David Gallaher was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby union footballer best remembered as the captain of the "Original All Blacks"—the 1905–06 New Zealand national team, the first representative New Zealand side to tour the British Isles. Under Gallaher's leadership the Originals won 34 out of 35 matches over the course of tour, including legs in France and North America; the New Zealanders scored 976 points and conceded only 59. Before returning home he co-wrote the classic rugby text The Complete Rugby Footballer with his vice-captain Billy Stead. Gallaher retired as a player after the 1905–06 tour and took up coaching and selecting; he was a selector for both Auckland and New Zealand for most of the following decade.
  Born in Ramelton, Ireland, Gallaher migrated to New Zealand with his family as a small child. After moving to Auckland, in 1895 he joined Ponsonby RFC and was selected for his province in 1896. In 1901–02 he served with the New Zealand Contingent in the Anglo-Boer War. He first appeared on the New Zealand national team for their unbeaten tour of Australia in 1903, and played in New Zealand's first ever Test match, against Australia in Sydney.
context_section_description: The Scottish Football Union (SFU), the governing body for rugby union in Scotland, did not give the New Zealanders an official welcome, and sent only one official to greet them on their arrival in Edinburgh. In addition, the SFU refused a financial guarantee for the match, promising the gate receipts to the New Zealanders instead; this meant that the NZRFU had to take on all monetary responsibilities for the match. One reason for the cold reception from the SFU may have been because of negative reports from David Bedell-Sivright, who was Scotland's captain and had also captained the British Isles team on their 1904 tour of New Zealand. Bedell-Sivright had reported unfavourably on his experiences in New Zealand the previous year, especially regarding the wing-forward play of Gallaher.
  When time for the Scotland Test did arrive, it was discovered that as the ground had not been covered for protection from the elements, and had frozen over. The SFU wanted to abandon the match, but Gallaher and the tour manager George Dixon contended that the weather would improve enough for the pitch to thaw, and the match was eventually allowed to proceed. The Test was closely contested, with Scotland leading 7–6 at half-time, but the All Blacks scored two late tries to win 12–7; despite the close score-line, the New Zealanders were clearly the better of the two sides.
  Four days later the tourists played a West of Scotland selection, where they received a much warmer reception than for the Scotland match, then travelled via Belfast to Dublin where they faced Ireland. Gallaher did not play in either match due to a leg injury suffered during the Scotland Test. New Zealand won the Ireland match 15–0, then defeated a team representing Munster province.
  By the time of New Zealand's next game, against England in London, Gallaher had recovered from his injury enough to play. Between 40,000 and 80,000 saw the match. The All Blacks scored five tries (four by Duncan McGregor, playing at wing) to win 15–0. According to the England player Dai Gent, the victory would have been even greater had the match conditions been dry. "One cannot help thinking that England might have picked a stronger side," said Gallaher. "From our experience, we did not think that this side was fully representative of the best men to be found in the country." Observers noted that Gallaher still seemed to be suffering from his leg injury during the match. New Zealand played three more matches in England – wins over Cheltenham, Cheshire, and Yorkshire – before travelling on to Wales.
caption: Gallaher with the New Zealand team in 1905
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