SEEING THE SIGHTS OF PARIS BEFORE FOOTBALL MATCH

This film shows scenes from the last tour of France during the First World War by the NZ Divisional “All Black” team before it left for England where it played the NZEF UK “All Blacks”. The best of both teams were then combined in a NZEF team, which toured the UK and competed in and won the King’s Cup at Twickenham in 1919.

The party of 20 members left the New Zealand Divisional Headquarters at Beauvois on 23 October 1918 and arrived in Paris on the 25th. In Paris, the party stayed at the Hotel International, Rue Bachumont and on the 26th and 28th toured the sights of the city. This was the third time a NZ team had played and defeated a French Army team. One other film survives of these matches and sight-seeing expeditions (F4332 NEW ZEALAND DIVISIONAL RUGBY TEAM 1918).

The match itself was played on 27 October at the Parc de Princes “[w]hich had been elaborately laid out, the match being the opening of the Great French War Loan.” The New Zealanders won 14-3, but the Chronicles of the NZEF reported that, “as an exhibition of rugby, nothing can be said in its favour, this being due entirely to the different interpretation placed on the rules of the game, and not to lack of ability of the teams. The game can be correctly described as a succession of scrums and quite seventy percent of them were the result of alleged breaches of the ‘knock on’ rule by the French referees is certainly remarkable. Irrespective of whether the ball goes forward, drops on the ground, or is knocked back, a scrum is ordered. The advantage rule is never applied and consequently the game suffered from every point of view” (Chronicles of the NZEF, Vol.V, no.58, 6 December 1918).

Shots are as follows:

Members of the New Zealand Divisional team pose with soldiers and officers of other nationalities, including American, French, and British outside Cafe de Weber in Paris; possibly after the match as the manager is holding a trophy as are some of the soldiers. The group disperses, there are fine close-ups of faces as they walk past the camera, soldiers are talking, smiling, smoking; a French soldier is left standing in the doorway while a terrier sniffs for scraps. Team members walk past captured German war trophies at Les Invalides on a blustery day; one of them loses his hat. The team walks past Palace of Versailles, again having troubles with hats; one of them doffs his hat to camera. There is a wide shot of the teaming walking up the Water Terrace towards and past the camera at the Palace of Versailles, Latona Basin and other Palace grounds in the background. The camera pans showing the team walking along Versailles gardens past a nude female bronze, with the Palace in the background. Team members look at sculptures in the grottoes at Versailles.

The film concludes by showing the New Zealand Divisional “All Black” rugby team take the field at Parc de Princes, ushered on by a Frenchman wearing a bowler hat, along with an excited crowd in the background; a Māori corporal in uniform also walks out with team. A bowler hat wearing man brings out the French Army team. The team performs a haka, led by the Māori Corporal (just out of shot). There follow views of the rugby game and packed stand in the background; interspersed with a detailed pan of the watching crowd, some of whom wave to the camera.

From notes by New Zealand historian Chris Pugsley.