was at war in South Africa, and by December 1900 Maclear served during the Boer War. He saw action in the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State and in the Transvaal. He had established himself as a natural leader, and in 1903 was involved in battles in the hinterland of Aden. His war efforts were rewarded, and he became a lieutenant in 1904, the same year he returned to Britain.
Back in England he quickly resumed his rugby career, and turned out regularly for the Bedford and Blackheath clubs. His pace, strength and goal-kicking began to attract the attention of the press, and soon the English international selection committee decided they would watch him in action.
In January 1905 he played for Old Bedfordians against Old Paulines at Richmond. In the crowd was one of the most influential men in the game of rugby, Sir Rowland Hill. From the Rugby Football Union, he was there to see Maclear play and assess his potential. By all accounts the young soldier had a good game, reportedly converting eleven tries and scoring two. His point-scoring extravaganza, however, did not impress Sir Rowland, who said that Maclear was ‘not good enough; no opposition to test his true ability’.
His decision that Basil Maclear was not worthy of an English trial would come back to haunt the English rugby official. Maclear was playing brilliant rugby and getting great reviews, but Hill’s decision appeared to have ended any chance of an international career.
By 1905 Maclear was stationed in Fermoy in County Cork with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and began playing rugby for the Cork County club. When on army duties in Dublin, he also turned out for the Monkstown rugby team.
The Irish selectors were soon made aware of Maclear’s talent, and instantly knew that he would be an ideal addition to their back line. He was watched closely to see if he was of international standard, and this time the result was favourable. He got his chance in the 1905 Four Nations Championship, and with a beautiful turn of irony Basil Maclear made his Ireland debut against England.
The match in February was the first ever international to be played on a pitch at Mardyke, which was the new ground in Cork, and 12,000 spectators paid a record gate of £900. The contest captured the imagination of the sporting public and that day’s Irish Independent printed a special feature under the headline ‘Shamrock v Rose: Today’s Great Struggle’. The article came complete with caricatures of the players, and Basil Maclear was featured wearing his army uniform.
The Cork ground boasted a pretty pavilion, and a new grandstand built for the occasion was packed to capacity. In front of a certain Sir Rowland Hill, the president of the Rugby Football Union who had rejected him the month before, Basil Maclear did not disappoint the home crowd. Ireland began the game in style with Maclear as the lynchpin of the Irish attack as he ran at speed, tackled well and created numerous chances. England could not cope with the pace of the Irish backs; their defence looked disorganised and at times threadbare. By half-time Ireland had scored two tries, and England had yet to score. In the second half the game followed a similar pattern, and Ireland were in control of the ball for large passages of play.
Maclear had a point to prove, and in the final minutes he seized his opportunity. He received the ball, picked up speed, and according to one correspondent: ‘ran like a fine full-blooded stag through the English back division and scored a truly magnificent try’. His effort was rewarded with huge cheers from the touchlines and, perhaps buoyed by the response of the crowd, he promptly kicked the conversion. By the final whistle, Ireland had run out winners by 17 points to 3, and they had crossed the English try line five times. It was a well-deserved victory, and Basil Maclear was the hero of the hour. The crowd singled out the new boy, and one newspaper reporter noted that he received a ‘most flattering display of popular delight as to the great part he had played in the Irish team’s success’.2
The Yorkshire Post declared: ‘It is safe to say that not for many years has an international player made such a triumphant debut as this dashing Irish three-quarter back.’ Even Sir Rowland Hill, perhaps with a tinge of regret, admitted that Maclear had, ‘stamped his authority and class on the match’.
The game was difficult to watch for the English selectors, whose journey home from Cork must have seemed slow and tortuous. When they arrived back in England, the newspapers were probably best avoided. In print they were met with criticism of their selection choices, and the headlines starkly declared that England had been overwhelmed. There were fears expressed that England could end the championship without a win, and across the press there were constant mentions of the ‘Englishman’ that got away: Basil Maclear. The Yorkshire Post’s correspondent who travelled to Cork praised his ‘steam engine runs’, declaring that he was ‘the greatest discovery in modern times and it will be a great thing for football, not in Ireland alone’.
Maclear’s performance in Cork impressed so many people that it was no surprise to find him in the starting fifteen when Ireland travelled to Edinburgh a fortnight later to meet Scotland. Ireland continued their winning ways, and again Maclear was instrumental, with a series of fine runs. Ireland won by 11 points to 5, and Maclear converted one of the tries. The victory in Scotland set up a winnertakes-all clash with Wales for the ‘Triple Crown’.
On 11 March a crowd of some 40,000 packed into the ground at St Helens in Swansea. Buoyed up by wins in Cork and Edinburgh, hundreds of Irish fans took passenger boats over from Ireland to watch the game. Their number included a band from Cork who paraded through Swansea hours beforehand. Wales were the favourites to win, and, with the finest back line in the world, were a formidable side. Nevertheless, Ireland also fielded a strong team, with Maclear lined out alongside J.C. Parke and the talented backs of Landers and Thrift.
Patriotic songs, rowdy cheers and applause greeted the two teams as they ran out onto the pitch for a game that had the feel of a cup final.The conditions suited Wales, and at times ‘the ground seemed much too heavy for the Irish forwards’. However, things were different for the Irish backs, and ‘Maclear was the best of the Irish three quarters but he did more spoiling than running.’ At half-time Wales were ahead by 10 points to 3, and despite Ireland’s best efforts the scoreline didn’t change in the second half. The Triple Crown belonged to the men of Wales, but the Irish camp had every reason to be pleased with the way they had performed throughout the competition. They had been runners-up to Wales, and Ireland had played some great rugby. To cap it all, the ‘English reject’, Basil Maclear, had been the discovery of the championship.
By the start of the summer in 1905, Maclear was an established member of the Ireland back line. Although the championship was over for another year, he would get a chance to show off his skills in the autumn when the New Zealand team arrived. In fact, Maclear was so keen to play against the visitors that he would oppose them on four occasions with four different teams, two Irish and two English.
In September, just before they arrived in England, the newspapers were full of reports about the rugby players from the ‘other side of the world’. It was the first time New Zealand had toured Europe, and journalists did not know what to expect from the men in black. What was about to happen would change the way rugby would be played. The New Zealanders had a style of their own that encouraged a free, flowing game, with forwards playing as if they were backs. They also had a distinctive scrum formation, which enabled a roving forward to disrupt the opposition. Above all, they played with passion and flair, which would be on full display during the winter months of 1905.
Their captain, Dave Gallaher, who was born in Ramelton in County Donegal in 1873, was an inspirational figure. His father ran a drapery shop, and his mother was a teacher. When Dave was just five years old, they emigrated to New Zealand. Gallaher, like Maclear, had a military background, and was a Boer War veteran who had seen action in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. A tough, quick-thinking forward, he led a team called ‘The Originals’, but which would become better known as ‘The All Blacks’, a name that was coined during their tour across Britain and
