Roger Moroney: The night Fiji came to town

Roger Moroney, columnist, HBT16007229

The year of 1968 was a fine year for fine play out there on McLean Park in Napier...for of course Hawke's Bay was well in the grip of Ranfurly Shield fever and by the spring of that year the lads has successfully steered a course through what visiting sides came to throw at them.

The log of wood stayed secure in its case.

I still have solid memories of some of those games as I was one of the programme selling lads who after earning a dollar or two from flogging them off to anyone prepared to spend 10 cents for one would find a spot to watch the game.

And then afterwards, with mum working in the kitchen there as part of the after-match function catering crew, I'd linger around for a sausage roll.

But a big game staged on the park that year slipped my attention.

I will never fail to be amazed at what history throws up.

Things you kind of figure you should have remembered but things that clearly slipped under the metaphorical radar.

Like the big international played at the park on September 11 in that year of '68...and which kicked off at 7.30pm at night under the grand floodlights the park boasted.

On that note, in the bright orange programme (10 cents of course) and with an oddly drawn palm tree on the cover, the mayor of the day, Peter Tait, wrote in his "Mayor's Address" that "we are always pleased to see the lighting system at McLean Park used for national and overseas events and I trust our visitors enjoy the facilities provided".

I'm sure they did, but early September on a Wednesday evening is not exactly a clement time when it comes to air temperatures so I suspect our "visitors" may have felt the chill.

For this international match featured the Fiji international side and they played the Hawke's Bay lads.

But not the Magpies.

Nope, this was a Hawke's Bay side adorned in blue shirts and white shorts, and by half-time there were only 11 of them out there.

Mind you they started out with 11 and ended with 11, for this was an international soccer match staged by the Hawke's Bay Football Association.

This would have been barely a week after the shield was tucked away and the big tall posts would have come down in favour of the small jobs encased by a net, but I can't remember it happening at all.

Dad was the custodian of the rugby union rooms under the stand and I can't recall him talking about it.

Although it has to be said that Dad was not a great fan of the game where "all they do is kick a ball around the place".

So I daresay he stood aside for that one.

The programme emerged about a week ago - and it was passed on (after someone he knew had a clean-out of old programmes and things) to a chap who like me attended all the shield matches and has a solid memory of many a local sporting event, particularly involving international teams.

But he had no recollection of this one.

It's a fascinating read and notes that in that year the Hawke's Bay side beat Poverty Bay, Wairarapa and Taranaki...but lost to Wanganui.

Within the side there are names like T. O'Neill, K. Young, R. Strong, L. Howett and K. Wilson and the referee was Mr E. Saker.

And there, on the opposite page, are the line-ups for the curtain raiser between Napier High Schools and Hastings High Schools.

Young lads like P. Stothart, C. Angove, R. Scholes, P des Landes, N. Ward, G. Warren and R. Goslin went out there to play under the great lights and to raise the curtain on an international match.

And within the pages there are the ads from ages gone.

Like having a Leopard at the Albion Hotel afterwards or picking up half a gallon of household detergent for just 55 cents from Pirimai Motors.

There's an ad for Watties which notes "when shopping in Fiji look for the 'Watties' brand".

People went to Fiji to grocery shop?

And a last page declaration that "soccer needs referees - join your local association - Phone 37689".

Also a note from the patron of the local football association declaring "the game will be full of surprises to us, no doubt".

So at the end of the day (or night for that matter) what transpired?

If the bearer of the programme had not noted the score, with pencilwork on the cover beside the team names, then it would be a mystery.

Thanks to the pencilwork it appears the Bay beat their Fijian guests 4-2.

Great part of our sporting history...which until last week had eluded me.