East Coast’s Nepia and Mill on top of the rugby world a century ago

George Nepia played in all 32 matches for the Invincibles.

The 1924 All Blacks squad are still renowned today as one of the greatest of all time. Two of their star players were East Coast men George Nepia and Jimmy Mill. The Gisborne Herald’s Wynsley Wrigley looks back on the rise and performances of the pair in a side that became known as the Invincibles.

100 years ago today - August 19, 1924.

New Zealanders are reading newspaper reports on the All Blacks versus Cornwall match where the first rugby greats to emerge from Tairāwhiti – George Nepia and Jimmy Mill – play together for the first time in the team now immortalised as the Invincibles.

The Second All Blacks, as they are known at the time, defeat Cornwall 29-0 at the Recreation Ground in Camborne before 14,000 spectators in their second tour match.

The 1924 All Blacks win all 32 matches in Britain, France and Canada, surpassing the 31 victories and one defeat record of the 1905 Originals – the first All Blacks side to tour Britain.

The Hawke’s Bay Tribune match report is headlined Brilliant All Blacks while the Gisborne Times uses Cornwall Outplayed.

New Zealand newspapers published Press Association coverage of the All Blacks on tour.

In the Cornwall match, Nepia is described as “prominent at fullback, reliable and dashing”. Nepia “amused himself with one of his sensational runs, which came very near to ending in a try”. The second All Blacks try came from an “attack initiated by Mill”.

The halfback went on to score his own try.

“The ball was kicked off again, and Mill getting possession right off, put in a fine dodgy run which left opponents looking on and landed him over the line.”

Halfback Jimmy Mill clears the ball during the All Blacks match against Cornwall in September 1924.

Earlier that year, Nepia and Mill were playing for the all-conquering Hawke’s Bay Ranfurly Shield side - the province defending the Shield a then-record 24 times between 1922 and 1927.

Mill, born in Tokomaru Bay, played for Poverty Bay in 1921 and, like Nepia, later appeared for East Coast.

He played twice against the 1921 Springboks - for Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay and for the Māori All Blacks.

Nepia was born in Wairoa and educated at the Māori Agricultural College at Bridge Pa in Hawke’s Bay.

He was just 17 when he debuted for Hawkes Bay in 1922.

In the most celebrated positional change in New Zealand rugby history, Nepia was converted from a provincial five-eighth/winger into an All Blacks fullback in 1924 and played in all 32 matches for the Invincibles in that position.

The unnamed rugby scribe for the Hawke’s Bay Tribune - writing on April 12, 1924 - in having a slight dig at Nepia, gave an unknowing hint of what was to come.

He wrote that Havelock premiers had “a serious set-back through the loss of George Nepia, who I understand found the fascinations of Dannevirke too much to resist and departed thence at short notice”.

Nepia later told Terry McLean, author of the book I, George Nepia, that he moved to where “my greatest friend” lived – Lui Paewai, his Hawke’s Bay teammate and future teammate in the Invincibles and Māori All Blacks.

It was Paewai’s father Luxford who first told Nepia he was a natural fullback because of his sound tackling and ability to kick off both feet.

Paewai senior had powerful connections in big-time football.

Nepia quickly found himself playing fullback in a Māori match, which also doubled as an All Blacks trial for the 1924 British tour.

In another All Blacks trial, Nepia possibly played at second five-eighth as he found himself “cast against” Bert Cooke.

The then-Auckland midfielder was to become another Invincibles superstar and all-time All Blacks great.

A star first-five of the era who played in that Eden Park trial was Aucklander Karl Ifwersen, who played test rugby against the touring 1921 Springboks side after benefitting from the post-war amnesty on league players.

British rugby authorities practised no such amnesty. Ifwersen was not going to tour.

Nepia said the brilliant Ifwersen turned the match for his side and he was left thinking he had no chance of becoming an All Black as a five-eighths.

Nepia believed the next two matches changed his entire rugby life.

He was selected for the North Island Possibles v Probables match and the inter-island match, putting on two fine performances at fullback.

For the North Island, Nepia “filled the back position with great confidence, kicking with power and judgement and fielding faultlessly and tackling splendidly,” wrote the Poverty Herald of June 2, 1924.

Strangely, the 1924 All Blacks were named in two separate groups, with Nepia being the only fullback in the 29-man squad.

He was selected in the first group of 16 “certainties” while Mill was named in the second group.

The rugby media of 1924 were not meek and mild in their reporting of the various players.

A Hawke’s Bay Tribune report on club rugby after the All Blacks squad was announced said: “Mill was at times clever but overdid the dummy and was promptly bagged. He made some elusive runs at times”.

In the same June 14 article, Canterbury’s Invincibles halfback Bill Dalley was described as “the luckiest man in this year’s team”.

The All Blacks went on a tour of Australia and played two matches in New Zealand before sailing to Britain.

Defeats to New South Wales and Auckland led to newspaper the New Zealand Truth calling for a fullback who was used to the position, while many pundits, including several 1905 Originals, labelled the team as the worse side to leave New Zealand.

A notable exception was 1905 All Blacks vice-captain and Southland first five-eighth Billy Stead, who said he expected the team to return home undefeated.

Nepia, who played 46 times for the All Blacks between 1924 and 1930, is still a household name today.

Mill died still a relatively young man in 1950 but remains one of the great All Blacks halfbacks, noted for his running game, which resulted in 15 tries in 33 matches between 1923 and 1930.