40: The Brownlie Dismissal analysed

New Zealand's 17-11 victory over England ensured the unbeaten status of the team who became known as the 'Invincibles', but more impressive was the triumph of determination unleashed by an All Blacks team forced to play most of the tour finale with 14 men.

Cyril Brownlie's dismissal by referee A.E.' Albert' Freethy for a phantom kick of an opponent on the ground bemused many of the world record crowd of 60,000 at Twickenham. Many never saw the alleged kick, and none of the England team claimed to have been kicked by Brownlie.

Referee Albert Freethy, who controlled 18 Tests between 1923 and 1931. (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19250226-47-01)

In the aftermath of the debate about the rights and wrongs of the decision, it is worth remembering that British authorities did not require a stand-down period for Brownlie, who joined the All Blacks for their two games, including a Test, in France.

Those British authorities did a Pontius Pilate and left any punishment to the New Zealand Rugby Union when the team returned home.

Official punishment was never going to be an option after so many observers, officials and players, both in England and New Zealand, could find no evidence, although psychological punishment for Brownlie was inevitable.

It is worth remembering that one English player, who had been warned by Freethy before Brownlie's dismissal, Reg Edwards, with whom Brownlie had words earlier in the tour [See issue -Newport], never again played for his country.

In the aftermath of the incident, Freethy commented that he had admired Brownlie's play during the tour but felt he was too often apt to lose his temper.

It hurt me very much to take this action, but what Brownlie did was so deliberate that I am afraid I was tempted to watch him at the moment rather than watch the play. After what I saw, I had not the slightest hesitation in taking the action I did.^[1]

When the referee issued his dismissal to Brownlie, non-playing captain Cliff Porter was sitting beside the Prince of Wales, who, as bemused as anyone, asked if there was anything he could do. But Porter and tour manager Stan Dean said the referee's word was final. Porter excused himself and went to the dressing room to find Brownlie sobbing. After arranging some support for him, Porter returned to his seat and explained to England's future King what happened, and his response was, 'I hope England damn well loses.'^[2] Porter added,

Referee Freethy was obviously out to stop anything rugged and issued three warnings in the first ten minutes. In the eleventh minute, as Cyril Brownlie jumped for the ball in a lineout, he was pushed and fell. Immediately the whistle sounded and Brownlie was ordered off!^[3]

Cyril Brownlie (Archives New Zealand Reference: ACGO 8333 IA1 1349 15/11/17721)

Fullback George Nepia said his lasting memory of the tour was always Twickenham. After the exciting prelude to the game, the early play was like 'some non-stop thunderstorm' till the tragic moment when the referee blew the whistle and a lone All Black walked to the dressing room – dismissed from the game.

The silence was ghastly. To everyone, the sight of such a fine forward as Cyril Brownlie ordered off the field was more ghastly still. I wonder, though, does England know, will she ever agree that she lost the game at that very moment?

I could see clearly the faces of my teammates when they realised what had happened. Had all the spectators been able to appreciate the expressions of the All Blacks' faces as I did, they would have known that we were out to win – with all the added fire of avenging the slur on a great All Black's good name.

Revenge is more than a terrific urge. It is a power at such moments to be experienced to be believed.^[4]

Nepia, in 1982, referred to an earlier clash between Freethy and Brownlie. He said it was during the All Blacks' game with East Midlands at Northampton. All those years later, Nepia mixed up some of the game's details. He said it was a game in which the forwards scored all eight of the All Blacks' tries, with Cyril Brownlie scoring twice. Brownlie scored twice in the 31-7 win over East Midlands, but Jack Steel (3), Bert Cooke, and Handley Brown scored the other tries. Adding to possible evidence of Nepia's confusion, he said it was the first time he met Freethy. But Freethy was the referee in four earlier games.

That aside, when Freethy got in his way and prevented him from scoring another try, Brownlie swore at the referee who 'gave him a bit of his mind and said he'd get him properly the next time they met each other.'

Another opinion was offered by Daily Mirror columnist British International, who played against the All Blacks in 1905. He said that if the referee had used his discretion, he would not have ordered Brownlie off.

If there was any ordering off to be done, in my opinion, he should have ordered off, as the first offender, an English forward, whose name I do not wish to mention.^[5]

E.E. 'General' Booth said Brownlie's dismissal was 'seemingly' a case of retaliation against an aggressive English forward who had twice been cautioned.

It was a lamentable incident, and it would have been far more equitable for both men to have been given marching orders.^[6]

Tom Voyce, one of the England players who had been warned, later related,

I have always regretted that, when Cyril walked, I did not walk with him.^[7]

All Blacks captain on the day, Jock Richardson said,

I remember Cyril saying to me: 'Do I have to go, Jock?' I asked Freethy again, and he said, 'I've ordered Brownlie off and he won't go. Will you tell him to go?'

I turned and said to poor Cyril, 'You'll have to obey the ref, Cyril.' I didn't think he deserved to go. They were all virile players and unbending when they played. It wasn't only our side, but their side too, which was responsible for anything that could have happened.

I asked Freethy why he was ordering Cyril off and he said: 'Because he kicked a man on the ground.' Cyril said he didn't kick anyone, and I said to him, 'I believe you Cyril, but you have to go I'm sorry.'

When we came off at halftime, there was poor Lofty – that's what we used to call him – still in his togs sitting on his own. None of our blessed supporters had been to see him. [sic] He was slumped there with his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.^[8]

The Gloucestershire Chronicle's Newport correspondent interviewed Edwards, the Newport captain and English forward, who Freethy had referred to in his match report.

Edwards had a swollen and discoloured right eye and told the correspondent Cyril Brownlie struck him in the face early in the game. The referee was near at the time and saw what happened.

It was some minutes later apparently that the alleged offence, for which Brownlie was ordered to leave the field, was committed. Edwards stated that Brownlie certainly did not kick him, and also added that the referee had previously spoken to all the players, and had not singled out either him or any other player. Edwards denied that the referee cautioned him for rough play.^[9]

All Blacks hooker H.G. 'Abe' Munro, who wasn't playing, commented,

A lineout was in progress. The ball did not go near Cyril Brownlie, but Peg [sic-Reg] Edwards, who was marking Cyril Brownlie, half-armed, jabbed him. I then saw Brownlie and Edwards holding each other. The result was that Cyril Brownlie was ordered off the field with the charge against him that he had deliberately kicked a man who was on the ground. This was absolutely wrong, for there was no one on the ground to kick. Mr Freethy, the referee, was in a state of rage and was determined that Cyril Brownlie should go off.

Brownlie drooped his head and walked calmly to the dressing shed, where he remained till the match was over. Edwards was cautioned once before the incident and twice afterwards. Voyce was cautioned also, and he kicked M. Brownlie (after the incident) while Brownlie was on the ground.^[10]

Even amid the trauma of the moment, Brownlie's dignity was impressive. Former All Blacks captain and Rhodes Scholar, George Aitken said,

The best thing about that incident was the way Brownlie went off. He walked past the huge crowd like a gentleman.^[11]

Voyce was playing his first game against the tourists having been away with the British & Irish Lions to South Africa earlier in the tour. He added to his earlier comments.

With regard to the Brownlie incident, there is no doubt that the English team, as a whole, were quite as sorry for him as were his own colleagues, and that is saying a lot. After this first 15 minutes, I am afraid we lost the team spirit, which was so necessary to combat successfully against such a wonderful set of players as the All Blacks. Consequently, our own game suffered, and we all felt that something was lacking.

The All Blacks deserved their victory, and with only 14 men, and what Englishman would begrudge them finishing a remarkable and wonderful tour with every game a win? I would not call them a clever side. It is their backing up and especially the abandon and more or less physical attributes of their team – and 'all-out' dash of individual men when near the line – that has won them matches. I would indeed be proud to be a member of such a fine team with a record such as they have.^[12]

The incident reverberated around the rugby world for some time. A South African view of the incident appeared three months after the game.

During the first 10 minutes fists and feet were flying in all directions. I have never seen anything like it. Three times, the referee (Mr Freethy) stopped the match and addressed the players, and each time, I expected to see somebody sent off the field. I knew all the English forwards by sight before the match commenced, so I was able to detect who some of the culprits were. There were three, at least, who should have shared the fate of Cyril Brownlie. No good purpose could be served now by mentioning their names. Moreover, it would be unfair, for I was unable to identify some of the New Zealand culprits. It was a case of six for one and half a dozen for the other.^[13]

Five-eighths Mark Nicholls said both packs had been going 'all out' at each other with plenty of the 'hard stuff' that is not supposed to be part of the game occurring.

All were equally to blame – not just the New Zealanders. The [England] Rugby Union's own players were in it up to their necks. After five minutes of play, Tom Voyce, who was having his first game against us, said, 'Gee, I never knew they went as hard as this! Come on, chaps!'

Three times in the first ten minutes, Mr Freethy stopped the game and cautioned both sets of forwards…I have a photograph of the scene as Cyril is walking off, and if any proof is wanted as to the number of guilty English forwards, this photograph supplies it. Three of the English forwards are 'smothering up', apparently apprehensive that they may be sent off too…but to single out one man from sixteen guilty ones was, to my mind, unfair, and showed discrimination. Mr Freethy was a wonderful referee, but in what should have been his greatest triumph, the greatest match of his career, he made a scapegoat of a great footballer and gentleman, when he himself was at fault, for he could not by his own personality keep the game within bounds.^[14]

Bert Cooke said two parties were to blame in the Brownlie incident.

Reg Edwards, the Newport forward, was not again invited to play for England. I will say no more on that point. We also thought the tactics of A F Blakiston, a well-known English forward and a great chap off the field, were to some extent provocative.^[15]

Jim Parker said he was in the best position to comment on what happened and said Brownlie was the victim of an incorrect and unjust decision.^[16]

Cyril Brownlie commented:

It was a piece of sheer ill luck on my part. I found myself involved in a series of minor retaliations and was unfortunate to be dropped upon as the second man in the affair. I am most sorry this has happened in the last match, but I do think another man should have gone off the field beside myself. Nevertheless, there is no ill-feeling.^[17]

Maurice Brownlie rated Freethy as the best referee he ever played under.

He was outstanding. He was quite right about my brother, Cyril. Cyril did punch Voyce, though this was a retaliatory blow after Voyce had belted him. After the game, I said to Freethy: 'Why didn't you order the other man off, too? They were both at fault.'

Freethy said: 'I'm sorry. I can only adjudicate on what I see.'^[18]

Time, law changes and the application of television technology allowing microscopic analysis of incidents have rendered the dismissal of players from games much less controversial by comparison nowadays. In 1925, and in front of a future King of England, Brownlie's ordering off ranked high on egregious affronts any colonial could commit at the core of the British Empire. And while, in a playing sense, he put the event behind him, it must have been a substantial load to bear during the remainder of his life. Of course, he wasn't the first All Black to have been sent from the field. That dishonour would always belong to Bill 'Off-Side Mac' McKenzie in Sydney in 1893, in the third game with New South Wales. But that game didn't warrant Test status, which would not occur between New Zealand and Australia until 1903. Famously, McKenzie limped off, but the crowd never realised he had been ordered off.

It was 42 years before another All Black, Colin Meads, was ordered off, against Scotland in 1967. His crime was to have attempted to kick a ball out of a Scotland player's hands just as he grasped it. By modern analysis, it may never have warranted even a yellow card. However, referee Kevin Kelleher had issued a warning earlier and believed Meads had transgressed enough to deserve dismissal. That they both afterwards shared Christmas cards, and Meads had a post-playing career of after-dinner speaking with his dismissal among a wealth of memories with which to engage with audiences, meant he suffered none of the societal consequences that Brownlie endured. The most latter-day offenders Sonny Bill Williams, Scott Barrett, and Sam Cane have had to put up with are the anonymous barbs of keyboard warriors on social media channels, possibly the easiest to ignore if you don't bother to look.

NEXT ISSUE: On to France

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^[1] A.E. Freethy, quoted by R.A. Barr, Southland Times, 21 February 1925

^[2] Cliff Porter, interviewed by W.F. 'Wally" Ingram, Legends in their Lifetime, Whitcombe and Tombs, Wellington, 1962

^[3] ibid

^[4] George Nepia, NZ Truth, 11 November 1936

^[5] Daily Mirror, 5 January 1925

^[6] E.E. Booth, Daily Mirror, 5 January 1925

^[7] T.P. McLean, New Zealand Rugby Legends, MOA Publications, Auckland, 1987

^[8] Jock Richardson, interview with Joseph Romanos, NZ Listener, 23 April 1990

^[9] Touch Judge, Dundee Courier, 8 January 1925

^[10] ibid

^[11] George Aitken, New Zealand Times, 10 November 1925

^[12] Tom Voyce, Gloucestershire Chronicle, 10 January 1925

^[13] Cypher, Natal Advertiser, 11 April 1925

^[14] Mark Nicholls, Weekly News, 1 January 1936

^[15] Bert Cooke, New Zealand Observer, August 13, 1936

^[16] Jim Parker, Black, Black, Black by Mac Mackenzie

^[17] Cyril Brownlie, quoted by R.A. Barr, Southland Times, 21 February 1925

^[18] ibid