Opae (Opai) Asher - the hurdling wing

A Union-League double international

By his name alone, Opae Asher could have been one of the more intriguing figures in New Zealand rugby history.

But thanks to the discovery of The Sportsman newspaper files from 1912-1914, it has been possible to glean more information about him.

Born Albert (Arapeta) Asher, of Jewish-Māori descent,¹ he acquired his nickname after the horse Opae won the 1898 Great Northern Hurdles. When he was seen hurdling prospective tacklers Opae, he became.

Interestingly, for much of his life, he was listed as Opai, and his gravestone is listed that way, but newspapers of the day, including The Sportsman, referred to him as Opae.

If, as it was claimed, he played rugby for Tauranga against Auckland when aged 13, then disbelievers could reflect that a member of the Auckland team, J. Crowe [listed as Richard Crowe in the NZ Rugby Register²] was a school inspector who later passed Asher from the fourth to fifth form, according to The Sportsman.

Asher had to overcome his mother's desire that he should not play rugby. She burned all his rugby gear after breaking his collarbone when he played against Rotorua.

By 1898, he decided he would be better off in the big smoke and set out for Auckland, where he gained a place in Parnell's senior team. Parnell wasn't among the most competitive clubs, but Asher did enough to be included in the Auckland provincial side in his first year in town.

All Black George Smith, the crack hurdler, was in the side that year as well, and Asher's ability was such that he was convinced to switch to the City club in the 1899 season. That meant he played alongside Smith, Charlie Seeling [the man regarded as the best forward in the All Blacks team of 1905-06], George Nicholson and George Tyler, all members of the Originals team.

The Sportsman said of him, "Small wonder was it that with such help-mates as these, Asher's football came to be the piece de resistance of club and interprovincial matches. His adaptability to the game stood him in good stead, and certainly, he was the most dangerous scoring wing in New Zealand throughout that period.

"Outward appearances are often very deceptive, and such is the case with Asher. Short of stature, being only 5ft 5¾in [1.67m] in height, Asher does not on casual inspection fill the eye as a dare-devil threequarter, but in football raiment [apparel] he is a pocket Hercules."³

So well did he do that he was included in the New Zealand team of 1903 that toured Australia, a side some rated as the best All Blacks team in the first 50 years of the game. Asher, Billy Wallace and Tyler were the only members of the side to play every game.

Again, The Sportsman said, "'The India-rubber man,' so called because no matter how many opponents tackled him, Asher always managed to wriggle clear, scored in every match of the 10, save one."⁴

He scored 17 tries on the tour, several of them the result of using a hurdling style when hurdling over the heads of opponents who went low to tackle him.

However, fate denied him his greatest prizes. In 1904, what shaped as the greatest of all the early seasons in New Zealand with the Great Britain team to tour, Asher, working as a fireman, was severely injured at a warehouse fire and could not play club rugby all year.

Once the representative season started, Auckland prepared for a big challenge from Wellington for the Ranfurly Shield. When Auckland toured the previous year, Wellington beat Auckland 4-3, and they fancied they could do it again. There were concerns that while Auckland had the pack to contain Wellington, they needed to be better off in the backs.

It was suggested Asher be approached. He deflected the interest because he wanted to give his injury a whole year to recover. But under pressure, he succumbed to the wishes of others.

Inevitably, he would regret the decision. Early in the game, he went down to stop a forward rush, and when he went to stand up, the Sportsman described him as, 'practically helpless.'

"So crippled a state was he in that he could not make an effort to stop D. [Duncan] McGregor when the latter scored the try that caused the Shield to leave Auckland for the first and only time up to the present [1913]. Shortly after this match, Asher returned to Tauranga and, so far as football was concerned, was regarded as the light of other days.

"This incident serves to show how one failure, no matter under what circumstances, outweighs, in the public mind, a multiplicity of successes."⁵

A player who, had he made the complete recovery he sought, might have been a sensation with the 1905-06 Originals didn't return to the game until 1907. He had returned to Auckland, which had regained the Ranfurly Shield and was preparing to face challenges. He was selected to play for Auckland but appeared only twice, against Waikato and a shield defence against Wanganui, in which he scored a try.

Asher said, "For about five years, from 1898 to 1903, I felt there was no limit to my scoring powers. I secured so many tries from almost impossible positions against good players that I would attempt anything, but not now. I suppose I know more of the tricks of the game, but the dash is not there."⁶

That was the end of his connection with rugby, as in 1908, he formed and captained what could have been the first Māori All Blacks team. The side left New Zealand believing they would play Union. However, upon arrival in Australia, it was learned some miscommunication had occurred - it was pointed out that their contract specified League rules. A vote was taken, and the players all converted to playing League, becoming instead the first Māori league team to visit Australia.⁷ Despite that, they managed to win half of their 10 games and did well enough to be invited back the following year with a team containing only nine players who had played League.

That team beat New South Wales for the OT Punch Cup. Asher was presented with a gold medal for being the best player in the Māori team. His brother Ernest also played on the tours of 1908 and 1909 and played against England in 1910 before touring Australia again in 1911.

In Auckland, Opae played for the Auckland league team against Taranaki and captained the City Rovers Club, which won the Auckland competition in 1910 and 1911.

When the first English team came out to Australia in 1910, two fixtures were played against Australasia, the first being drawn but the second a win for the home side. Asher and teammate R Papakura were the only Māori players included.

The Sportsman said: "The crowds in Sydney, as in 1903, waxed enthusiastic over Asher's gymnastic feats, and the opposing wing three-quarter (Batten) declared afterwards that of all men he had played against Asher was the most bewildering and unorthodox." ⁸

The English team went on to New Zealand, where Asher was the only player to appear in all games against them, for Auckland, the Māori, and New Zealand.

He missed the tour to Australia in 1911. He retired to Tauranga again in 1912 but returned to Auckland a year later and played well enough to make the 1913 team to Australia.

By the end of his career, Asher said he preferred League to Union because he felt there was less chance of injury at League. He was the groundsman at Carlaw Park from 1921 to 1943. He died in January 1965, aged 85.

References:

1. The New Zealanders, The Australian Star, Sydney, 16 July 1902, p2

2. Clive Akers, New Zealand Rugby Register, 2016

3. 'Opae' Asher, New Zealand and Australasian 'Rep', The Sportsman, 6 June 1913,

4. The Sportsman, ibid

5. ibid

6. 'Opae' Asher, The Sportsman, ibid

7. John Coffey and Bernie Wood, The Kiwis, Hachette Livre, Auckland, 2007

8. The Sportsman, ibid