Edward Joseph McIntyre

Born on 4 March 1883 at Orange, Ted McIntyre was a thickset prop forward who played in the Central-Western Union competition from 1903 to 1909. His first representative football came in 1905 when he made the Central-Western team and he played regularly for the team in the Country Carnivals until 1909.

At the State level, the selectors first recognised him in 1907 when he was selected as a prop forward in a strong NSW Second XV to play Queensland in the midweek game between the interstate matches in Sydney. Also in the team were Billy Dix, Norman Row, Chris McKivat, Bob Graves, Paddy McCue, James Hughes and Tom Griffin – all of whom went on to play for Australia against the All Blacks in the exciting 1907 Test series. However, McIntyre was selected in the New South Wales team to tour Western Australia later in the year. This side consisted mainly of NSW country players but did include notables such as Frank Daly, Arthur McCabe, Bob Craig, Jimmy Clarken, Ken Gavin and Bill Hirschberg.

In the following year, McIntyre had built up to a solid 13st 6lbs (86kgs) and stood 5ft 10ins (178 cms). He teamed up with Charlie McMurtrie in the Central-Western team in the country carnival and both were chosen in the Country Firsts captained by Paddy Moran, the eventual captain of the Wallabies. After a strong performance against the City Firsts’ front row of Barnett, Griffin and Clarken, McIntyre was named in the New South Wales team that met Queensland in Brisbane.

In fact, 1908 proved a stellar season for McIntyre. He played in all four interstate matches and was an early selection in the team to tour Britain and North America. After the matches with Queensland, McIntyre was selected to play for New South Wales against the Anglo/Welsh team that arrived in Sydney just prior to the departure of the Wallabies. McIntyre played two hard games against the tourists on a muddy and waterlogged Sydney Cricket Ground. As soon as the second match finished and the presentations were over, the Wallaby touring party moved down to Circular Quay to board the Omrah for the long voyage to England.

In the early part of the tour, McInytre was over passed for ‘Bull’ Hammond and, like many others, he had to wait until the Penygraig match in Wales for his first game. Hammond had suffered a minor injury against Penygraig and McIntyre replaced him for the next game against Neath and Aberavon at The Gnoll. In the game against Llanelly at Stradey Park, McIntyre and his front row partners, Barnett and Griffin, were involved in the endless battling for the loose head in the set scrums. The home side packed ‘first up, first down’, whereas the Wallabies had set positions. There was no rule about how many men could constitute the front row and the Scarlets kept trying to gain the outside advantage. McIntyre suffered an injury in this game and did not play again until the game with Yorkshire at the Belle Vue Ground in Wakefield. This proved to be his fourth and last game on the tour.

It had been a most unhappy time for the stocky prop and Tom Richards spoke out later about his poor treatment at the hands of the tour selectors. His mate, Charlie McMurtrie, also supported him. However, McIntyre was comforted by his wife who was in England at the time, travelling around with the other wives in much the same fashion as cricketers’ wives are wont to do in modern times. Disillusioned by his treatment, McIntyre and his wife made plans to leave the party in England to travel home via South Africa.

Back in Australia, McIntyre played for the Central-Western Union again but he was only keeping his hand in for the professional matches later in the year, because he had signed a contract with the NSW Rugby League to play three games against the Kangaroos in September 1909. The organiser, Bill Flegg, revealed that McIntyre was paid 100 pounds for the games.

McIntyre was not wanted for the Wallabies v New South Wales game in June but he did play in the matches against the Kangaroos, including a fourth match that was added to the programme. Thereafter, McIntyre dropped out of football, unlike McMurtrie who moved to Sydney to play for Balmain and made tours to England and New Zealand with the Australian league teams. He lived a long life before dying on 12 September 1974 at the age of ninety-one.