Old Scores

Last updated

Old Scores
Directed byAlan Clayton
Written byGreg McGee
Dean Parker
Produced byDon Reynolds
CinematographyAllen Guilford
Edited byMichael Horton
Jamie Selkirk
Music byWayne Warlowe
Production
companies
Distributed by ITV
Release date
  • 25 September 1991 (1991-09-25)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryNew Zealand
LanguageEnglish

Old Scores is a 1991 television film jointly produced by New Zealand and Wales, about the two countries' mutual national sport of rugby union. It is notable for the appearance of many notable Welsh and New Zealand international rugby players in supporting roles. Old Scores was primarily intended as theatrical release in New Zealand but was shown as a television film in Wales.

Contents

Old Scores was directed by Alan Clayton, and the screenplay was by New Zealanders Dean Parker and Greg McGee.

Plot

Old Scores revolves around a controversial fictional rugby match in 1966 between Wales and New Zealand which was won by Wales. On his death-bed, the touch judge confesses to failing to disallow the winning try for an infringement by the Welsh scorer. The Welsh Rugby Union president announces that in order to set the record straight, there should be a rematch between the two teams; using the same players who had played the match 25 years earlier. [1]

The teams are forced to re-assemble, each bringing along not only their 25 years of unfitness, but also various skeletons in the closet — most notably the major falling-out between two of Wales's star players, Bleddyn Morgan and David Llewellyn, whose friendship had ended acrimoniously many years earlier. Morgan had since moved to New Zealand, and initially refuses to play the match. It is later revealed that this is because of a love triangle which had developed between the two and Llewellyn's fiancée Bronwen. He is persuaded to play, for the sake of his country, but there is considerable acrimony between the two players which threatens to disrupt the team's performance.

The film is a blend of drama and comedy, the latter especially revolving around the efforts of the players to come to grips with both their middle-aged bodies and the changes in rugby since their time as international players: rugby was an amateur sport in 1966, although by 1991 it had become big business. The New Zealand team are a rag-tag bunch whose later lives have taken them in different directions: the team's "hard man" has become a peace-loving Salvation Army officer, one of the team has become a vote-grabbing politician, yet another has become a homeless drunk. All are reassembled and put through their paces by their 1970s coach, "Acid" (a biting caricature by Martyn Sanderson of fabled All Blacks coach Fred Allen). The film culminates in the replayed game, played at Cardiff Arms Park.

According to the Helen Martin and Sam Edwards' book New Zealand Film 1912 - 1996: "The dialogue is witty and characterisations are fine, if deliberately overplayed, but the ending turns the film into a shaggy-dog story." [2] The match ball is replaced by Wales's "lucky ball", an antique taken from the Welsh Rugby Museum by Price. With the scores tied, a shot is taken at goal, but the ancient leather of the ball is not strong enough and it deflates, landing limply on the crossbar where it remains. The final scene of the film shows an official review into the match deciding that it should be replayed again.

Cast

CastRole
John Bach Ewen Murray
Tony Barry Barry Brown
Roy Billing Frank O'Riordan
Alison Bruce Ngaire Morgan
Robert Bruce Jock McBane
Terence Cooper Eric Hogg
Windsor Davies Evan Price
Dafydd Emyr Owen Llewellyn
Howell Evans Lloyd Thomas
John Francis David Llewellyn
Peter Gwynne Winston Macatamney
Glyn Houston Aneurin Morgan
John Moreno Referee
Beth Morris Bronwyn Llewellyn
Robert Pugh Bleddyn Morgan
Martyn Sanderson "Acid" Aitken
Stephen Tozer Jim Farquhar
Jack Walters Clifford
Neil Ross Arms Park Crowd Extra
Adrian Judd Arms Park Crowd Extra

The cast mixes a number of experienced NZ actors (such as John Bach and Martyn Sanderson — the former, ironically, being Welsh-born), with many rugby players from the 1960s and 70s taking supporting roles as members of the Welsh and New Zealand teams – the latter mostly in non-speaking parts. The players included New Zealand's Ian Kirkpatrick, Waka Nathan, Grahame Thorne, and Alex "Grizz" Wyllie, and Wales's Phil Bennett, Gerald Davies, Mervyn Davies, Gareth Edwards, Tony Faulkner, Dennis Hughes, Barry John, Allan Martin, David Morris, David Price, Mike Roberts, J.J. Williams, and Bobby Windsor. Despite the film's plot indicating that these were the teams from 1966, many of these players did not play international rugby until after this time.

1990s All Black Steve McDowall also appears (and acted as choreographer for the rugby match scenes), as does New Zealand rugby commentator Keith Quinn.

Two of the cast of the film, Grizz Wyllie and Windsor Davies, appeared together in an advertisement for hardware chain Mitre 10 as a result of appearing in Old Scores. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor Davies</span> British actor (1930–2019)

Windsor Davies was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted in Davies and his co-star Don Estelle achieving a UK number-one hit with a version of "Whispering Grass" in 1975. He later starred with Donald Sinden in Never the Twain (1981–1991), and his deep Welsh-accented voice was heard extensively in advertising voice-overs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry John</span> Welsh rugby union player (1945–2024)

Barry John was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played in the 1960s and early 1970s during the amateur era of the sport. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to the first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964. Whilst at Llanelli, John was selected for the Wales national team—as a replacement for David Watkins—to face a touring Australian team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Edwards</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales national rugby union team</span> National rugby team

The Wales national rugby union team represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales national rugby league team</span> Sports team that represents Wales

The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in representative rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from Cardiff. Six Welsh players have been entered into the Rugby League Hall Of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff RFC</span> Welsh rugby union club, based in Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Shanklin</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

Tomos George Llewellyn Shanklin is a former Welsh rugby union player who played outside centre for Cardiff Blues and Wales. He played club rugby for London Welsh and then Saracens, before joining Cardiff Blues in 2003.

In 1971 the British Lions toured New Zealand, also playing two matches in Australia. Despite losing the first match to Queensland the tour was a great success, the Lions winning the Test series against the All Blacks. They are still the only Lions side to have won a Test series in New Zealand. The side was captained by John Dawes, coached by Carwyn James and managed by Doug Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Gabe</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe born as Rees Thomas Gape, was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Turnbull</span> English cricketer & rugby union player

Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull was a Welsh cricketer who played in nine Test matches for the England cricket team between 1930 and 1936.

Alexander John "Grizz" Wyllie is a New Zealand rugby union former player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Morgan</span> Rugby player

Edward Morgan was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous Match of the Century and is remembered for scoring the game's winning try. He played club rugby for London Welsh and Swansea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Llewellyn</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

William Morris Llewellyn was a Welsh international rugby union player. He captained Wales in 1905 and London Welsh in 1902. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous Match of the Century. Llewellyn toured with the British Isles to Australasia in 1904 and won three Triple Crown trophies. He played club rugby for many teams, predominantly for Llwynypia and Newport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Jones (rugby union, born 1878)</span> Rugby player

Richard Hughes Jones was a Welsh international fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club. He won 15 caps for Wales and played county rugby for Glamorgan.

Terence John Davies MBE was a Welsh international full back who played club rugby for Swansea and Llanelli. He won 21 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1959 tour of Australia and New Zealand. Davies was seen as the last of the great Welsh full backs, before the 'No direct kicking into touch' rule was introduced in the late sixties and changed the full back role.

The 1876 association football match between the national teams representing Scotland and Wales took place on 25 March 1876 at Hamilton Crescent, Partick, the home ground of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. The match was the first game ever played by the Welsh side. It was also the first time than Scotland had played against a team other than England.

The 1988 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand was a series of rugby union games undertaken by the Wales national rugby union team to New Zealand. The tour consisted of six matches against regional teams and two Tests against New Zealand.

Rugby union has a long history in Wales. Today it holds tier one status with the IRB. However, compared to Scotland, England, and Ireland, it was a latecomer on the international scene, and was not initially successful. Rugby union is the national sport of Wales, and is a great influence on Welsh culture.

The 1993 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. The New Zealand national rugby league team lost a series 0-3 against Great Britain but defeated Wales and France in one-off test matches. They also won games against Wigan, St Helens, Widnes, Leeds and the Great Britain under 23's.

References

  1. This fictional incident is probably inspired by the real-life incident in the first ever test match between New Zealand and Wales, played in 1905. Wales won the game 5-3 after a "try" scored by Bob Deans was disallowed by the referee who had failed to keep up with play and was 40 yards from the action. The result was a bone of contention between Welsh and New Zealand fans for decades afterwards
  2. Martin & Edwards (1997), p. 155.
  3. Mitre 10 advertisement on YouTube

Sources