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Leonard Haigh was
born in Prestwich,
Manchester
, on October 19th 1880. Educated at
Sandringham
House
School
,
Southport
, he played association football and cricket for his school, but was unusual in
as much that he did not take up rugby until later in his life. A good all round
sportsman and always physically active he also became an adept fisherman and
shot as well as a good golfer.
Having joined
Manchester Rugby Club he soon began to adapt to his new sport, playing in the
forwards. He progressed through the usual route of the time, advancing to county
standard for
Lancashire
for whom he eventually gained eighteen caps. From here he moved to the
England
selection matches of North v South, the Rest v
England
and
England
v South before being picked for his debut cap against
Wales
in 1910. A late starter in the game, this international call up also came
unusually late in life for Haigh, who was nearly thirty at the time of the
match.
The game against
Wales
, played on January 15th 1910, was not only Haighs debut cap but also
the first international match played at
England
’s new home in Twickenham. The English team had a reputation for taking their
time to settle into a game, but this time took to the pitch ready to play. With
very little to choose between the two sides the English pack did well in loose
play, although the Welsh gained ascendancy in the scrum during the second half
leaving the English on the defensive
as they edged to an eleven points to six victory.
On the back of
this success Haigh kept his place for
England
’s next match against
Ireland
on February 12th. Also played at Twickenham it resulted in a
scoreless draw, although England were fortunate to avoid defeat as the Irish had
the better of the play and were unlucky not to score. The Irish pack played
particularly well, being both fast and strong whilst an out of sorts
England
never looked threatening in attack.
Despite missing
the next game against France Haigh returned to the colors of
England
for the final game of the season against
Scotland
at Inverleith on March 19th. Prior to kick off the strong
Scotland
side was expected to prevail with the benefit of home advantage. Their skillful
pack played with flair, overshadowing their English counterparts in the first
half. This was tempered by a below par showing by their back line who proved
weak in attack. Changing ends at one goal each
England
gradually drew away to a fourteen points to five victory, although this final
score line flattered in what had been a closely fought match. This said it was
generally accepted that the English were overall the better fifteen on the day
and to the victors went the spoils. As well as the Calcutta Cup
England
also claimed their first championship since 1892, the draw with
Ireland
costing them a first ever grand slam.
With the dawn of
1911 Haigh again found favor with the
England
selectors, playing throughout the season. This opened with
England
travelling to
Swansea
to take on
Wales
on January 21st. After the spectacle the
England
team were regarded as the best to have visited the principality in years. The
pack particularly fired on all cylinders as
England
attacked more often than the equally on form home side. The Welsh team, who
would go on to win the grand slam that season, were in the final analysis more
clinical in their finishing, and this was the deciding factor in their fifteen
points to eleven victory.
Although defeated
in
Swansea
the English team were far from disgraced, and returned home to face
France
at Twickenham the following week on January 28th. The French, still
relatively new to international rugby and hardly the world power that they are
today, started well with
England
again starting the match slowly. The half time score was eight points to nil in
favor of the stuttering
England
. The second half saw the England pack find their feet and up their game,
overwhelming their visitors in an exhibition of strong forward play that
directly led to the thirty seven points to nil final score, a record against
France at the time.
England
and Haigh next travelled to
Dublin
to meet the Irish at
Lansdown Road
on February 11th. The Irish started the match with characteristic
passion playing well throughout and defending strongly. Such was the pace and
commitment of the Irish pack thy may well have exhausted themselves but for a
masterful tactical kicking game by the Irish backs that allowed a respite to
their frenetic forwards. Their eventual three points to nil victory was
considered fair, if not exactly expected, against a strong English fifteen.
England
’s final match of the season saw them again at Twickenham to take on the
visiting Scottish on March 18th. This was a very different Scottish
fifteen to that which
England
had beaten at Inverleith the year before, being largely a young experimental
side. From the off the English pack had the advantage in weight and power, but
lost out in pace to their more fleet of foot opponents. In a fast and free game
the Scottish backs lacked imagination and
England
proved too strong for them as they battled to a thirteen points to eight
victory, retaining the Calcutta Cup as well as consigning
Scotland
to the ignominy of a whitewashed season as they lost all four of their games.
The
Scotland
match in 1911 was to be Haigh’s last in the white shirt of
England
, bringing his final tally to seven caps for his country. Just a month after the
close of the international season further recognition was to follow as Haigh was
invited to join the Barbarian’s on their Easter tour to
Wales
. Pulling on the famous black and white hoops twice during the tour Haigh played
in the thirteen points to six victory over Penarth on April 14th and
again the following day in the fifteen points to eight defeat by
Cardiff
before returning home to
Manchester
.
With the Great
War raging in
Europe
along with thousands of others Haigh enlisted to do his bit. A keen motorist
with a particular interest in the inner workings of the motor vehicle, Haigh
found himself an Officer Cadet in the Army Service Corps. The task of keeping a
force as large as that the British were building in
France
supplied was a mammoth one. The Army Service Corps remit ran to provising it
with all of its consumable needs such as food and uniform, although not
ammunition which fell under the Army Ordnance Corps. At its height the Army
service Corps numbered over ten thousand officers and three hundred thousand
men. The nature of the trench warfare that had become a stalemate between the
opposing forces allowed huge, yet efficient supply lines to be established that
were vital to the military undertaking. The Army Service Corps itself was
organized into companies that tended to specialize in either horse or motor
transport. Although the day of the massed cavalry charge was largely over,
horses still provided the backbone of the supply chain. The motorized transport
of supplies was growing exponentially, but was a new and largely untried art and
men such as Haigh with prior civilian knowledge were too valuable to consign to
an infantry battalion. In a tragic turn of events the always fit and healthy
Haigh was never to be commissioned and turn this knowledge to the benefit of his
country. Whilst still in officer training at Woolwich he developed double
pneumonia during a training exercise, succumbing to the illness on August 6th
1916.
Sources
"The
Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals", R Maule,
Breedon 1992
The
Times Online Digital Archive
Wikepedia
www.1914-1918.net
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The
Rugby History Society