Thomas Ellison - Wing-forward

Wing-forward

After completion of the tour, Ellison continued to play for Poneke and Wellington. While playing with Poneke, Ellison implemented the use of a wing-forward and seven-man scrum positional system. It is not known exactly who developed the position of wing-forward, but Ellison claimed in The Art of Rugby Football that he had developed it; historian Greg Ryan claims the position was developed in northern England, and that Ellison only refined it after discovering it during the Natives' tour. The distinctive feature of wing-forward play was their role of feeding the ball into the scrum, and subsequently holding onto one of the hookers while the ball progressed through the scrum to the half-back. With the wing-forward bound to the side of the scrum, the opposing half-back would then have to get past them before pressuring the opposing half-back; this would increase the amount of time the half-back would have in possession of the ball before their opposite could tackle them. Ellison claimed that he devised the position while playing half-back for Poneke after he "... found it impossible for the smartest of referees to detect and amply penalize off-side interferences of opponents bent on spoiling my passes ...".

Regardless of the origins of the position, Ellison was instrumental in promoting its adoption throughout New Zealand. Although it is unclear whether the wing-forward was used during the 1893 tour of Australia, by the time of the All Blacks' first Test match, played during their 1903 Australian tour, the position was engrained within the New Zealand style of play. The use of a wing-forward provoked controversy both in New Zealand, and later in the British Isles after the All Blacks toured there in 1905; wing-forwards were often accused of off-side obstruction of the opposition half-back. According to Ellison however, if the position was implemented properly, then there would be no cause for complaint. The wing-forward continued as a vital component of New Zealand rugby until long-standing complaints from the unions of the Home Nations resulted in the position being outlawed by the International Rugby Football Board in 1932.