Rugby League: Confusion the name of the game

Anyone hearing the comical mispronunciation of Kiwis' players names here will hardly be surprised to learn the Rugby Football League cannot decide how to spell the surname of the legend who was the driving force behind the first rugby league tour of Great Britain by a New Zealand side.

Albert Henry Baskiville, a former Wellington postal worker and league administrator, organised the "All Golds" 1907-08 visit and in recognition of his efforts the winner of this month's three-match series will be presented with a trophy bearing his name - or at least one version of it.

While "Baskiville" is the surname on his birth certificate, and how he is acknowledged in the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, the RFL has engraved the trophy "Baskerville" despite the RFL's media department referring to "Baskiville" in press releases and the match day programmes.

The RFL used "Baskerville" following advice from historian Tony Collins who justified his choice by two autographs of "the great man" held in the archives of the sport's museum.

But there is no dispute over the newly minted George Smith Medal to be awarded to the player of the series.

Smith, a 1905 All Black, encouraged Baskiville to undertake the trip after meeting players from the 13-man code during New Zealand's Originals rugby tour. He returned as part of Baskiville's team and settled in Oldham after that tour.

Smith's 92-year-old daughter Edna Stansfield, who lives in Oldham, viewed the medal inspired by her father when she was visited by a director of the New Zealand Rugby League, Sel Bennett, last week.

Kiwis captain Stacey Jones is the early favourite.

- NZPA