Vic Cavanagh (born 1874)
Encyclopedia
Victor George Cavanagh known as "Old Vic" Cavanagh, was a New Zealand
rugby union
administrator. He was born in Caversham
, Dunedin
. He was the father of "Young Vic" Cavanagh
. Between them, they greatly affected the development of the sport of rugby within New Zealand.
Old Vic was the first captain of Dunedin's Southern Club after its formation through the amalgamation of the Caversham and Pacific clubs in 1899. He also represented Otago
that year, but became better known as a coach. cavanagh coached Southern to three Otago championships before World War I, then after the war he became coach of the University A
team, coaching them to ten championship wins between 1923 and 1934. He was also a national selector in 1913.
In 1929 Old Vic developed the ‘loose scrum’ technique to help lighter student forwards win ball in broken play. The new-look 3-4-1 scrum shape revolutionised forward play, and - with the refinements to what became kn own as "the Southern style’ by Young Vic, led to the dominance of Otago in provincial rugby in the years prior to World War II.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
administrator. He was born in Caversham
Caversham, New Zealand
Caversham is one of the older suburbs of the South Island New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point...
, Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. He was the father of "Young Vic" Cavanagh
Vic Cavanagh (born 1909)
Victor George Cavanagh , known as "Young Vic" Cavanagh, was a New Zealand rugby union administrator. He was born in Caversham, Dunedin. He was the son of "Old Vic" Cavanagh...
. Between them, they greatly affected the development of the sport of rugby within New Zealand.
Old Vic was the first captain of Dunedin's Southern Club after its formation through the amalgamation of the Caversham and Pacific clubs in 1899. He also represented Otago
Otago Rugby Football Union
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...
that year, but became better known as a coach. cavanagh coached Southern to three Otago championships before World War I, then after the war he became coach of the University A
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
team, coaching them to ten championship wins between 1923 and 1934. He was also a national selector in 1913.
In 1929 Old Vic developed the ‘loose scrum’ technique to help lighter student forwards win ball in broken play. The new-look 3-4-1 scrum shape revolutionised forward play, and - with the refinements to what became kn own as "the Southern style’ by Young Vic, led to the dominance of Otago in provincial rugby in the years prior to World War II.