From the playing field to the battle field

This ANZAC Day, the New Zealand Chamber joined forces with the American Chamber of Commerce, the British camber of Commerce, CanCham and AustCham to both celebrate the upcoming HSBC tournament and honour the our shared military history, and in particular that of the ANZACs.

We had the honour of hearing from Brigadier Evan Williams who spoke to the parellels of soldiers and sportsmen, the shared values of Courage, comradeship and commitment. He also read the moving poem by Jeremy Worth, about David Gallaher, the Captain of The Originals, fallen war hero of WW1, and the namesake of the Gallaher Trophy.

A Poem written by Jeremy Worth of the Letterkenny RFC in Dongal, Northern Ireland:

Through the mists of time a figure stands tall

An All Black ledgend from Donegal

This man had power, poise and pace

An iron man with an honest face

Smart as a fox he soon rose to fame

A soldiers instict in a magnificent game

Hard as nails strong and fast

A super human with an unlikely past

The name of Gallaher still rings aloud

A century on from the original crowd

Dave was a hero, a leader of men

His men would follow again, and again

A family man respected by all

A tragic loss with a heroic fall

A nation inspired, history made

An Irish Kiwi in Belgium laid

100 years later his presence still felt

A child inspired wears a tag rugby belt

His gift to rugby is still very clear

Ireland gift to New Zealand, still held so dear.