Clarence Percival "Clarrie" Polson was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. He debuted for New Zealand in 1920 and became Kiwi number 143.
Personal life
Clarrie Polson was born Clarence Percival Polson on July 27, 1900. His parents were Catherine (Kate) Polson (1860-1938), and Ole (Oliver) Polson (1856-1915). Catherine had been born in Ireland. He was the youngest of 11 children. His siblings were Mary Ann (b.1880), John (b.1882), Maggie (1884), Eliza Jane (b.1886), Dennis Oliver (b.1888), Andrew (b.1890), Eric (b.1892), Arthur Paul (b.1894), Annie (b.1896), and Amelia Gertrude (1899).
His brother John was killed in action in 1917 during World War 1.
Clarrie's brother Dennis Oliver Polson who also spent 3 years fighting in World War 1 was also involved in rugby league and was the honorary secretary of the Ponsonby United club in the 1920s before his death in 1932.
Playing career
Rugby union with Ponsonby and Auckland representative team
Clarrie Polson began playing senior rugby for Ponsonby in the Auckland club competition in 1919 in May, 2 months before his 19th birthday. He played 12 matches for them during the season, scoring 3 tries. On July 5 he played for the Auckland Junior team against a combined College representative side. Then on July 19 he played in the Auckland team against a Returned Soldiers side. This was somewhat of an unofficial Auckland appearance as the Returned Soldier side featured Auckland representative players who would have been in the Auckland team otherwise. He was then picked as a reserve for the Auckland team in their August 16match with Thames but did not take the field. In September he played twice for Auckland B in matches with Waihi and Hamilton. Polson was again picked in the reserves for the Auckland side against Bay of Plenty but did not take the field in the September 27 match. He then made an official Auckland debut in a match against Thames on October 4 which was won by Auckland 17-0. Two weeks later he played again for Auckland against the New Zealand Army side on October 18. Auckland lost the match 16-6 with Polson being said to have put in "a lot of good defensive work".
Switch to rugby league, Newton Rangers and Auckland
Polson played in the Auckland Rugby League competition at for the Newton Rangers. He played 7 seasons for them from 1920 to 1926 and made 83 appearances for them scoring 22 tries, and kicking 43 goals.
In his first season of rugby league he was selected in the Auckland team to play the touring England side. Auckland pulled off a huge 24-16 upset win with Polson playing halfback in the match at the Auckland Domain in front of an estimated 30,000 spectators.
The 1922 season saw him play 8 matches for Auckland. The first was against New Zealand Maori where he scored a try in a 28-18 loss against a Maori side which was about to embark on a tour of Australia. He then played in 2 matches against the touring Australian Universities side on June 21 and 24. Auckland lost both matches 13-12 and 18-7. The first match was played at Carlaw Park while the second was played at the Auckland Domain. The Australian University side was made up of players from Sydney University and Brisbane University.
Polson then played in a match against Cambridge which Auckland won easily by 73 points to 29 with Polson kicking 2 conversions. Later in the season he played against South Auckland in a Northern Union Challenge Cup match. Auckland were upset 21-20 although the South Auckland team did feature several New Zealand players. Polson scored a try for Auckland. Two weeks later he played for Auckland against the touring New South Wales side in a 40-25 defeat in front of 20,000 spectators at the Auckland Domain. His final two matches of the representative season were against South Auckland and Bay of Plenty. The match with South Auckland was for the Northern Union Challenge Cup which Auckland failed to win back, going down 26-18 at Steele Park in Hamilton with Polson kicking 1 conversion. They then beat Bay of Plenty 33-26 at Tauranga. Bay of Plenty featured New Zealand players George Iles and George Gardiner. Polson scored a try and kicked 2 conversions.
In 1923 Polson played 5 matches for Auckland. On August 22 he was at his usual position of halfback against Wellington. Auckland trounced Wellington 71-12 in front of 5,000 spectators at Carlaw Park. Polson converted 3 of Auckland's 17 tries though Auckland used at least 6 goal kickers. On September 12 Auckland played Hamilton and won 22-16 with Polson scoring 2 tries and kicking a conversion.