Harold "Paddy" Carolin (1881-1967) was a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who represented

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and is credited with conceiving both the 3-4-1 scrum formation and helping choose the name 'Springboks' for the South African national side. Carolin was the second player ever to serve as captain abroad, following Paul Roos. Carolin was born on 10 April 1881 in Alicedale in the Eastern Cape and attended

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established on ...

in Cape Town. At school he won the award for best all-round sportsman for four years consecutive years, and was captain of both the rugby and cricket teams. Carolin's first club was

Villager Football Club Villager Football Club was established on 2 June 1876 and so claims to be the second oldest rugby club in Cape Town, South Africa. Villager FC were scheduled to play against Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch Rugby Football Club in the first ...

, a

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

side. In 1903 Carolin is selected at

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

alongside Japie Krige for the 3rd test against the touring British side at Newlands on 12 September 1903. He is captain of Villagers when he is chosen as vice-captain for the 1906-07 Springbok tour of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and

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. Roos, Carolin, and team manager J C Carden chose the name 'Springboks' while on tour, prompted by the emblem that the side had worn on the left breast for the first time since the decision to do so had been taken in 1903. In the test against Scotland in Glasgow on 17 November 1906 Carolin became the second player to captain South Africa abroad when Paul Roos had to withdraw from the team. Carolin is often credited with inventing the 3-4-1 scrum formation in 1906, although he himself thought that fellow Villager

Fairy Heatlie Barry "Fairy" Heatlie (25 April 1872 – 19 August 1951)
Scrum.com was a

Danie Craven Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

in turn pointed to 'Oubaas Mark' Markotter as the coach who had popularised and adapted the formation. The 1906 Springboks became "the first national team to utilize the 3-4-1 formation". In all Carolin played in 3 test matches and 15 tour matches for the Springboks. His last test was on 24 November against Ireland at the Balmoral Showgrounds in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, which South Africa won 15 - 12. Carolin also played 9 first-class cricket matches for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

between 1902 and 1908. As a right-hand batter he scored 354 runs in 16 innings, and as a right-arm fast-medium bowler he took 30 wickets. Carolin moved to

Moorreesburg Moorreesburg is a rural town situated about north of Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was laid out in 1879 on the farm Hooikraal, was administered by a village management board from 1882 and attained municipal status in ...

to practice law and subsequently became involved in two local sports clubs. With the help of his law partner, Fred Luyt (Springbok, 1910–12), he helped establish Moorreesburg's rugby club (est. 1889) as a force in Boland rugby. He coached the local team, which at one time included future Springbok Chris Koch (Springbok, 1949–60), who Carolin moved from

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

. In the process Carolin created "one of the very best ball players...amongst all of the world's international tight fives". With a Dr J P du Toit Carolin co-founded the Moorreesburg golf club in August 1912. Carolin died in 1967.

described Carolin as an "outstanding player, captain, and powerful personality".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carolin, Paddy Western Province cricketers 1881 births 1967 deaths Rugby union centres Villager FC players South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players South African cricketers Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape

See also

References