There was some controversy over the selection for the 1909 Varsity Match.

Cunningham had announced his choice of Poulton at a meeting on 2

December, with Vassall absent. Cunningham sent him a letter by hand

informing him of the decision, but this was returned unopened. Tarr stepped

up at this point and offered to give up his own place for Poulton to avoid any

issue, but Cunningham stuck with his initial choice. The game was played

on 11 December, with Oxford at the start having the worse of it until one

moment turned the game around: after the Oxford forwards got the ball

back, Gotley, at scrum-half, sent the ball to Cunningham, who passed on

to Tarr and he to his fellow centre Colin Gilray. He fed the ball to Poulton

on the left wing still inside the Oxford half. Poulton then broke through the

defence to score under the posts. With Oxford eight points ahead at the end

of the rst quarter, disaster struck and Tarr broke his collarbone in a tackle.

He missed the rest of what the referee F.C. Potter-Irwin described as “the

fastest and most spectacular Varsity Match he had ever witnessed”. Oxford

beat Cambridge 23–3, Poulton scoring ve tries, vindicating his selection.

Tarr scored 72 points over 94 appearances, but was dropped by England in

1909. He was therefore surprised to be called up to play against Scotland

in 1913. Sadly, Tarr didn’t have the best game and it was to be his last

international appearance.

Military Service

While at Oxford, like many students Tarr had joined the Ofcers’ Training

Corps, and reached the rank of cadet sergeant with them. In 1911, he

joined the Territorial Force, serving with the 1/4th Battalion, Leicestershire

Regiment, as a second lieutenant, and in 1913 he was promoted to

lieutenant. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Tarr enlisted almost immediately,