UP AGAINST IT

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 83, 4 October 1924, Page 8

UP AGAINST IT

GAMES PLAYED IN WALES,

(By "Dropkick.")

:' Since New Zealand became famous at -Rugby football it has not been difficult : to find plenty of confidence among "j. its' supporters of. the national game. But: '■ the Rugby.' frame is not; .without a nervous system, and to this . there has • more than once been a" shock. At the \ moment "hot" k; little: nervousness is apFJiarent. It' has come about as a result ..f of- the performance .of the All Blacks ... against- Newport, with the fact also in '- .mind^-that. the tour is as yet young.. ■■; TbeAll Blacks won,' it is true, but from i-, the recount-of the match there was noth-. ing^clear-cut about the victory:—it was i '-practically a case of "pulling the game out of the fire in the last few minutes."! ■ To' do that, wonderful pluck and tenacity', ■ had to be,shown. No wonder.then that : confidence: has been shaken. The game . with Newport may-1 prove to . be- the ■' hardest of'the tour; and it may not. At : any rate Newport evidently played -above themselves: If more-teams do like';wise the All Blacks ■ will be a wellside towards the close of the tour. ,-Already they have had hard matches, r and there is no doubt that there are more to follow. Hard matches were ex■'pect'ed .'in 1 Wales, though why Swansea. (.were sorted but as a side likely, to fully '- extend, the 'All .Blacks is hard to under- • stand. The.;fact that Rugby football, • in Wales;'was weak last season had been, 'broadcasted, and enough was known of . the performances'. of the main clubs to (indicate that Swansea was not amoiig [the-strongest .clubs.- On top of.that it

{.was ."pointed out.in "The Post", that-.the v (-agents;of the Northern Union game had ibeen busy in Swansea, and-they had j succeeded in i capturing .-• some •of tlie (leading players, while Swansea were ialso represented in the. British team in ('South Africa. Probably most, of those \ people who considered that Swansea | would.'.be.strong opponents for the _J\ .'.Blacks, this, time were goiYg back to j 1905 \- to, estimate the strength-, of that'club. Swansea were no match for the [All Blacks "last Saturday. - Newport i^vere just" the opposite ;■ on Thursday, * and the tourists had their closest call 4to date.' '■• '■'.-.'• . f ■ j In spite of, all, that" may be said ,of : Newport and their, fine record, the result of.-the} match from New Zealand's point .of.view—was disappointing. The f margin of victory is'represented by a £ penalty goal; the score of 10 points (two. . ' converted tries) by Newport is greater Hhan ..any registered by teams which 6p-'-posed'/the original All Blacks during their .'great toiirj"..the' team' fielded 'by New ■Zcaland"bn-!this "occasion" looked to, be [about .tj^e strongest,that it is.possible to v-arrange; from those who;comprise the 'touring-.party; .Newport "evidently gave ■ the .visitors some hard times'on defence, ■■ and Newport were \without the services -of-some^. of their most notable present- '" day players. All these. facts, with other mentioned in the details of play, [suggest that the All Blacks will require : [to improve if their succession of victories lis to be. carried much farther. They yet to meet teams that were better 'than. New-port -last season, and the Tests rare; also among: their future engagements, prom what New Zealand knows of the rtourists: the back' division against NewSport was the strongest that has yet taken I the field. Earlier in the week .a New {.Zealand selector criticised the All Blacks x Selection .Committee for not having'tried | the MilljNicholls combination, but" it is .snow evident,, from the personnel of the' 'team against Newport,'.thai those who. (: are,'doing the selecting on the. tour know |thejr,"bnsiness, and, moreover, they, are |,ih. a.; better position to .estimate the .-.strength..of -the opposition. Mill and JNiqholls played against Newport, but it |is not yet known whether, that^combinai tion-achieved any better success than f.has come" from the playing of Dalley in \ front' of Nieholls. The injury to Cooke, f'and the loss of that player for a- period ■ _of.--.the jjame, must'have had a disturbing effect. The weakness,'if it may be 'termed such, appears to have been in | the forwards. In most 'of the games to t date 'the "'play' of : the, forwards has not V accounted for" the 'glowing 'reports that |. were, expected, as this 1924 vanguard ■(.■was generally reckoned to'be up to the '■Jstandard of the best that had ever represented; New Zealand, and it was iii jit that New Zealand placed most-confid-ence".'- Of- course, in this last match, JMunro," Cupples'; Richardson,/arid Stew- | art—all splendid forwards—rwere among [the .onlookers;-bint there is much-of a r3'nucrmess'ih.'all the forwards.iii the tour-' jing team., Possession, of the ball from /the scrums has-so far not been very sat- \ isfactory, and unless it improves the All' (•Blacks "willr fi n _ -their task ..even harder ■*slal5 laliit hasrbeen in the games'to date. ; Jfeiiope i s that the close call against F Newport will spur the All Blacks on to -greater deeds in the matches to come. s ,Theyare dojlig ; their best. ,' Of that there ;can .be no. doubt; but taking the re- | poits-as they have been forwarded for [■each of.the,first six matches there does | iipt.-seem to be any definite proof, that .•the tourists have disclosed their ,full How they are faring as regards coaching", and training is not known (here. ;■ 'It'would come as no surprise to' ( hear-in the "near future.that the need of Va'trainer-cbach.is being more keenly felt !.]?y.'.thr9. Alt Blacks than was the case on [the voyage to England.. Of the health _of the team-little is also known. Cooke has.been.getting some.hard knocks, but - it is good to know that they- have not "been "of a serious nature. The All .'Blacks,,could .ill-afford to lose the services of Cooke. No word has been received- of. Badeley. and M'Cleary. The 'remaining members of the party have 'been mentioned as having taken part in games to date. It is to be hoped that .the' All Blacks will not be affected to any great extent- through sickness or injuries, as they will need all the strength they can muster to keep up their winning record. Although the prospects might be brighter, there is reason to believe that the All Blacks may yet show . leven- better form. At any rate, their combination should improve with the progress of the tour, so long as the strong men of the backs are always avail- •-' able for the harder matches! NEWPORT'S RECORD.

Although football in , Wales has been weak, Newport have kept up their re-putation.-of .being a hard team to beat. .__'-the-- 1922-23 eeaspn- Newport- stood

out as the team of the year and for the sixth time-in the history of, the club went through the season 'undefeated. Ihe other seasons were 1875-76, 1876-77 1877-78, 1878-79, and 1891-92. It was a wonderful achievement, for they played thirty-nine matches against the best teams _ i the Kingdom. Their success was all the more remarkable because they were not. really brilliant behind the scrummage. They wen or saved their matches because of wonderful team spirit and fine combination in defence. The' forward play wasalways great, the members of the. pack giving notable assistance to :the.; backs in defence; and on many occasions, by their scoring power, winning games single-handed. With all this it was considered that the Newport team did not come up to that invincible side led by T.C. Graham in 1891-92. The supreme triumph of the 1922-23 team was in the fact that with the barest margin of skill and strength, struggling grimly against imminent defeat in onethird of their matches, they still maintained their unbeaten record. E. Baker (full-ba-ok) and A. Stock (three-quarter), who were mentioned in the report of the match with the All Blacks on Thursday, played in every game . for Newport in 1922-23. G. E. Andrews, who scored a try against tha All Blacks on Thursday,. registered six tries in one match during the 1922-23 season, and thus equalled the club individual record set up by T. Spittle in 1878, J. Wetter/ who converted a try iii Thursday's match, captained -Newport in the 1922-23 season, and it is more than likeV,,*™ 1 ,heheld the reins against the All Blacks. The fact: that these players are mentioned as having been in the team against the All Blacks suggests that Newport left no stone unturned to muster their best forces that could possibly be obtained. However, they were without the services of four of their most out-' standing players—Dr. Roche and Neil Macpherson. (forwards) and H, Davies and. Griffiths (backs). This quartet of-' internationals was with the British team, in South Africa. Last season Newport did not achieve the same amount of success as in, the previous'• season. Up' to and including the 21st April theiy played 40. matches,.,of. whibh 28 were won ■ ra_£'- and 8 lost- Their tally of points, was 490, and that,against them'2o2. An additional match was with Plymouth Al- ™> ""*°P f^y defeated by '30 points to 3. .-■• This result pointed: to Newport being stronger opponents for the All Blacks than Devon, who would no doubt-have had'a good'number of Plymouth' Albion players in the team which met the All Blacks in the first match of the tour. '..-'- .