PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 6, 7 January 1908, Page 3

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS.

AT OLDHAM. ! ; BEATEN BY A POINT. (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, November 29. The New Zealand footballers have been "going through it" during the past fortnight at the hands of Northern Union teamsr On Saturday they incurred a fourth defeat at Oldham. It is true that they were only beaten by a single point, that they played a really good game, and that they were up against the strongest, team in the Union, a team with an unbroken record, for the season; but the fact remains that they have now lost four matches out of the- last five they have played, and it will take a big effort on their part to restore the waning interest displayed in their tour. Various reasons are advanced to account for this succession of reverses. The All Blacks are meeting thoroughly well-trained teams, composed of men who are paid not only to play football, but to win matches. The visitors have to fight at top pressure in almost every game, and the failure of their forwards to master the tricks of the Northern Union scrummers has thrown a heavy burden of defence on the backs, and cramped their play considerably. It is not surprising that the defence should break down now and then under the strain. It is doubtful, moreover, whether the All Blacks have kept themselves always in the best of condition. They have allowed themselves to be feted by the Northern Union clubs they have met, and feting is not conducive to form on the football field. They are a clever team, and play good football, but they will evidently have to pull themselves together if the tour is not to have a rather tame ending. The Oldham match was played in miserable weather on Saturday. Players and spectators (of whom there were 12,000) were pelted with driving rain and sleet, and the ground was quite sodden. Long before they had finished the teams were plastered with mud. Conditions like these suited neither, team, for they both shine in fast, open play. On Saturday ordinary tactics were out of the question. Even straight running was difficult and risky; dodging was next to impossible. Both sides did remarkably well under the circumstances, and the game, though not one from which serious judgments should be formed, was wonderfully lively and interesting. The later stages, during which the New Zealanders were having the best of matters, were quite exciting. Oldham had the better of the play in the first half, and led at the interval by three points. Their backs were not so much responsible for the superiority as the forwards, who dominated the scrums. Where the New Zealanders shone was in the excellent fielding of their backs and in their forwards' fine work in the loose. In the scrums their forwards were beaten, but in the loose they were often "all over" the Oldham men. Looking for a reason for their weakness in scrumming, which alone has lost them a match or two, the "Manchester Guardian" suggests that the only possible one seems to be their slight wasting of time before 'getting down." This seemed to be due more than anything else to their plan of having a fixed position in the scrura for each forward. A slight delay caused in waiting for one man or other to come up was often fatal. The ball was shot into the scrum an instant before they had got their proper balance, and the free use of their hooking feet, and the result was that they were a moment behind the Oldham men in hooking. When the half-back was not quite so quick'in getting the ball in they fared better and as often as not won the scrum. The first score was for Oldham —an excellent goal kicked by Ferguson from a free kick. Later the three-quarters got going, and Oldershaw got ovnr on the left wing after a clever bit of play by his centre, Llewellyn. Then Messenger kicked a goal for New Zealand. In the second half the Oldham scrum half, Benyon, nipped over from a scrum near the line. Towards the end of the game, when the light was very bad, there happened one of the best bits of individual play of the day. Smith, the New Zealand centre, got the ball well in bis own half and ran right through the Oldham team till he reached the full back. Whether he dropped it to his toe here or whether it was knocked out of his hands could not be seen, but he kicked it over the line, and Lavery, who had been following up close, rushed after it, dropped on it, and scored. Messenger kicked a fine goal from near the touch-line, thus putting his side's score one point behind Oldham's. The New Zealanders after this kept up the attack, and might at any moment have won the match, but the whistle went before they could get over again. COLONIALS FAIL TO SCORE AT RUNCORN. LONDON, November 29. The New Zealanderi played their fifteenth match on Wednesday, and for the firet time in the course of their tour they failed to score a solitary point. Runcorn, their opponents, scored three tries, unconverted, and so beatthe tourists decisively by nine points This defeat, following on the previous four, is a serious blow to the interest felt in the All Blacks' tour, and a sure sign of waning interest is the diminishing space allotted to the doings of the team in the Northern newspapers. Unless they buck up and win a few more matches off the reel they will find themselves sinking to the paragraph level! The tourists had a strong team out, but once again their forwards failed to control the scrums, and it was Runcorn, in consequence, who made tlvi running. The ground was in a sodden state, heavy rain falling before the match. This interfered greatly with the play, but did not prevent a crowd of 12,000 from assembling to see the game. Loud cheers greeted the appearance of the teams, and after the visitors had chanted their war song Wright commenced on behalf of New Zealand. Jolley, Watton, Butterworth, and Moran gained considerable ground with passing. Immediately afterwards the ball passed through the hands of Jolley, Watton, Butterworth, and Deakin, the latter scoring at the corner a minute from the start. Jolley failed to augment. Following this, Messenger was prominent with a fine run, which transferred play to the Runcorn half. Wright put in a powerful kick, but Padbury, Walton, _-v Jolley replied with passing. Messier broke away on several occasions, but was too well watched. Turtill got the ball away time after time when hard pressed. Just before the interval Kelly and Wrigley broke away, but failed to gain any advantage. At half-time the score was: Runcorn, 1 try (3 points) ; New Zealand, nil. After the interval the visitors went at a great pace, and, following a kick by Lile, Harrison just managed to kick dead. Smith then took the half-back position, but without mcch mecesp. as Kuacoru

had the advantage in the pack. A magnificent round of passing between Jolley, Watton, Butterworth, Unsworth, and Moran "ended in the last-named scoring a brilliant try, which Butterworth. failed to improve. Smith and Wrigley made a fine effort, but Harrison returned to the centre. Following this, Jolley, Butterworth, and Deakin engaged in passing, which, enabled the latter to score at the corner, Jolley again failing at goal. The Colonials played a keen game right to the finish, but as Runcorn had the advantage in the scrummage the visitors did not, shine to much extent in the back division, whilst the home backs seldom made a mistake, a keenly fought game ending in a well-deserved victory for Runcorn. Result:—Runcorn, 3 tries (9 points) ; New Zealand, nil.