RUGBY TEST MATCH.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 224, 22 September 1925, Page 13

RUGBY TEST MATCH.

GREAT ALL BLACK PACK.

STRONG, FAST AND VERSATILE. It was lb" severest test that any young team of Uuuby players emild meet to have to play ihe side pla 1 on the field last Saturdaj by New Zealand against New South U'a.e>. Two hard, lour-square 13----ftoners it: the front, locked by a powerful 14-slunei. and finished off with four sixfooters each of 14 stone and more, the New /paiund -.rum »as one ol the most powerful pack.- e\er seen ou a Rugby field. Kveiy in.in was a seasoned player in the full 'flower of manhood and the pink of condition, the experience and combination of a long tour together was with five of the pack, and the other inn were brilliant individuals. With them they had a. wingforward playing a game that has rarely been excelled, and behind them fast barks who also hal played many rimes together. Before starting on th"ir i.ritish tour", prac llcully tin- same All I'.iack team had beaten New South Wales 3S to S at Sydney last year, and that the young successors of that Now Smith Wales reduced the margin of defeat by 4 points against the All Blacks team, ripened by the tour, is a credit to the bids from Australia. So far ns the came is concerned, ir wns a brilliant exhibition of all-round team play by ill" All Blacks, with chief honours going l„ l'ortfr and his forwards. Especially when playing against the gale they time and again out-manouvred the opposition. and omy a little turn of bad luck, as well as magnificent defensive play by Toby, the New South Wales fullback, kept the score down. In the s mil *p,_-n the I'.iack forwards gave their backs innumerable opportunities, w-liich were not realised as fully as they might have been, while the big fellows did a little scoring on their own account. Torter played an inspired game quite unblemished by any of the offside work which rumour has associated with bis name, and probably was the best player on the field. Brownlie was tlie boost forward there, rivalled only by Finlayson. who fully sustained the reputation he made with the team iv Sydney early in the season, Hiebardson was responsible for a deal of heady work, and Stewart and Lomas made some fine dashes

Mill and Coukc were constantly in the limelight among the backs, the former outshining Meagher and giving his outside men plenty of ball without overlooking the scoring chances that came his way. Cooke. the opportunist, was in his element He was marked by the visitors' star bud;. Morrisey, but on this occasion Morrisey wa« eclipsed, and Cooke was always there to top off a forward footrush with a try, or to exploit tbe short punt when the opposition crowded for the wings, or take n run en his own when the defence looked for the pass of the kick. Passing for passing's sake is not t'ooke's way, and even though he was made a special mark by the other side he managed to show up with results. Both Reid and Nicholls wore very closely watched by Lawton and Reid, and they got little opportunity, hut on the other hand they very efficiently kept their opposites in order. By his regular stopping and tackling of Lawton, the Christchurch five-eighth contributed a deal of the success of New ealand. Neither Svenson nor Lucas gut much opportunity, but at times they made fine dashes. Nepia showed only occasional flashes of his old form, but on the whole his display did not compare with that of Toby, on the other side, whose fielding and clearing were firstclass throughout.

The New South Wales backs did not 6how anything like brilliant form. Meagher was smart, and Bowers made several strong runs, but little was seen of Lawton, Reid and Morrisey, and they indulged in too much kicking in the first spell, when more enterprise in running might have brought them some scores. Judd and Kigney were the most conspicuous of the forwards, who were, however, generally outplayed. On the one or two occasions when they did break away the visiting pack backed up and handled well. THE SECOND BALL.

For a number of years now it has been the in Auckland to have two balls at hand when representative matches are being played, and thus time is saved when the ball goes out of bounds. This custom was suspended for the lirst time for years or «*ie occasion of the recent AucklandJU„ .es Bay match. There was an extra <U1 on the sideline when the came opened hall whTnh h ne of rhO , SP e 'onffated types of ball which bounce awkwardly, and as the other ball was handy when the ball boy in at an early stage, a section of the crowd the other bnll '" The luc£ Jand wing-threequarter discarded the uX*J ball ' aDd jt A l.in\-ejed spectator observed that the eitra ball had been taken charge of by the manager of the Hawkes Bay team? who no daubt reasoned that if the Auckland backs HrLbe'a £ CU °? ln thelr usual 'whlon the Httukes Bay forwards (who had had two ha Id games in the previous week? would be slad of the respite provided by the time lost in chasing the single ball as it wns kicked out of play. H ls reasoning proved souilid, for towards the close nf L whej, the Auekianders were' peraite assaults on the Hawke's Bay ifi s r lv .|ii- bii k \r^ d^°zi werej three points behind and needed every] moment. But fhn »»wi-„. nee ' loa mannrpr 5 . f .;„,.,. Ar Hawkes Bay ft •«?» ffffi thCir °^VmVm condition 1, »»Uaf«ctorj° °° s " "" MAKH AGAINST WELLINGTON. Hi •;«•'-«"«■• »»«£ ,vi L? o ? f-ti^J t , hls senson ' and tfa e stand wf= f -Xl ay h(uT so much that it was qujfcfe anticipated the rep. team would dashcf fe TD T • sMekl ' a hol,e uashed iiy the dominance of the bl~ Bnv wTn'^th? 6 AuCkJ;lnd team thl°gau7e will be (l.he same as played Hawke's Bay tors Oil ten, Lucas Matson: five-eighths Cooke. Siheen: half-back. McManus- rover Keene; forwards, Palmer. Lomas l' Knight. ,A. Knight. McWillinuis. Batty rvp ,*'• tT e ™ er sencies, Gould, Webber,' <J orlen. JElook. W,ln c , B *??},? { " pln - v at Thames js : _ Fullback, Gillespie: three-quarter, Loft kyme, Braderick: five-eighths. Carter Menkes; half. Kirk: rover. Charter; forwards, r«?i ers U F ' n T Ia J" s r °n. McDonald. Soreuson. I. Keary, Dean; emergencies, alcGinley, Solomon. Pelham, Finlay. Both tealms are requested to attend practice on Thursday evening at eight o'clock Any player selected for the Thames match, is una|>le to make the trip is requested to advise tbe secretary of the union without delay