A VITAL TRIUMPH

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 204, 29 August 1928, Page 9

A VITAL TRIUMPH

SECOND TEST TO ALL BLACKS. DURBAN ACCOUNT SQUARED. W BW ZEALAND'S AMAZING TRANSFORMATION. SOLID SCRUMMAGING. BUT A POOR INTERNATIONAL. (By <.! HAHAM E. BEAMISH.) JOHANNESBURG, July 22.

New Zealand by a single point, scored a vital triumph over South Africa before a crowd of 38.000 at Ellis Park yesterday. It was poor international football, especially for the two greatest Rugby countries in the world, but the match contained several very interesting features. Solid scrummaging, packing, which is rarely seen by New Zealand forwards, was the keynote to the success of the All Blacks in the second Test. The match will become as famous in Rugby history as that sensational win the Springboks had at Durban, for in it a trio of records was broken. Firstly, it was the first time that New Zealand has won an international match by a potted goal; secondly, it was the first time that New Zealand has won without scoring a try; thirdly, it was the first time that South Africa has been beaten at Johannesburg in at least the last 20 years. It was a glorious win for New Zealand. By far the most interesting feature of the match was the amazing transformation of the All Black pack. After the Durban tragedy, and after the display of the All Blacks all through the tour, further, after watching a pack claimed to be the greatest in the world (and it certainly was a champion pack), he would have been a super-optimist in the face of things to have given New Zealand a shadow of hope to win the second Test. Everything seemed to be against the All Blacks. Here they were up against the identical pack which so drastically overwhelmed them a month previously. There had been little improvement in their play. They were playing thousands of feet above sea level in a climate to which they were unaccustomed. In spite of all these things, New Zealand's Test fifteen went on the field with the true Rugby spirit, convinced and confident that they would walk off winning the day. Conquerors Conquered. Then came a chain of Rugby peculiarities which makes the game the fascinating game it is. The fickle Goddess of Fste vied with New Zealand yesterday. All the week the Test fifteen, living at a quiet and pretty little Johannesburg suburb, schemed and planned and trsinedL Andy Mercer was there looking after them and rubbing them down. Pat Ward, a tiger for work at any time, helped in this matter and he, together with Mark Xicholls, drummed into the forwards all day and every day that they must push and pack tight, push and pack tight. All week the All Blacks carefully guarded a secret, a scrum manoeuvre of which the critics knew nothing. That manoeuvre was to play Stewart in the front row as a loose head.

Although the scheme was not a great success, it certainly had material advantage, for the comparison of the scruma in the second Test showed that the All Blacks diminished the Springboks majority. In the first Test the Springboks got the ball from 36 scrums against the All Blacks 10, and yesterday S. Africa won 29 and New Zealand 16. Of course, it was not the loose head alone that was responsible for this. It was the general excellence of the New Zealand packing, and the splendid weight in the scrum which gradually wore down the South African pack, until in the second spell the Springboks were smitten hip and thigh, and they had neither the fighting power nor the adaptability to restore themselves.

When tlu» first scrum went down after Osier had kicked for touch in the corner, the New Zealand supporters were amazed at the reformation of the New Zealand pack. With one mighty heave the All Blacks pushed the Springboks clean off the ball. In the face of things, it was unbelievable that they could do it, but the All Black scrum was as solid as a reck, and the Springboks realised that they had a far more serious proposition to contend with than that which they Wet • with at Durban. The New Zealanders stuck to this solid scrummaging Tight through. They were trained to concert pitch, and every man was fit. A few minutes after the start of the second spell, it was seen that the All Black forwards would dominate the play to the end, and except for an occasional burst by that fine player Phil Mostert, and his followers, this they did. The New Zealand forwards took command to display craft, pace and precision, which surprised the most fervent New Zealand followers, and sent them into ecstasies of joy. Hadley's Bad Luck. Nothing was so arresting as the pace •nd mobility of the New Zealand forwards. The ball was never too fast, the prospect never too forlorn for them to pursue. They worked with skill and method, cohesion and design. Every forward on the New Zealand side deserves to be praised to the skies. Hadley, unquestionably the best forward of the tour, had fiendish luck in the match, for halfway through the second spell, he had the ligaments of his right shoulder badly torn. He had his shoulder strapped on the sideline, and went back to the fray, but he could not take his place in the front row, and played as rover. Even as sore as lir was, he was j.till most valuable for he often spoiled an attacking movement by the South African backs. He was X-raved after the match, and it was fonnrl that his shoulder had been badly damaged, so badly that it is very doubtful whether he will play for the rest, of the tour.

N<\\t in order of merit comes McWillijimss. who often shot out of the] nick with the ball at his toe. With Finlayson, McWilliams was always in the limelight. The pair could be seen puting every bit of their weight in the scrums, and playing the game as best they know how. Alley locked the scrum With the greatest, efficiency. His was an excellent, exhibition, sound an honesty if •onicwinit unobtrusive. Swnin was like the Swnin of old. always handy to take a pass in the open, and a solid grafter ill the way in the. tight. Hazlett, Maurice Brownlee. and Stewart flashed out with fine and effective pieces of play* keeping tie pressure going at top #11 the tuzMi

Weak Attack by All Black Backs. The most disappointing feature of the match, as far as New Zealand was concerned, was the lamentably weak attack by the All Black backs. Here was their forward pack playing with uevil and determination. Ihe backs could not complain that they were not given opportunities, for they were playing behind a winning pack and were being fed with the utmost generosity by iialley, He was a universal provider without a distinguished clientele. Ualley was always sound and at times brilliant. The weakness lay in the fiveeighths line. Johnson, unfortunately, — a very rare occurrence with him, for he is nearly always sound and reliable, both on attack and defence. Even his defence, for which he is renowned, was weak yesterday. His poor wouk seemed to have a bad effect f n . for often Strang was caught holding on too long and Carleton found himselx soundly downed as soon as lie got the ball. The wings were starved so that they can neither be praised nor 011 Johnson started on the second spell promisingly. Then Strang went to pieces and tor a time could do nothing right. After all, Strang, despite his comparatively weak display, both on attack and defence, won the match with his brilliant snap-pot at goal, which is a paradox. Lindsay, cool and calculating, was again brilliant. His was a finished display. Although not always accurate with his kicking, he booted with good length and judgment. His tackling was deadly and he and Carleton stood out in this department.

The South African Weakness. Although the Springbok forwards were only a* shadow of the pack they were at Durban, they gave their backs plenty of opportunities, but the display of the South African rearguard was even worse than that of the New Zealanders. Jackie Tindall, the fullback, and J. C. Van der Westhuizen, the new centre three-quarter, were the only ones to stand out. The wings, Tod and Brand, like Grenside and Robilliard, merely looked on for the greater part of the game. Dobie, who took the place of Stanley Osier at inside centre, was the defect in the chain. His was only a second-class display. Bennie Osier, the crack of the side, except for an occasional burst, was hopelessly ineffective in passing rushes. His kicking as usual was brilliant. Devine, who gave the most brilliant display of half-back play that the All Blacks have seen in this country in the first Transvaal match, was futile on the day. Even when the Springbok backs did get going, they ran It a ,o surprisingly straight line across the field, which ended in them gaining hardly a yard.

The Springbok forwards played as well as they were allowed to play. They were hard enough workers, but the task on theday was toobig for them. Mostert Van Druten and Kruger were the shin--IJIS lights, with Van Wyk always dangerous. Pretorius, too, one of the most dangerous and versatile players on the side, shone.

The Madding Crowd. | It was not the display of Rugby that had the huge crowd in a continuous state of shouting, surging and swaying. It was the closeness of the game, for in the sensational fleeting moments, the issue was always in doubt. With such a deadly drop-kick as Osier on the field, anything might have happened, and in that memorable last few minutes of the game, when South Africa was straining every nerve to pull the game out of the fire, a drop from his boot might have been fatal. The spectacle at Ellis Park was quite a pageant. It was a glorious and inspiring scene. Thirty-eight thousand people, the biggest crowd that has ever attended a sporting event in South Africa, yelled and surged as a single point separated the teams. The finish for the New Zealanders sent the seas of enthusiasm running mountains high. Three staccato blasts on the whistle, and a famous game which will make Rugby I history, came to an end.