BRITISH 'NOT BRILLIANT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 161, 10 July 1930, Page 19

BRITISH 'NOT BRILLIANT.

MAORIS LACK COMBINATION. 3s" •• ->7 ; |o NEW ALL BACK CHAMPIONS | SIGHTED. ' V ! ' t c ; -— - ""i ; (By Telegraph.— Special to "Star."), | . WELLINGTON, this day. mv? OV ? r people watched tie iV ?' wa s a contrast of depressj~f depths-in the first spell and dazzling irifv second. The Britishers, tie rearrangement of the backs, trv'tu disorganised combination. Added was the fact that the Maoris, swiftness, played a great through, and time after ®e effectively bottled the haphazard S®W backs. Spong, unaccustomed to T Scr }im-half position, was largely bllg llßl^6 * or le failure of the British ' A Colourful Scene. /'j Vert! was quite a picture. Its stood out in impresari, a S a inst a.perfect sea of faces, fik v Were there in their hundreds, JBrin an d South. Some of the' . jnii f, ° Bes looked as though they had ,ffij ■ e P ] P €( l from a Bond Street tailor's ,°H wahines. smoked contented i 6 le match, but when the jjj , s , they threw coloured shawls J alterw i IQ le air as the Maoris were tiii- . v the joy and the despair of fifne PP or ter6. It was a - colourful 1 'Tourists on Top. 'the - first few minutes the tyTfirai £ thrilled the crowd with a iigjj. rush. Ivor Jones, the °%W« 6 h°t out from his, cajry - nt y-five to allow the forwards to Pjw- a *° the Maori twenty-five. thß^fnV tO -,F pon? ' to Aarvold > wll ° o% as ? 0 Morley, the winger flying i that st, e . Was tackled by Nepia. At ! j |J 5t a Seeme d that it would "be' fof, : r P rv 9 Ver - for the British team, pV'tst'd-K-°i ori "Bow'oott made a brilliant i " avc lev his second try. c end of the spell both sides'; , -

did tlieir test to throw the ball about. In spite of the fact that the British backs, failed repeatedly, they held a territorial advantage until half-time. Exciting Second Spell. * / When the second half started the Maoris changed their tactics, and for the greater part of the spell had the Britishers pinned on their line. .Both sides produced fireworks now, and the play was dazzling. The crowd roared their delight when the score stood at 14-13_ in favour of the British. The Maoris were at their best, but they lacked the essential finish to crown their movements. That was where they failed. They were grim and determined, resourceful too, but after they had scored 13 points they had to bow down to better footballers, superior tacticians. It was a game of thrills all through the second spell, with the Britishers for the first twenty minutes going easy, a peculiar trick of theirs. Then came the finale, and Britain triumphed for the reason they -were better served by their three-quarter line. So great was the pace in the second spell that both sets of forwards and backs played haphazard football towards the end. The British Backs. To-day's British team is rumoured to be their next Test side. If that is the case, then on to-day's showing they are in a bad plight. Spong, in spite of the fact that he .was worried by the fleeting Maori wing-forward, Bell, was not a success as scrum-half. Consequently the whole British attack was thrown out of gear. It was left to Bowcott to do the scheming, which he did with his usual skill. But he is more impressive as inside-centre rather than as fly-half. Nevertheless Bowcott's work to-day was outstanding. Jones-Davies outside him was alternately brilliant and mediocre. Aarvold was far from his usual form. Spong and Bassett were the men among the English backs on whom most of the heavy work fell. Bassett was splendid, and Spong's anticipation helped his gide out of njany a difficulty. Prentice was done long before the game was over, and three-quarter way through was merely a passenger. Bell and Wanoa. Great credit goes to the. Maoris. They attempted to play the Britishers at their own game, and they failed.lt was combination that let them down. They could not get the happy knack of collaborating. Their individual effort was eplendid.'Bell, the wing-forward, w«,s their shining light, was a real will-o'-the-wisp, / ,ever an annoyance to the British-backs. Wanoa was the other outstanding forward. His play was only' superseded by that of Beamish, who is regarded as one of the greatest forwards New Zealand has ever seen. No All Blacks. Robinson, at second five-eighths for the Maoris, was the stumbling-block of their attack. He kicked too often, and always at the wrong time. Ruru and Watson were two vivacious wings. Nepia had an off day with his boot, and he was shopelessly out of position when Novis scored one of his tries. - If the selectors were looking to the Maoris to strengthen the New Zealand tieam they must have been sadly disappointed. There was no real All Black among them.