ALL BLACKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 216, 12 September 1935, Page 8

ALL BLACKS.

PANAMA VOYAGE.

SHIPBOARD TRAINING.

SCRUM MACHINE PRACTICE

PLAYERS PUT ON "WEIGHT

(By tho "Shir's" Special Correspondent

with the All Blacks.)

PANAMA, August 18

After the shouting and the tumult on the 'Wellington wharf had died on the morning of July. 31 the members of I lie 1035 All Blacks settled down on the Rangitiki to contemplate and to realise that they were sailing away on the trip of a lifetime. Tho great tour had

started,

There had been a continuous round of farewell functions tendered individually and collectively, and the boys seemed glad to be able to relax after the hectic rush of the last few days in New Zealand. For the first three days the boys took matters quietly in an effort to find their sea legs, and in those iirst three days new friendships, which will probably last a lifetime, were formed.

Fortunately for those All Blacks, who are not good sailors —and there are several among the team —the first three days brought perfect weather, and the Rasgitiki steamed through a calm blue eea.

Wliile the team rested, tlio manager, Mr. V. R. Meredith, and the captain, J. E. Manchester (Canterbury) supervised the erection of the scrum machine, which was screwed into position on one' of the decks by the ship's carpenter. Mr. Meredith had fitted to the machine a gauge which registers accurately where the weight is coming from and which tells which , members of a scrum are not using their weight. It is ateo useful in determining which scrum gives the most and effective weight. Training Starts.

Three- days were considered to be a reasonable time to give the team an opportunity to accustom themselves to shipboard life, and on the fourth day training started in earnest. The first morning was devoted to physical jerks under the direction of J. R. Page, the Wellington five-eighth, who is an officer of the New Zealand Defence Department. Light practice followed, with the forwards pacKing scrums and the backs practising passing. Next day physical exercises were increased, but it was decided that the group of 29 was too big, and the forwards and backs were separated, Page directing the forwards and C. J. Oliver, vice : captain and Canterbury five-eighth' instructing the backs. Physical jerks were carried out for over half an hour. When this type of training was completed Manchester took the- forwards for scrum practice. Different formations were packed down, against the scrum machine, arid this was followed by lineout practice and general handling. J. Hore%(Otag6) and W. E. Hadley (Auckland) gave the younger members of the front xo\v instruction in the art of hook- "*£• • ... - .. ■

/While the forwards packed scrums the bad|s, coached by Oliver,,.pontentriited on,hansJing and speed. They stood in a circle, snap-passing the ball from one to the other, cultivating the short, sharp pass with:the wrists and carefully avoiding the long lob pass with the full swing of the arms., Training operations usuallv finished ahout 11.30. As the days went hy the team became almost, perfect in -physical exercises, and although some of them ;were obviously putting on weight they were nevertheless very fit. Plans and tactics are carefully studied by the members of the team, who gather in their leisure hours in small groups and discuss football problems for hours at a time. Their one conversation when they get together among themselves is Rugby. There is the inevitable friendly badinage among forwards and backs, the forwards contending that they are the backbone of the team and the backs stoutly maintaining that they are the match-winners, that they score the tries that lead to victory. It is all done in the good-humoured way that footballers have. . The 1935 All Blacks are an exceedingly happy family.

Plenty of Swimming. A week out from Wellington a swimming bath was erected on the. sttri; deck and after'training in the mornings the pool is thick with All Blacks. During the. day the players usually wear, football shorts and a light shirt to play thfe various deck gameSi- They dress for dinner each evening. There ar6 few passengers on board and no dance has so far been held in the first class because of the shortage of partners, r- Passengers in \the tourist and third class have had one or two dances which severaT members of the team have attended. Community singing has been popular with the team, the ship's orchestra playing all the latest hits. The Richard Taubers of the team have turned out to be-D; Dalton, the Hawke's Bay front row forward, and. D. Solomon, the Auckland five-eighth, both of whom have fine voices, s There are others who' do. their best —Tory Reid (Ha,wke's Bay), the only; Maori in the team, winces when he hears them. ! . : .. . .-.'■■

•All members of the team are. keen on deck games> and much deck tennis, croquet and quoits are played. Competitions arranged--early on the trip are now reaching the final stages, but the various contests, are still very open. , The only member of the team who has shown outstanding, ability in any particular game is E. W. Tindill, the Wellington fiveeighth and waeJc cricketer. He is a brilliant table tennis player..

North r. South Cricket. One of the most enjoyable and entertaining games of the trip so far was the North v. South cricket match, which was wen by the South by 1C runs. Tindill captained the North and scored the possible 21 runs not out. Oliver captained the South Island and aho scored the possible. He brought off t're sensation of the match by doing the "hat trick." It was obvious that some of the All Blacks have little knowledge of a-ieket. North made Go, the main icorers being Tindill, H. F. McLean, the Auckland side-row forward, and A. Mahoney, the Bush Union back-ranker. South put on 81 runs, the chief scorers being Oliver and G. Gilbert, the West Coast full-back.

As I write we are nearing Panan.a and the members of the team are looking forward to seeing the great canal. No boats have been sighted since v. e left New Zealand, and the only land seen was Dueie Island, an atoll about a mile long situated about 200 miles southeast of Piteairn. The Rangitiki passed within about three miles of the islard and the Fight of this tiny piece of land was the only item of interest not connected with the ship since V'e left New Zealand.

Card Experts. Several card evenings have been held, both euchre and bridge being played. Oliver won a euchre tournament, while R. M. McKenzie (Manawatu) was second m another. Three Aucklanders, 'J , H C. Caughey, W. E. Hadley and H. M Brown distinguished themselves by winning a nag bridge evening. In the course ot these evenings there has been plenty of humour, with Hadley the chief comedian of the party.

A great personal interest in all members of the team is tnken by the manager /Mr. Meredith, who is'often seen holding long discussions with different players. He also supervises all training operations.

Creat interest is taken each day on tho "tote" on the day's run of 'the ship. and different members of the team have won the sweep. A race meeting was held i]i the tourist class one evening, and there was'.great excitement and amusement as the 411 Blacks backed their favourites. A good deal of reading and writing is being done by the boys, most of whom are keeping day-by-clay diaries. On most afternoons a row of All Blacks can be seen in deck chairs sleeping—and snoring.

No haka has yet been practised, but it is presumed that Tory Reid will shortly school the team and lead the war cries when the All Blacks arrive in England. A song for the team is being composed by the ship's pianist, and the players are eagerly awaiting his effort.

Father Neptune and his party paid a visit, and the usual rites were observed. A treasure hunt was held the same day, the trail leading all over, the upper decks. Manchester and Oliver were the winners.

The tall Waikato forward, G. Wynyard, celebrated his 21st birthday on August 17, and the team presented him with a cigarette case. The ship's cook baked a special birthday cake. The All Blacks had a party that night, each member of the team making a speech and then singing a song—a quaint old Maori custom.