VICTORY

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 177, 29 July 1938, Page 8

VICTORY

RUGBY TEST. CRITICS' OPINION. "TOURISTS TOO GOOD." TACTICS FOR THE OCCASION. CROWD DID NOTLIKE SAFETY PLAT. (Special to " Star.") SYDNEY, July 2fi. The Rugby critics are now talking about a "desperate situation*' and saying that unless Australia can produce a better team than she did for the first Test on Saturday, she will not be able to win either of the other two. "So decisive was the win." says one critic, "that one cannot visualise the All Blacks being defeated in Australia this tour." And they recognise that the win was earned; that it was "due to superiority in all departments of the game." They agree with the Australian coach, Mr. Wallace, who joid after the match: "A few word* tell the story. The All Blacks were too good." Again the All Blacks confounded the prophecies of all the experts. The newspaper critics generally considered that Australia might just win; Mr. Wallace expressed the opinion that Australia would "thoroughly test the All Blacks in every phase of the game'"; Mr. McDonald wae "not over-optimistic." In the reality the All Blacks crossed Australia's line four times, and never had their own crossed once.

Admittedly the game was not spectacular, like the match against N.S.W 41? at V rd "- v bef °re. for this the All Blacks were not to blame. And no one expected anything else. It w a « obvious, after the N.S.W. match, that Australia's game would be to bottle up those deadly All Black inside backs, and it was just a* obvious that an old hand like Mr. McDonald would be- ready with a counter to this. The expected hapn tte A, J B , ,a(ks *»»» the m »tcn but rh ill* ° f . the Previ ° us S«turdav. and ♦|" *T , Austra,ia really tackled, andl the attacking inside backs were graced one after the other. There was ..oUnng left for the All Blacks to do li"ted of 'h P - h ° ir r Unter ' ~ hi <* «»»- swted of bringmg the attack back to he forward*. There was verv little packs—Australia averaged 14 1 „»,,» +». All Black* 14*-** "KJ was a world* weakness J'l^^^Z^ SSU3T now - the weakness - «,:

What Necessity Demanded. All S^e^UV" 1 " «? the and admitted * eC ° nd win ' nature of 'the mafch was^l^ th? All ? o,ne Bide "Potting had in^/^ 0^11 " foo,Uh the All Blacks il ? *! he,r "W-boolu, finished ,T PtiD - an "-• rasa to AustraSr; *" UUt ' at " e ™ ,d

»X tve°bLn l, se oei0 ei£ S ? n ; tha * "*"*"" darkly, the tZtV £? thr °«?h a glas* Blacks did justwh.t^ ,nS that the A " and thar^y^e d —"ded. throughout th 7 e whole ma cC ag?r —

Touch Kicking Uapopular Blacks* use f of t 'tL a TT- that the A » ahvavs I«.W w-J . S ydney crowds are aiways against kicking into touch an H always ready to show°it. AaTl^

number of ««• 30,000 spectators left the ground before the end of tW match and thereby missed kJIIiW^ mCDt ' ° f Sun cntK said, "ft was football that Must have satisfied those who hoped^foj dispTa^ tion ° f —* aasj

Saxton the Hero. With Bergban, Sullivan and Mitchell bottled up by Australia. Saxton became the hero of the match. He had eviSlv understood thoroughly from Mr "£ Donald what was required of him in the new tactics, and he proved that even i" Rugby weight is not everything and us lust h.ternational match will \ 0 ™ be remembered and spoken of. To appreciate a joke with which the match concluded, it should rem em bered that Mitchell's power of , n S tion in, the match against Xew ffi But it was just in anticipation that I.p was beaten on A" ioo, as the final whistle blew he raced lab" way across the fieJd to intercept a ball boy. But the boy had anticipated his intent.on and had possession of the ball playful tackles could persuade him to •'.* , "P- The spectators, delighted called out to the All Blacks that he couldn't do that there 'ere,' and Mitfmi li S,S %!?J y J ° iT,ed ,n ' S tean,s m *>-ch n om the field.