ALL BLACKS WIN.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17224, 15 August 1921, Page 7

ALL BLACKS WIN.

. « SPRINGBOKS BEATEN BY 8 POINTS. \ DISAPPOINTING DISPLAY BY NEW ZEALANDERS. (FHOM OUR SPECIAL BEPOnTER.) DUNEDIN, August 13. The first big push in a miniature world war camo off in Dunedin this afternoon, and the youngest Dominion emerged victorious. In its way, the meeting of South Africa and New Zealand on the football field does decide the football championshio. of the world, for at present the two countries are undoubtedly the world's Rugby strongholds. Dunedin during the week-end was football mad. Every train brought in crowds from all parts of New Zealand, every hotel and boarding-house waß crowded, and there was only one topic of conversation. Hours before the gamo commenced, there was an unending human stream towards the Carisbrook ground, and when play started there was a crowd of about 25,000 people, with several thousands more getting a free view from the overlooking hill. Heavy rain fell on Friday, and Saturday morning broke threateningly, but the sun came out about 11 o'clock and dried the ground considerably, with the result that t'hough heavy it was dry for the match, which was played with a perfectly dry ball. New Zealanders Disappointing. New Zealand won by eight paints, but they were certainly not eight points better than the Springboks. As an exhibition of bright, open football the game waif disappointing, and the showing of the All Blacks more disappointing ■still. In fact, until the last quarter of an hour it was difficult to realise that they were really a New Zealand representative team. Their defence was extremely sound, but their attack was just as poor, and a few changes in the rear division would greatly strengthen .the .chances of victory in the second test next Saturday week. The forwards stood up to tiheir gruelling task well, but even they did not play with their accustomed dash. The big South African forwards mado the game very tight, and their weight, with tho extra man- in the pack, was . very noticeable in some of tie scrums. As far as hooking went the honours were about even, while in the* loose work there was not much to choose between the two packs. It was the backs, however, who disappointed the New Zealand supporters. They showed a ead lack of cohesion, and hardly once was there one ot those clean passing rushes where the ball travels right across the line, nor were there more than flashes of heady cut-ting-in play which serves to relieve the monotony of the stereotyped passing rush. The passing, for the most part, 'was wild, and either bad in ! direction, too high, or too low. The two Nicholls and Aitken were the worst offenders in this respect. On defence, the backs were very sound, and, on, the whole, kept their places well, but combination in attack was badly needed. The Visitors Unlucky. The game, though hard, and though there were frequent minor injuries. wa6 a ciean one throughout. The South Africans had all the bad luck that was going. As a matter of fact, they played better football than New Zealand until the last 20 minutes or so, and their backs certainly used their brains to more advantage. Much has been heard of how they play merely the orthodox game, but they absolutely disproved that, and most of the tricky movements of the day were executed by them; At the end of the first Boell they were 6 points ahead, and they were just about that much better than New Zealand. At the beginning of the se end spell, New Zealand equalised the scores with a try that has been the topic of conversation ever since, #hd about nine men out of ten agreed that New Zealand were lucky to have a try awarded, instead of a force down. From the stand it certainly looked as though Meyer got there-before Bellis, and had there not been the more tries, few people would have felt satisfied with the result. The second try,, however, was just &■$ brilliant as the other was lucky. Steele picked up in the most astonishing manner, and simply left the South Africans standing. It was a truly # sensational score, and the enthusiasm with which the spectators received it was unprecedented, even for an excited* football crowd. The third try was the. result of one of the few decent pieces of combined play of the day. The South Africans put up a very plucky fight with the elements of luck against them. Time after time they swarmed down on the New Zealand line, and a score looked certain, but each time they failed to put the finishing touch on their efforts. Everyone expected New Zealand to win, and one cannot help feeling that the visitors have been a little underrated. They are a team which will take a Ibt of beating in the other two testa, and there is every chance of their winning if New Zealand does not imnrove on to-day's display.. Form of the New Zealanders. ,' Coming to the players, Kingston was very safe at full-back, tackung, fielding ana kicking well and standing many hard, bumps into the bargain. Steele was the hero of the match. His defence and kicking were first-class, and he got his side out of more than one tight corner. On attack he dropped several passes, but that was owing chiefly to their badness, and the try he scored wiped out any mistakes he might have made. His speed astounded the crowd, and he saved a certain try just before the finish by overtaking the crack sprinter Henry Morkel, and bringing him down when there was nobody to stop him. .Steele's defensive work was particularly gratifying in view of the many uncomplimentary remarks passed upon it alter the Inter-Island match. Storey was •disappointing. He tackled well early in the game, but injured his shoulder and was not much, use afterwards though he scored quite a good try. Aitken was very erractic at centre, at times playing brilliantly and at others execrably. His fast following up was the best part of his play, but at times his passing must have had a demoralising effect on' his wings. Badeley was the better of the five-eighths, but the solid tackling of the Springboks prevented his making those quick he*dy openings which usually distinguished lub play. On defence he was frequently the right man in the right place. The 'Nicholls Brothers cannot be described as a success. H. F. Nicholls at fiveeighths did not strike form until near, tho end of the game, that is in attack, while his brother behind the pack was nowhere near the "Teddy" Roberts class. He certainly got a bad time from the big South 'African forwards who broke through the scrum, and were down on him in a twinkling, but at other times the ball coming out of his scrum beat him altogether, wftile his

passing was not whnt should be expected of an All Black half. The forwards wero a hard-working lot. Donald, at wing, was perhaps the best forward on the ground." He was always on the ball, always to.the fore in the loose work, and he did an immense amount ot spoiling, in addition to tackling well, and feeding Ws backs from all sorts of positions. ißellis was hurt early in the match, but he etuck to Ins task gamely and was always prominent. Hughes was hurt at the very start, and was more or less dazed for the remainder of the game. Fogartv, of Taranaki, plaved in place of McLean, whose injured knee prevented his playing, and he put in a great deal of hard work, being particularly prominent in defence. Duncan, as usual, played a tiard game in the front row, and did his fair share of the heavy work, while Moffitt, tho lock, was good throughout, particularly In the iine-out. Whyte and Richardson were very solid, it not so spectacular as usual, for the defence of the Africans did not give many openings .for spectacular work. The Showing of the Springboks. Amongst tihe Springboks, G. P. Morkel n<rain demonstrated what a fine full-back he is. Cool and accurate, he did not make a mistake right through the game. Van Heerden did a lot or spectacular work on the wing, but, though tricky, he is not the solid player that some of his companions are, Meyer and Clarkson got through a lot <>r heavy work. Henry Morkel was not often called upon. Michau and Townsend, tho halves, worked like Trojans all through, and used their heads, which wns more than some of tihe New Zealand backs did. All the forwards grafted hard right through the game, and they deserve every credit for the way thoy stuck to their task. On attack "or defence they were a tough proposition, and, as a matter of fact, they very nearly ran the New Zealand pack to a standstill. The South Africans had their .strongest team in the hold, and they had the advantage in the weights, their forwards averaging nearly 14st ljlb, as against New Zealand's 13st 101b, and their backs' 12st 4slb, against nearly list 91b. I The Teams. |jj . Following wero the teams: — SOUTH AFRICANS. j Full-back: G.- P. Morkel 02st 101b). Three-quarters: A. van Heerden (13sb 31b), C. du P. Meyer (12st 71b), W. A. Clarkson (list 71bj, Henry Morkel (I2sb 121b). Halves: J. P. Michau (12st 21b), W. Townsend (list 41b). Forwards: W. H. Morkel (captain) (14 B t), P. J. Mostert (ISst 12ib), T. Kruger U4sl 41b), F. W. Mellidh (13st 121b), H. Scholta (13st 31b), Harry Morkel (ISst), A. P. Walker (13st 81b), J. M. Michau <l7st). NEW ZEALAND. Full-back: O. N. Kingston (list). Three-quarters: P. W. Storey (12st 121b), G. G. Aitken (captain) (12it), J. Steele (i.3st 10ib). Five-eighths: C. Badeley (lOst 71b), M. F. Nicholls (list 4ib). Hulf-back: H. E. Nicholls (lOst). Forwards: J. G t Donald, wing (13et 71b), J. Moffitt-(lost 31b), A. White (13st), A. E. Hughes (12sf 81b), E. A. Bellis (14st 81b), J. Richardson (14st 7ib>, 11. Fogarty a3st 31b), W. Duncan (18st21b). ■• Mr E. MoKenaie, of Wairarapa, was referee. THE PLAY. New Zealand lost the toss, and, amidst loud cheers, set the game going against tho sun, and right at the start Hughes wa'a struck heavily in the face with the ball, and was temporarily knocked out. The first scrum ensued at the centre, and the Springboks' weight shoved the All Blacks back several yards. A free kick to the visitors saw them nith the advantage well inside the New Zealand half, but Badeley came to tho rescue, and then from a scrum Nicholls got the ball away nicely. Aitken fooled Clarkson, «nd transferred to Storey, whose kick was well followed up by Aitken, and the ball went out at the South Africans'. 25. Judicious kicking by the visitors' backs, and a penalty, - transferred just as quickly to the other end, where Steele had his side in troubiejr but the forwards, led by Donald, came through with a splendid loose rush, which Aitken topped off with a clever pick-up and a line-Kick, and play was back at the centre. Already tfiere was every indication of a fast, hard game. The Springboks were doing most of the attacking, and at last the ball came ot|t to van Heerden, and the crowd stood up and took notice. He streaked for the line, and, when held up, found the line at the corner, and in the subsequent line-out New Zealand were penalised, but G. P. Morkel's kicking for once was at ' fault, and the .All Blacks worked their way baok to the centre, van Heerden put in a dodgy run. but solid tackling soon brought his career to an end. Townsend pleased the crowd greatly with a dummy, pass, which resulted in a splendid opening, but Clark•on's pass to van Heerden was wild and the chance was lost. So far the Springboks had had the better of the fame, which fas mostly confined to the lew Zealand twenty-live.. A good mark by H. Nicholls landed play at the centre, and then-from a scrum the same player came prettily round the blind and found touch right at the corner. A scrum followed, but the, ball came out too faat for H. Nicholls, and the All Blacks were forced back to well past the twenty-five. Scholtz came •through with & great rush, and beat even the full-back, but Steele came across the field and saved splendidly, and a moment later the West Coaster again came to the rescue with a kick to past half-way. Tight work, the reverse of gentle, followed near the centre, and then the Springboks 'wore penalised for picking out, and M. F. Nicholls's kick went Just underneath. A miskick by van Heerden saw the New Zealanders within striking di'atanoe, and Moffitt passed out nicely to Badeley,*who selit Storey away. When held up, the South: Canterbury man passed back to t Badeley, who waa thrown out at the corner. From a scrum, Badeley sent a long paas out to Aitken, who gave a wide>. transfer to Steele, and a splendid chance was lost. A great mark by G. P. Morkel nipped a New Zealand rush m the bud, but Badeley and Kingston, by accurate linekicking, again had the All Blacks on the attack, but after an electric run by Steele, van Heerden secured, and sent the New Zealanders back into their own country. 'A battle royal amongst the forwards marked the next couple of minutes, hard tackling by both Bides being the most noticeable feature, and then Donald, who had been prominent all through, broke away to mid-field. However, Badeley was tackled in posse'ssum. and things were looking very bad for the All Blacks when Donald and Bellis came to the rescue. Steele wae loudly cheered for coming round and finding the line well down, and Badeley further improved the position. Tight scrum work followed in the visitors' twenty-five, and then a breach by the visitors in the ecrum work gave M. F. Nicholls another chance, but he failed badly. A pass right across the field to Storey saw van Heerden get to the ball first, and his kick sent play back to half-way. The New Zealand forwards were now playing with great dash, but were meeting with deadly tackling. Frequent penalties to the Springboks 6aw them again attacking hotly, and the strong sun aided them considerably, the defenders having to shade their eyes to watch the ball. A magnificent passing rush by the South Africans saw Henry Morkel tackled right at the corner, but Aitken came through with the ball at his toe right to halfway. A long kick followed up by the speedy" van Heerden looked dangerous, but Kingston wriggled clear in the nick of time. The play was now full of incidemS and the

crowd roared its approval with marked I impartiality. Then came the first score. G. P. Morkel found the line at the ! corner, and then after a couple of : ecrunia infield, Townsend came round on the blind side and passed to van . Heerden, who got past Storey and scor- j ed at the corner amidst much enthusi- i asm, which was renewed when G. P. Morkel kicked a magnificent goal. Halftime sounded immediately afterwards with the scores: South Africa ... 5 New Zealand ... 0 t SECOND SPELL. As was to bo expected, neither side saved any energy in the second spell, and tho spectators were treated to unending thrills. The exchange of kicks after the kick-out resulted in New Zealand being forced, and then Steele with a line kick more than half the length of the field placed New Zealand on the offensive. Bad mulling oy the centre backs, however, spoiled the movement, while wild passing by H. E. Nicholls behind the scrum allowed the Springboks to force their opponents back to their own line, when a fine piece of forward play carried the ball over, and New Zealand forced just in time. The drop out bouncod out right at the i!o, but anothor promising movement ended in Aitkeu dropping a good pass. Steele had a shot from a penalty at halfway, but Morkel's return nullified any advantage. Uninteresting scrum and line work lollowed, relieved by a nice piece of passing by the visitors, and then Aitken followed up a long kick fast and forced G. P. Morkel to run out in his own twenty-five. At last came New Zealand's chance. Donald, from' a scrum, shot the ball out to Badeley, who centred, and with the sun in their eyes, three South Africans missed it and Bel- • lis coming up fast fell on the ball beside the posts. M. F. Nicholls made no mistake with the kick. It was a decidedly iucky try, and no one would have been surprised had a force been awarded. South Africa ••• j> New Zealand ••• 5 The crowd were How in rare good humour A moment later, however, it held its breath when. New Zealand had a lucky escape. A kick found the New Zealand centre backs looking at one another, and J. P. Michau rushed up and was beating the home men for speed when the ball went over the dead ball lino. On resuming, the New Zealand backs got away, but Steele knocked oh a difficult pass when there was a possible chance of. scoring. A couple of pMawr rushes by the Springboks, m both or which Clarkson was prominent, baa New Zealand defending again, but the sioce waß raised in a most unexpected manner. A cross-kick by Badeley W Steele going at top after the ball, which looked as though it were sure to beat him on the bounce, but he took it wonderfully aDove ilia head, and from ten yards inside his own half put in an amazing burst of speed and .left the South Africans standing, running round behind the post. It wns as fine a try as has ever been seen oft the CariabroOk ground, and the crowd yelled itself hoarse for several minutes. M. X. Nicholls had no difficuly in converting. New Zealand ... ••• 10 . South Africa ... - ° The South African, forwards excelled themselves on resuming, but termined efforts were met by just as determined tackling. For five minutes the New Zealanders were penned up ih their own 25, and were eventu .Ms 'forced by a drop from a mark, With the aid of a penalty they worked their way down to the other end, buk.Townsehd wriggled through and got in a nice kick to the centre. However they wero soon back, but lost a splendid chance by wild passing. H. /van Heerden electrified t)ho crowd with one ot! his famous side-stepping runs, beating man after man, but when Kingston got him his pass went out. Fast following-up by Bellis saw G. V. Morkel tackled in possession, and he was penalised for hanging on, with we result that the visitors were forced by the kick. New Zealand continued to press hard, and from a mark by logarty, the South Africans were again forced. Donald came through with a brilliant piece of dribbling, and once again the Springboks were forced, this time without a mome»t to spare. Iney were not given any breathing space, and within a couple of minutes, after two of. three attempts at passing, New Zealand added to their score. H. E. Nicholls worked the blind side, and passed to Aitken, and the latter got to i Within a few yards of the line and then passed to Storey, Who dashed over at the corner. M. F; Nicholls failed | with the kick. : New Zealand m ~. .13 South Africa -... .; © Only a few minutes of play now remained, and the South Africans made the pace Very hard, 'but they were a beaten side, and the All Blacks, after a temporary spell of defending, again set up a hot attack. However, the speedy Henry Mbrkel got away on tfhe wing, but Steele came up behind him, and, beating him for pace, brought him down as the final whistle sounded, the scores still reading— New Zealand ''• ... 13 South Africa ... ;.; 5 There was a scene of great enthusiasm when the game ended. Thousands rushed,the playing area, cheering frantically, and the New Zealanders were carried Bhoulder high from the ground. The Captains' Opinions. "It was a fine, clean game, played in the spirit which one would expect to find in international football," said the South African captain, 'W. H. Morkel, after the match, to a "Press" representative. • "We enjoyed it heartily; Steele's try was a fine opportunist's try, and we all admired it greatly. Personally, I do not think there was a great deal of difference between the teams, and if the ground had been faster, it would have been much better for us. We are not downhearted. There are two more test 3 yet, and we are going to give New Zealand a really good go in both of them." O. G. Aitken, the All Blacks' captain, endorsed the statement that the game.was a fine, clean one. He was, he said, quite satisfied with his team's display, and remarked that the game had proved the superiority of the 2-3-2 Bcrum formation with the wing-for-ward. Donald, he said, came round from nearly every, scrum, and stopped .nearly every effort of Townsend to get his back machinery in order. It proved that the wedge formation was easily the best. W. J. Stead, the New Zealand coach, was quite satisfied with the New Zealanders' showing, and said that from the start they were handicapped by having Storey, Moffitt, and Belhs hart, with the result that they felt the ef-

fects right through the game. Personally, he thought that the South Africans' backs were badly placed, and that they would have done better if Townsend. the scrum half, and J. P. Michau had changed places. The South Africans had made their supreme effort in the first spell, and in the first quarter of an hour of the second. THE RECEIPTS. (fbxss association tklegbax.) DUNEDIN, August 14. Tho receipto for yesterday's test match totalled £2700. The attendance is estimated at 24,000. The takings for the match against Otago on Wednesday were £ISOO. The visitors express dissatisfaction with the referee's ruling; which gave" the New Zealand team their first try. They claim that the ball waa forced down, but the referee was satisfied that Bellis was the first to touch down: j