HIGH PRAISE FOR HART AND OLIVER

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21648, 5 December 1935, Page 16

HIGH PRAISE FOR HART AND OLIVER

First Game at Twickenham Disappointing ' ' r ßy E N GREATOREX. Special Correspondent of "The Press with the. Aft 1 J Blacks.] (By Air Mail.)

LONDON, November 3. i Yesterday the All Blacks made their | first appearance at Twickenham, and defeated London Counties by 11 points I to 0. On paper, that score —three tries, one converted—looks convincing, but there was little honour or glory in the victory. It was a dull, scrappy game, and the All Blacks aroused little enthusiasm among the 25,000 spectators, who, having read and heard of the tourists' great performances on their second visit to Wales, went out to Twickenham expecting to see some good Rugby. They did see one or two pretty things, but the best were the individual productions of the counties' players. The All Blacks' game, in the main, was purely mechanical and orthodox, and that lassitude so noticeable in some of the earlier games was seen once again. The display yesterday was all the more disappointing as the condition? called for bright and entertaining play. The Twickenham ground nas seldom looked better than it does just at present. The grass is perfect, and the playing area had a smooth and even appearance more like a billiard cloth than a Rugby field. The grass was a little wet, but not sufficiently so to make the ball greasy. And if the All Blacks could play so brilliantly at Newport and Cardiff and handle so well when the grounds were soaked and muddy, why could they not do so against London Counties? I cannot supply the answer, although I have an idea that some of the men might have been a little overawed by the occasion. Few teams play well on their first appearance at that famous ground. There is something about Twickenham' that makes newcomers nervous. It is said, too, that the springy turf upsets those who do not know it. E. H. D. Sewell says in the "Sunday Graphic" this morning that the All Blacks were lucky winners, and that "on their form against London Counties they would not have seen the way the weakest of the national fifteens of last season went." That is harsh criticism, and, though I do not think the All Blacks were as lucky as Mr Sewell's makes out, they cannot be praised for their football. Remember they were playing against a side that, though it included seven internationals and a number of men who will almost certainly play against them in the Internationals, was a scratch fifteen, and that there was little understanding between the players. And remember also that for most of the game the All Blacks were playing against 14 men, with the backs reshuffled, and a forward, who was doing great work in the pack up to the time that P. L. Candler, the standoff half, went off the field, playing on the wing. When they lost Candler the counties lost one of their best players. He did great work in the first half, smashing up the All Blacks' attacks with his swift tackling and placing his side in attacking positions with powerful and true line kicks. Variation of Opinion

does not anticipate tackles. Candle? received his injury when he went foj? Hart at a moment the winger -was striding for the line. Brown never reached any great heights, but he tiiei all the time. Mitchell defended well, and he was one of the few All Blacfcs who made any really penetrating runs; He is a hard man to pull down, an<J he has developed a side-step that perplexes his opponents. Caughey hag. another lapse, and some of his attempt to find the line were extremely weak. At times he tackled well; at othct times he was well beaten by Hudson and Dick. SADLER-GILBERT VICTOR^ LONDON, November 8. ' . After one of the most determine# struggles and thrilling games of th# 16 so far played on the tour, the All Blacks yesterday succeeded in beatiiDg Oxford University at Iffley road ground by 10 points to 9. There has been more spectaculat football—at Cardiff for instance—ba|" not in any other match has the inteni est of the spectators been held Tsitjfc the same intensity from the first blajjl of the referee's whistle to the end. It was uncomfortable for those loobtl ing on at Iffley road. Steady rain ft® practically all the time the match wag) in progress, and it was bitterly j One imagines, however, that few rejft, i gretted getting wet and chilled. Th** ! football was so good that the onlooker* I probably forgot about the weather. Ifc was the third time that the All have managed to win by a single posoO | but, whereas in the other two garae*t| the New Zealanders were somewbft.i fortunate to avoid defeat, yesterdinj they deserved a victory if only far to| reason that they never gave in. When Oxford University as a result of Prince Obolensky's great try and, , Brett's goal, had a lead of four points-*' - the score was then 9 to s—it looked aj|-' over, for the University backs wef® playing such a good defensive gajab and the tackling was so sure that ft seemed that the New Zealand threequarters would find it impossible foCpierce the defence. Oliver. Ball and Mitchell tried all their but every time danger threatened aft Oxford man would be on the spot . get his man, ball and aIL j JP 1 ,1 And Oxford would have surely had it not been for two of the ABhBlacks—Sadler and Gilbert Wlifc. about 15 minutes to go, the All Blacks forwards, by magnificent dribbling rushes, carried play to the Oxford I line, and there followed a series at scrums. Sadler, a brainy half if ever there was one, knew that sametbiag had to be done and done quickly. Hi realised that the Oxford tackling wS|. so good that there was little chance flf a try coming to New Zealand as that result of an orthodox back-line move* ■ ment. So Sadler decided to do thing^; on his own. Not once, not twice. bo(-\ seven times he went round the bl ad side with the ball Six times he v.»\ securely held. It was enough to courage any man, but Sadler, who the courage of his convictions, de<uJ«s to try it once again. It needed courag#, for had the All Blacks lost, Sa r ' ft might have been criticised for ll play. The seventh time the little ■ got there. He was tEckled a* .rtt reached the line, but he leaped in toe air, and the impetus of that leap car-: ried him over. Then it was Gilbert's turn. To con* n vert the try did not seem possible. H*(f| ball was wet and heavy; the full-bad; : was kicking from a muddy spot a yard in from the side-line, and as he stopped to place the ball in positics New Zealanders were probably think* ' ing of all the easy goals Gilbert har missed on tour. But Gilbert did it; a. really magnificent goaL The West Coast man has already won three matches for the All Blacks. H£f penalty goal won for them South of Scotland; a converted ®o®l i brought victory at Glasgow acmfTIII Edinburgh and Glasgow, and yesterday | J he performed the "hat trick." You cant : forgive Gilbert for a lot when he X* , capable of doing things like that Yesterday's match was not a game for individuals, though there were three men on the field who stood out First of all there was C. F. Grieve, Oxford's standoff half, "Joey" Sadler, and Jan McShane, the Australian, who played behind the scrum for Oxford.

In writing about these All Blacks one often finds cause to regret things previously written. For instance, I said after the Newport game that th? side had shown that Oliver was not indispensable. I am not so sure about that now. With Oliver out the New Zealanders once again looked like a leaderless legion in the backs. And I said that Tindill and Corner had come back into the picture. Yesterday they faded out of it again. Tindill was not a failure by any means, but he made too many mistakes in defence to enable anyone to say that he played a good game. Corner, too, made unaccountable mistakes behind the scrum. Often he let the ball dribble through his legs, and he was so slow on occasions in picking up the ball it had been heeled that the opposing forwards had time to smash their way through and go on with the ball at toe. In between times, however, Corner did some heroic and spectacular things. He infused a lot of life into his play towards the finish, and pierced the defence with some smart runs around the scrum before sending the ball back to his forwards. Solomon was neither good or bad as full-back. As usual he began poorly, showing bad timing in receiving punts, and often waiting for the ball to bounce. Later on, however, he improved 100 per cent., and he amazed the onlookers with his grand line kicking. He "brought the house down" when he charged at an advancing horde of forwards, snatched the ball from their toes, and raced down the middle to set his three-quarters in action. Solomon, for all the mistakes he makes, has it in him, but I doub* very much, unless it be through injuries to other backs, whether, he will get many more chances on this tour. He may have to wait another season to reach the top rung. Hart a Great Winger I take my hat off to Hart. The Canterbury winger is a great footballer. He is one whose play is never affected by the poor form of others in the side. Yesterday Hart was in great fettle, and the way he .shook off H. L. V. Faviell, an English international trial player, and, incidentally, a splendid player, was one of the highlights of the match. Hart, when he knows he has a chance, just fixes his eyes on the line, and goes straight for it. He

Sadler a Good Half

Sadler showed that even when he i» hard pressed he can overcome difficult* ties and there were occasions when ne surpfised even his greatest admira* by the way he got the ball out when surrounded by Oxford forwards. Sadler did not let anything upset him, and I if he made mistakes he was quick to remedy them. I He had a worthy opponent in MC" Shane. The Australian is not as stilted and orthodox in his play as the averag# British half-back. In one respect flu# difference was particularly noticeable. Most scrum halves over here are cos* tent to throw the ball out without looting for their partner. They expect th® i man outside them to gather in amy j sort of pass. Not so McShane. There j was direction in all his passes, and !• j was not afraid to be dumped if h# saw that it was useless passing. Play* ers in Great Britain can learn a Sol from New Zealand and Australia whco it comes to half-back players. Of course there are exceptions. Taivats*. of Wales, and Logan, of Scotland, art two that come to mind. '' The All Black forwards, who dirfl very well against Llanelly. Cardiff, and Newport, fell from grace by tbeff poor display against London Counties, where they were pushed by saves men, but yesterday they establishes themselves once more. Never before on the tour have they done so with the ball at toe, and the Oxford eight, as good as they were, found IS impossible to hold up the Dominic forwards when they got together and kicked through in massed formationWhy they have not done more of this sort of thing in other games is a mystery. Good dribbling will be needed in the Lag games to come—partio#* larly against the big Irish forwards, 5f : the match should be played on 8 muddy field. There were no shirkcrt 1 in the All Blacks' pack yesterday, sitii Hadley, who had charge of the fw jj wards, in the absence of Manchester j and, Hore, kept them going all tb# | time. It was just as well that he did f because no risks could be taken wit* 1 the University men. Best, who h* s | not had so manv games, was in gUS# J* form. He did a lot of hard wxwfc i. f n d no fault could be found with hitlliifl tackling. The front row. Pepper. I Hadley, and Lambourn, was good. * I would not like the task of pickMK 11 the three hookers fear the interna- I jt S ' As well as Pepper. HadlCf ? n d Lambourn, Hore and Adkms ai® m the running, and Dalton, who is nave a try out on Saturday, might 6# knocking at the door before the ls & lc £ ed tatPky Scotland. . . McKenzie must be in the runisisC lor the international fifteen. Heft* getting better and better, and he working much harder In the rod#' than he was at the beginning of tftji tour. Vorrath, too, is another cannot be easily passed over. Tb*.; ytago man was right on his g?.me yiH terday, and he showed, the clevertifi#! • u , a m swerving by when he had the balL X'l