New Zealand has lost only one Rugby test to France

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31730, 13 July 1968, Page 11

New Zealand has lost only one Rugby test to France

rpEN tries being scored in a test match, with the forwards taking turns at kicking for goal . . . these were the extravagances in which the All Blacks indulged in their first meeting with the French on New Year’s Day, 1906. France has made great strides in the Rugby world since that historic first match between the two countries; in the last 10 years it has achieved a considerable reputation at International level. New Zealand has an outstanding record of 29 wins, two losses and two draws in test Rugby since the last French tour of the Dominion in 1961, but it is unlikely that today’s All Black team will be given the same latitude as its predecessor of 62 years ago. France and New Zealand have been only occasional rivals on the Rugby field. The All Black touring sides of 1905, 1924, 1953, 1963 and 1967 each played a test on French soil, but this opportunity was denied J. E. Manchester’s 1935 team, as its tour fell within the eightyear period of estrangement between the Home Unions and France. It took the 1961 tour of the Dominion to bring the boldness and excitement of French Rugby home to New Zealand followers of the game. It was a tour studded with spectacle and incident, and although France lost the series, 3-0, its influence was felt in New Zealand Rugby in subsequent seasons.

France and New Zealand have played eight test matches, with the All Blacks winning on seven occasions.

France’s sole victory was against R. C. Stuart’s side at Paris in 1954. W. J. Wallace and H. L. Abbott, two of the three surviving members of the 190506 team, played prominent roles in New Zealand’s first test win against France. In spite of persistent drizzle, the All Blacks gave a dashing display. The French tackling was solid and the players chased the ball enthusiastically but the All Blacks, polished and confident in their play at the end of a highly successful tour, were not to be denied. Wallace scored three tries and converted two while Abbott scored two tries and converted one. Nine of the 10 tries were scored by the backs, and New Zealand won, 38-8, one of its biggest winning margins in tests. The All Blacks of 1924-25 ended their unbeaten tour with a 30-6 win against France at Toulouse—in a match played on a Sunday. Before a tremendously enthusiastic crowd, New Zealand gave ample evidence of the polish the tour had put on its play. The side scored six fine tries, with A. White and A. E. Cooke gaining two each. But France was not daunted in the face of the giants of the day—Nepia, Nicholls, Steel and the Brownlie brothers. It met attack with attack and the two tries it scored after half-time indicated that France was climbing the Rugby ladder with a firm step.

The All Blacks’ loss to France in 1954 came only three days after a particularly hard match at Bor-

deaux. But the chief reason for France’s win was its devastating tackling and its strict adherance to a soundly devised defensive pattern New Zealand’s moves were all turned back, and a try by the noted French forward, J Prat, was the only score of the match.

Ten years later, W. J Whineray’s side put New Zealand back on top in a match which was notable foi the fact that D. B. Clarke did not score a point. C. R Laidlaw, New Zealand’s halfback today, played his first test that day, and his dropped goal helped the All Blacks win, 12-3. Last year’s All Black victory in Paris was acclaimed as one of the finest test match performances by a New Zealand touring team abroad. It was a game full of feats of skill and daring, as well as some ruggedness, with New Zealand’s fine forward play laying the foundation for a 21-15 win. The All Blacks, 10 of whom are playing today, scored four tries to France's one. The three tests of the 1961 tour are certain to live long in the memory. The series exploded into action at Auckland with D. W. McKay’s try for New Zealand in the first minute of the first test. Then P. Albaladejo put France in front with two dropped goals, but New Zealand stormed back in the second half to win, 13-6.

The contrast in the weather for the second and third tests could not have been more marked. At Wellington the teams battled a 70-mile-an-hour gale, and the Frenchmen could only shake their heads in wonder as D. B. Clarke defied the elements to kick a goal from the sideline after K. R. Tremain had plucked the ball from the boot of C. Lacaze to score New Zealand’s try. The remarkable kick gave New Zealand a 5-3 win and sealed the fate of the rubber. For the final test in Christchurch the weather was brilliantly fine and the turf firm—conditions made to order for the French. Bui after the great passing movement by New Zealand which yielded a try to D. J Graham in the early stages the All Blacks swept ahead

majestically to win by the incredible margin of 32 to 3. Clarke, in grand form, scored 17 points with his goal-kicking, and there were five tries, four by the forwards.

France was able to lift its head proudly after L. Mias’s side had won the 1958 rubber against South Africa on South African soil—something the All Blacks have yet to accomplish. In a return visit last year the Tricolours were heavily beaten in the first two tests but recovered their elan to win the . third test and draw the fourth.

Since then they have won the Five Nations championship for the first time and they enter today’s test with a fine reputation. But New Zealand’s record lies like a dark shadow across their path. Since Rugby resumed after World War 11, New Zealand has won 75 per cent of its test matches, the last 12 in succession. The All Blacks’ last defeat in an international was at the hands of South Africa at Lancaster Park in 1965. Perhaps the French team will take that as a omen.