THE WORLD OF SPORT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2217, 1 August 1914, Page 12

THE WORLD OF SPORT.

A "weekly record-of sports and other pastimes,

: RUGBY

—* ..-I . ■ . . [Br /Look.l | ; THE ,£ From all tLjvt La? Ren'-wrftten in ' (Sydney; of the first -test' jwiiween. thb All- ! BlafikS and-, tlio it seems . that tho Nfxr the' 'Australian" backsj" and their, for-wards-beat ours.- are given Iho,' credit for. Now' Ze'alaiiclfs victory. : ■TheroTvas at gamo.^ only &?tesfi- : maishiiri orica"af hoiqe *(1013), says; the "Herald;" and thG£ were out to secure their hundredth wui" in all .matches played since .they •comMnced coming to Australia just 30 years iigo. Tho great rivalry between '•the "two nations alivays provokes a keen .'struggle, buttho'revival'of the Rugby . Union;gamo iii Sydney this season acted.as a further incentive to both teams to give a vigorous and strenuous display. j And a hard match did result. The big impression that the game left is .that '-there's lifo iu the old _code. yejs-r-. f 'tlio76ld liancfs'were agog with excite- : merit'isdthey.'conMed' r tlit' r drs&Tei7" to ?ac|uotlL«r.!.L.^-v /.. -r -r . Points. r . .. ."!tVterei," asks an- ( 'escTiahgo,''did /theSNew Zeahmders-outplay us?" .It answers: "It was-in "fKo finer points of . tho "game where they showed superiority. - E. ,:lioberts ;andvßyan used the touch-jino' with 'deadly' effectiveness j especially when pkying against" the [wind:;' Nine but..of.-ien : teams. possessing'such a syl<aidicLback.diWsion„.\\'ould ,liave attempted tlse haneijng game on Saturday, but heady -tacticians, like; : erts; and .of, biich «a . manoeuvre, m and concentrated - -on fhe line." ■y

Coolness and Opportunity/"' r '.' ; -vAgiin, it. is.Avritteh:. '.'lt-isr the ability /to inrj)art..fiuisli; I .tq ,their,..taoveinente. ■and-to grasp opportunities;.- ,tbat' liae ■ madetheA'cw Zealanders such a vietori-■ : -OUsMmb'iuation.in'every. climel.-sJt was ' again in the first test match . ;of- the present' ssjries, whetffiverppints!: resulted frdm'.their^o.'ne'realomiortimity ,'iii the!wholagame'.' ;When..caUed l upony, ;'■ '■theyisitprsseeni.to.,beab.le,,to.,riso to.Jhe. .'occasion. , They are cooler and-more cpl-f . lect&Bn"thought"dear tiie 'goal-line than -, And'iChiiiiCßSwof,,ecoring poirrtsj.are never allowed to go begging. J ' In stlier_phase9-of-play they .were ma*- '.-.-■ tored .on~Satrrfday, except. that...the,.de-.. .' ■■ fen.^e3ry"tlieir"backs,' although sorely; triedj-proved •equal' to the' demands placed- upon.it-by-the^mßn.y.formidable■ : ;>.uslle3;oi. the Australian^.il_.^ m ._.^^;J Ohihe Una-out. ''■• ''■:■ ' ';-r: ; - , - ' ; :Here is what happened"orr the'.'liner' ' '--.iou't? i'On the line-outs the New . Zeajlauaersiwere enterprising, asithe quick •■ ;thT<Jwi6ut was often ■ responsible for" ground being gained. In this ... . -resnect, they*get right, away; from: the - •.orthodoxj andwhen their position, justi- ; fiedlit',' the, man: forced out threw the- . ,M£H without' Raiting for. iiny.linerout. ;Sup^brt.s-'were\^lways_■handy.;.,,on. the, -. the"Australiaiis never at- ,'. tempted to'gefawdy frdiu'the.stereo- ; 'latein the . : i- game'3Va]lacli,tried. to.;emu.late,the.New. . iZeaknders' ; methods on one occasion." but! wiongly adjudged his position, and ' ; ; >waj£ ijecalled by the flagman." • ........

. How, Played..: .',w.' %' ' :In most'-instanoes, high,-praise is be^ ; v stbwed on -the: individual; members; of :; thef New. Zealand. team.;' Some. samples . ffollqw-:—:,"fiie ..visitors "made... excellent of .'their ono'ienl opportunity, and for this and a short period fol■lαSyliig.it/ looked a .beaten-side'. They ..were on the' defensive during the greater -part ..£!:., the,' game, .and the, forwards outplayed/.; Wilson excelled; him- : ;'selr'j being very-alert; and i speedy; , Hβ ; was;the best o'ftho pack,', while M'Neece and'.'Brtice'showed ujf well in the'loose, and; Irvine, Francis, and .Gain did , an enormous lot of close, hard play.- 'Tho tricky Robertses—halfback and -.centrebeat a few men,. onlj to find a crowd'of tacklers; behind , them.;; Veteran Ryan <again came to the ; r ; oscue--the~p'reviou3 Saturday'in attack, > this, week" in 'defence. .- Ho was every- ; avhere: O'Brien-was thoroughly l tested at full-back, and proved himself aivable •;-playerj/ne'vcr'"m , aHD§[a^iniSta;ke.'"Lyncli' : ■ was; w/eH.jnarke'd,.': and l failed, to ..lepro'du'ce ffis best form."/ Another opinion of'the Black fnll-baclc is :;"O;Brien; liko . (his- vls-a-yis; Dwyer,,'played a faultless"--fiill-back game. His; manipulation-of \the greasy ball was wonderfully, accur- / ' : '■:■£};-„ ,^ Francis's Wonde?fu7 featT™" 1 ; -For- the try which-won'the >match" j 'the' way was paved by W..Francis; the. > Wellington hooker;— The * -"Daily: Tele*; graph" says:—"New Zealand '.won -be-r cause-of their ability .to rise to the oc- . casioii; they,.won because, when -a"- mis?" ■.itakeKas:mja.dej.pne'.of,.the- I f6\y. mistakes j-df a scintil- ': late, had all the glories of forward Uug-i, : .by [about it, the man, was found .in Fjan r . i .cis;wlioso;..genius; for;soiiiiiig:.thq,opporj; iitunity■b'rought^;victory " .' ."■."Taekerf.majla.; i .,.the..'-mis£ake,v;. - : a^d-, , ; thoush- it'epsi; Australia ,iU* gamej Taskerl did so. many .fine tlisjige yL,defenco aiid. attack that ho may whole-heartedly •be; forgiven. It was a -.treacherous ■. ground, and the ball was;.greS&yr;-£"m.alL I wonder that a faist-moving~mali~should 'hesjtate as to. whether he. khould ': the" leather up or kick it. •■ Tasker, with a ( clearing,,wliich ; in that close game, looked like"a 1 jfen-acre paddock, elected to'speculate. ";Ho'kicked .the ball weak-ly^andPrancre-blocked it.. In a twinkling the\New Zealand forward was driv- ,| ing the ball like a'huVricahe-propelled I leaf before . Mm, ba.t'ting''iffrom side to .'eidp 'alternately with ~nis - feet, picking out a track for it with M'Neece. thun- ■ ■defuig--in-hi"s^vakb,-Un* , "i('itM" , tH'e*'"fe"sT of ■'the'-pack'following" holter-akelter."' .The effort used 'Francis up, but M'Neece was full of fire, and he shot down ..on ; iho ball-as tho final' kick sent it across the liiier-It- was-a-grand -try, and on ■ the part of Francis, who travelled halt ■- the' I6ngth of tho field, ono of the finest exhibitions_ of short, fast dribbling thau .has boon displayed. Graham's goal was a'fit'cnding to tho effort,' _'';.•,,_.;..,,• Byarr and the Two Robertses. ■.The • "Telegraph" speaks of some of th 6 Now'Zqaland;pla;yerV in the follow-irig;terms-:—•"The'inanner-in which Ryan 1 fiadlocl tWbair away frpm-'ourfofwards ■ was at...fiffles.'amaiing,"PKya'n"'dhfended. asf only'a" mail" versed'"in 'a complbte knowledge"of : the->ganVe•coiild."Always; he-preceded his line kick with a fooling moyeS th'at.,gave( him! plenty 'of fdom'to opcrato in?- Othor3, Teddy and- DickRoberts,''and -Lynch, -noticeably;..-.did thaiivwdrk-ieai-lossly in'.'the'-'■"tfeiJlh''.of chjrges.' . Dnt' Ryn.l was,the finished wet 'weather defence artist, rivalled-only--by- olir own. Kerry 7 'D»\v6r.'...ah<l by O'Brfen,.-w.lib Jutndled ,an'd"found the 'linji jis only: the greatest-players can. Tpddy Roberts did not get-many opportunities to'-display hiii-liali'-bsick trizard- '; TJ-γ What.ie.got to. do lie- did'.With immjjeujate neatness and at express speed, and jvith- occasional Jlashes-^of- genius, but,■»generally.ispeaking,,-"his. forwards wriroT, overmatched in the. scrum work. '■■ A 4. tt> tho forwards,-•distinctions must '.' boj drawn/with care. But Wilson, on :,:the ;Now'Zealand-.Bide,-eariiS"the. right ; because, of .his ,fa-

oility for bobbing up in unexpected places at the critical moment." "Offside Mac's" Review^ Among those who followed the game with, close interest was Mr. W. M'Ken"zie,V,tho: .famous Now , Zealand wing-, toward of years gone by. Mr: M'Ken--zie':says that Australia might have won hacj>tli© Blue .three-quarters shewn, the. reqiu'site resourcefulness and-skill-in handling the , leather when chances of offered to them. -In this i-e. spepi -their .efforts''.-; appeared to- bo c;iide'.;eompared..with'those of the Black tables'/land the- particular weakness appeared, to.be- the ill-directed , passing.-wa;s-:-.sometimes lobbed about ian.vhSw:,: oyeA'iin the- Australian twenty:fivivrr:r,•:.?-;' - •. " : .

Our Shipper's Fine Defence. Several.tributes have been paid to the great defensive game played by R. Roberts, tho New Zealand captain. "Offside' Mac" observes: "Had they been allowed, there is no doubt thai the New Zealand, three-quarters; would have'attempted'to play a back game, but the close attention which Baker and Thompson paid to E. Roberts, and the deadly tackling of Flynn, Francis, a,nd Tasker spoilt the scheme almost m its and one had .an opportunity. oT T lu'dging , '* T l{u Roberts, Lynch, and ' Taylor'"mainly as defensive 1 units.. Rr Roberts .appeared to (fill the bill'best; , .because "although Lynch's touch-line punts were v quite a feature of the match, he-ysgemed to .lack a' certain amoTint-ofAifeision. ; With his weight,■ bufld, and speed, Lynch ought to be the ' best- i ?tlifee-quarter '/■ back ■in Aus-■tralasiaj'-huWii seems that he is'hardly •maturcd"»'«i\t)ugh to carry, the reputation;,.. Taylor; who had .shown himself such a demon on attack (he scored six tries against Western : Districts)' w&s not.up,tp.the,-mark as-,a defensive three- , quarter.;. Jflp; tackled all right, but .bh',one "occasion-he committed the \m"pardonable" offence of "speculating" instead of going down, and some of his other efforts were of 'tho milk and watery. kind<- On the other hand, R.. Roberts';gav4 a good all-roundi perforplayed an excellent defensive'game'in kicking and tackling, and in'fact in genera] .'a'll-roiind work, and it was small wonder-that in the circum.stances .the Petone skipper was the most" lthoclre'd about,.of all-the .New Zealand Tiacke. . ■ -. . :