GREATEST VICTORY OF TOUR

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 259, 2 August 1928, Page 15

GREATEST VICTORY OF TOUR

ALL BLACKS DEFEAT TRANSVAAL THRILLING GAME IN RETURN MATCH JOHNSON’S LIGHTNING DASH Dominion Special Service. (By G. E. Beamish.) Johannesburg, Juno 17. Easily the greatest victory of the tour to date and ouc that has given the All Blacks that essential confidence for the Tests was scored Xesterdav when New Zealand beat the iidnsvaal in the return match by a converted try to nil. The AU Blacks were just unlucky that they did not win by at least another live I’Oiuts. their display in the second half was excellent and convincing. It was a full-blooded battle iu eougenuu sunshine before a crowd of 20,000. It was full tilt for the whole eighty minutes with a succession of thrills, especially in the second spell. . Again the improvement iu the ah Black team was mainly the improvement among the forwards, who provided much sparkle, moving with method and pace. They scrummaged with better effect and showed mote skill and pace in tlie loose, ly in their handling of the ball, lheit was real weight in the scrums, and altogether I bore was better Pachli,,, better team work, and a bettei al rouml display. The backs P 1^1 witlilcontiilence and effect, the stiai»bt running of the inside men playing havoc \vith the Transvaal defence. There was a vast difference in the play of the two Saturdays. Yesterday there was football; hist Sattuday there was none. In the first forty minutes ot tne game honours were even, the line Transvaal pack; led by the .brilliant Dr. Van Druten, Hie versatile Iretorius. and that ttreh-sehemer Kruger, gave the All Blacks equally as much as they took, and at times a bit more. They are a imistev-pack, the Iransvaalers, anil 11 took the New Zealanders al) their time to keep them at bnv But the brilliance of the New Zealand defence kepi <hc citadel safe, henfine bucking up being/ns usual, a teatm . Ih is doubtful whether anything was more arresting than Hie pace.anil urn>b | ’- itv of the New Zealand forwards. inc pace was never too great, tlie prospect never too fprlorn for them to pursue.

Devine Downed. To a certain extent Devine, the genius of last. Saturday’s match, had things his own way in the early part of the game, but as soon as the All Black forwards got warmed up they simply overwhelmed him, anil in that fact lies to a large extent the secret of the New Zealand success. Although Transvaal got 4be ball from 32 scrums against New Zealand's B’>, it was not a complete advantage to the ’Vaalers, for tlie attacks made by our forwards on their backs were deva stating. Devine, with Scrimshaw and his satellites hovering round, was not able to feed Kotze with his usual swiftness, and tin; . result was that their backs were starved, and many of their attacks were turned into defence in a trice. But, in spite ot' all this, Devine still got away with the laurels of the day on the Transvaal side. So fierce were the tackling and the charges of.the New Zealanders that as time wore on the defence was riddled and practically torn to shreds. At one stage in the second half, there were three men lying prostrated on the touch-linn, and the ground resembled a battlefield. Five minutes before the end of the game. Kotze, their fly-half, and Vealei.were off the paddock. Richter having just gone back again after :t spell on the line. A eale was next to go back, and it was here that New Zealand scored their only try. Johnson Carves a Passage New Zealand obtained possession from a serum in Trans'.aril’s twenty-five. Dailey passed to Strang, who handed on to Johnson. The Wellington man made a lightning dash, shrugged off Rauth and Dobie, passed the full-back and scored tinder the posts. There was wild enthusiasm among the New- Zealanders, and the Johannesburg crowd certainly applauded this fine effort. Johnson, who played a brainy game all through, did the right thing at the right moment when he scored lus try. Had he sent, the ball on to Carleton there would have been no score, for the centre was about to be smothered by two men. It was the unexpected which triumphed. Dailey, a half-back of many . gifts, gave the best performance ot tlie tour. He fed his backs generously, and he wgs like a wall in defence, and on everj? occasion he coloured the picture brilliantly. Strang, at first five-eighth, did his iob in good style. He sent out. accurate ‘passes to Johnson, running and backing up unfailingly. It was, perhaps, a pity that he did not exploit tlie. cutin, but that, probably, was due to inexperience in first five-eighth play. Strang raised a hearty laugh among the crowd when he had a kick at goal from a penalty three yards the other side, of halfway. lie placed the ball, but just as he ‘started to run for his kick it rolled lazily over. He placed it carefully again, moved back some yards tor a good “take-off,” got halfway to the ball, and tripped over himself.' There was an uproar. Once again he tried. This time he kicked the ball, but missed.

Sound Defence. Carleton played his ufsual solid game, a demon on defence, but eppatie on attack'. The consequence waa that his wings were rather starved of opportunities. Robilliard was not happy. If he had been the Robiljiard as New Zealand knows him another try might have been on our score sheet. At the end of a passing rush lie made a run, and got over. Being tackled, he was thrown off his balance, and he lost the ball. Grenside, on the other wing, was here, there, and everywhere, his backing up winning him praise. Ho saved Lilburne time and again. Lilbtirne's line-kicking showed an improvement, but there were many times in whiclt his fielding had his supporters gasping. Now ant! again he waltzed up into the Ihree-quarter line to set off or take part in a passing rush, and on one occasion a forward pass was the only thing that stopped him from scoring a try. Maurice Brownlie played something like his old-time football, and is now getting into form. He did more than one man’s work, and constantly fed his forwards in attack. Finlayson’s play in the line-out was most meritorious, and his pace iii one prominent attack almost gave Swain a try. Swain and Hore fitted in well, mid the puck made a fine appearance in going down to scrums. Alley holding them ably. Swain was tlie Swain of old, riding in the whirlwind nil the time, and sparkling in Hie loose. Hazlett surprised everybody with his remarkably improved form, making himself always conspicuous by his fast following np. He took several penalty kicks for the side, touch-finding with fine length. Stewart took a big hand in breaking down the* attacks of the opposing backs, mid when in possession of the ball barged in mid skittled his opponents in amazing style. He was always good enough fo beat at Jeasl. two men. There was great jubilation in the Now Zealand cmnp Hint night. Tlie victory was the necessary tonic for the lemn. From now onwards I here slioilld be a very different story after every mulch.

The feeling of the team can be judged by the remarks of’M. Brownlie, who said lifter Hie match, "1 feel that lhe team is. now coming more or less into its own, and playing the football we expect it to play. I feel confident of the team’s ultimate success.”