NEW ZEALAND ON TOP AGAIN

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 258, 28 July 1930, Page 12

NEW ZEALAND ON TOP AGAIN

Victory by Five Points in Third Test BRITAIN DANGEROUS TO THE END All Black Forwards Play Sterling Game GENIUS OF MARK NICHOLLS TRIUMPHS Dominion Special Service. Auckland, July 26. In a match marked by lively versatility a " d moments New Zealand definitely regained * e Rl ’g^ t / U t P o re 0 ‘ to-day when Great Britain was defeated by 15 points to> 1U Eden Park before 40,000 spectators, a recoid crowd for D ° n There were four outstanding features in the Th ese were the brilliance of Spong, who was the best back . on Ae field the magnificent defence of Cooke, which saved the Al Blacksat leas " four tries, the great strategy of Mark NkMls ana Jse fine all-round game played by Porter, the New Zealand captain, employed in the first two tests and the ba S,^been for the play, open instead of playing for s. y. k rearguar( i New ttSs ii'the the Britis ’;XY KaAEX eariler stages Cottrell and Hore more than made amends in tUC iTstton? contrast to the dazzling penetrating runs made by Spong Hie All Black five-eighths did uot attempt to break through, be g content to leave this to the three-quarter line. Cooke showed flashes of his old brilliance on attack with Lucas, but most of the attack swung the Lucas side, and Hart, as far as these movements were concerned, was practically starved. The result might have quite easily gone the other waj. me winners had the game well in hand until Aarvold scored the second tty, which was Indeed a lucky one, after bad obstruction. As usual the British team with the slightest chance was very dangerous. Its clever passing repeatedly gained ground, and many times tries were lust missed after hard tussles on the New Zealand line. It was from these that Batty came into great prominence, coming through -with the ball at his feet and turning defence into attack. In one of these movements he gained half the length of the field in a great solo dribbling effort.

For the first half-hour Britain held the advantage, both back and forward, except in line-outs. During this period the AlJJßlack rearguard was called upon to defend strenuously, and Cooke did some great work. Poole was getting the ball away very fast to Spong, but Porter often got the scrum half, ball and all. It took the All Blacks some tim to settle down as a combination. Even when a passing rush broke down or a pass went astray, Britain was allowed plenty of time in which to recover. There was very noticeable improvement in the * play of the All Blacks in the second spell when mistakes were quickly taken advantage of. Spong’s Brilliance.

Territorially Britain had the better of the first half, and the first try came as a result of brilliant play by Spong. The British fly-half left Strang standing and made an easy try for Bowcott, who touched down with the rest of the rearguard in support. The British backs, with the attack Swinging their way, continued to harass the opposition, and only sound tackling kept them out. Spong was the pivot of the British attacks, and in spite of the fact that both Porter and Strang were watching him, he often got past the pair. For the start Porter confined his attention to Poole, the scrum-half, but in the later stages Spong was his mark, and he made no mistake about getting him, although he tackled his opponent high several times. Triumph for Old Hands.

3}he match was really a triumph for the older and experienced brigade, Cooke, Lucas, Porter, and Nicholls. The first try scored by the All Blacks resulted from a clever move by Mark Nicholls. With a scrum formed about the British twentyfive, Nicholls took up the first five-eighths position. In a flash New Zealand hooked the ball, and Nicholls punted across to the wing. Lucas was ready for the chance and he made no mistake about finishing it off. Morley was still waiting to eatch the ball, and Bassett, who had run across, had no chance, Lucas eventually running round behind the posts. Britain never gave up hope, and commenced attacking movements from all positions, and many of these were frustrated just in the nick of time. Always, however, even if the attack passed Ncpia. Cooke would come from nowhere and effect a spectacular save. Nepia was not called upon to do a great deal of work, but what he did was carried out in a finished manner. Bassett had much the harder afternoon, and was called upon repeatedly to save his side. A good line of the trend of the game can therefore be drawn from the work the respective full-backs had to carry out. It was very noticeable in the first spell that the British forwards were taking the ball more cleanly in the line-outs than the opposing vanguard. Many times the AU Blacks were called back for knock-ons. Corner Punished. In the first spell Corner was inclined to attempt too much on his own. and the other backs were consequently left out of the picture. The British forwards and Poole came round the serum quickly and the half was often smothered. He stood up to a good deal of punishment, and was limping at one stage. However, he improved in the second spell, and gave a display more in keeping with his previous efforts in big football. Early in the second spell Corner was

penalised for holding the ball after being tackled. Black took the kick from a fairly easy position, \ and Prentice, the British captain, who was acting as. line umpire, signalled a goal. Mr. G. Nicholson. the New Zealand selector, who was on the other line and post in question, did not signal, and the decision went against the visitors. Lighter Pack. The All Black forwards were defeating the British vanguard badly in the loose, but owing to the difference in weight they were faced with a stiff proposition in tight play. It is much to their credit that they withstood the trial throughout the match, with honours fairly even. It must be a long time since such a light pack was asked 'to take the field for an All Black side. Mark Turns Fortunes. Th 6 experience of Cooke, Porter, Nicholls and Lucas meant a great deal to the All Blacks. The move initiated by Nicholls when he slipped into the first five-eighths and cross-kicked was a fine example of football brains. Previous to this the All Blacks had failed to gain much ground in passing rushes, and Nicholls changed the tactics suddenly to catch the opposition unawares. Another splendid movement by Nicholls was when be sold the “dummy,” manoeuvred for position, and potted a fine goal. He was also really responsible for McLean’s first try. Cooke came right into his own by playing one of his best games. He was splendid on attack, and with Lucas had the British three-quarters puzzled. But Cooke’s outstanding ability was his magnificent defence, and he saved dangerous situations times out of number. Strang wns overshadowed by Spong, but nevertheless made a good connecting link in the back line, and was sound on defence. Lucas is a player who made his name years ago, and there is no doubt that he and Cooke play better together in positions further out Hart had few opportunities on attack, but . played such a sound game that it was easy to understand how he has come to the forefront as a fine three-quarter. He was responsible for some fine defensive work and , made no mistake about getting his man low. In this respect he was superior to Lucas, who went high several times. Lucas was not tjie only player on the side who tended to this fault, as some of the forwards attempted high tackling on more than one occasion. The All Black forwards wore a fairly even set. with McLean and Batty showing out. The former made a splendid debut in his first international match Spong the Best. The exhibition given by Spong ranks him with the best players ever seen in the Dominion. His quickness off the mark, ability in swerving and straight running allowed him tn go through openings which seemed impossible. He con tinned in the second spell with a broken thumb. Aarvold was inclined to lose contact with his other backs, and his fault in holding on was again in evidence. Morley and Reeve showed snecd. but met their match in Lucas and Hart. Rowentt wns well watched and had only ong chance, which he turned to good account. Poole wns very smnrt in getting the hall nway. while nt other times he went round the scrum iust ns quickly ns a wing-for ward. The British forworrlc possessed more vigour thnn the All Rlack set. and fine gn-nes were nlnycd by M Hodgso" Rieck O’Ne'll. Bennr'sh. and Parker. The forwards frequently mnde the mistake of attempting to pick the b-11 up when they got clear in the dribbling rushes.

WELLINGTON’S DAY Nicholls, McLean, Cooke PORTER’S LEADERSHIP In the hard-fought victory which the New Zealand team secured over Great Britain in the third Rugby test at Auckland on Saturday. Wellington players bore a prominent part. The team was ably led by C. G. Porter, who had much to do with New Zealand getting a leg-in in the tests by carefully schooling the forwards in tactics for some days before the crucial contest. Then A. E. Cooke, another Wellington representative, played well bis part by his brilliant defensive work. “Cooke is a wizard,” said one of the British players after the game; “his anticipation is uncanny and bis tackling deadly.” • But not one of the New Zealand fifteen did more to re-establish New Zealand’s temporarily lost Rugby prestige than the Wellington veteran, Mark Nicholls. who repeated the feat he performed at Cape Town in 1928, when, by potting a goal against the Springboks, he turned the tide of the game, and so heartened the New Zealanders that they went on to score a decisive victory, and thus break square in the tests with the formidable Springboks. “Nicholls’ fine judgment in kicking across to Lucas to score, and later his potted goal," ran one report of Saturday’s game, “were typical examples of his Rugby brains.” And last, but by no means least. Vyellington had another stalwart on the field in H. F. McLean, the 22-year-old Welling ton club player, who, making his first appearance on an international stage, played with great dash in the back row of the scrum, nud distinguished himself by scoring two tries Clearly it was Wellingtons day.

ish “blues” at a run, once again the National Anthem was sung. Thanks to a loudspeaker the crowd was ready and when the band struck up with a leader in midfield beating time it at once burst into resounding chords, and in the inspiration of that moment football was forgotten. One likes to imagine that the talkie of the match will let Old England hear the voice of Auckland the National Anthem before a match full of thrills. Hats and Coats Tossed. Each score disproved the common saying that New Zealanders are undemonstrative. but voice alone was not enough. Such occasions demanded action. Hats and coats were flung up. and several sections of the hill crowd a ne J sight by the showering of confetti, evidently manufactured on the spot out of newspapers.

ALL-DAY WAIT Crowds Gather in Morning THOUSANDS OF CARS Dominion Special Service. Auckland, July 26. By nine o’clock 500 people were at Eden Park, and two hours later the number increased to 28,000. Special trams were packed, and motor-cars were parked by the. thousands in streets adjoining the ground. The result of the game was in doubt until the finish, and although it was evident that there would be a great rush for home, scarcely a person left the ground before the. end of the game, so intense was the excitement. Large queues formed long before the ■ gates were opened at 8.30. When the gates were at last thrown wide, there was a wild rush for the terraces on the northern side of the ground. It was a case of the devil take the hindmost, and many amusing scenes occurred as portly individuals attempted to break the sprint records they had put up thirty years previously. Nepia’s Kinsmen. Among the crowd on the hill, a large contingent of wahines lent a touch of colour. Naturally to these, George Nepia was the idol, and it was quite evident that the great New Zealand full-back is just as popular with his own people as he is with the pakehas. The crowd good-naturedly set about filling in the long six-hour wait. There was a carnival spirit abroad, and even the slightest incident provided cause for light-hearted badinage. Not a few had thoughtfully brought packs of cards. Perhaps those who were happiest were the thousands of school children, who occupied seats on nine-inch boards inside the enclosure. They did not care whether it snowed. Were they not going to see the Rugby heroes of Britain and New Zealand striving for mastery, and whnt grander spectacle could heart of youth desire. King Rugby was supreme throughout the city. Even the Stock Exchange did not trouble to make its usual Saturday morning call. Ex-All Blacks Look On. Veterans of the game had come from the 1905 AU Blacks, who placed New Zealand on the Rugby map in Britain that year. These included: J. W. Stead (Southland). A. McDonald (Otago). E. E, Booth, G. W. Nicholson (Auckland). G. Tyler (Auckland), and G. Gillett (Auckland). A football match is to be played between the staffs of the Wellington and Christchurch City Councils at Wellington on Saturday morning. August 9. Both of these staffs possess some good Rugger players, and it is expected that the match will be very evenly contested. There is n movement on foot to make it an annual affair. The match will probably be played on Kelburn Park.