DAZZLING RUGBY

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 266, 7 August 1934, Page 11

DAZZLING RUGBY

All Blacks at Orange STRONG IN FORWARDS Hadley’s Hooking Praised (By IS. N. Greatorcx.) Orange (N.S.W.), August 1. It was not the fact that they won their opening match against Western Districts played here to-day, but rather the manner of their victory, which convinced the 5000 onlookers that the All Blacks

of 1034 are really good footballers.

The newspaper critics will write flattering reports of the fifteen men who represented New Zealand against the country team, apd. though it may be too early'yeVto judge the quality of the play ers. there is little doubt that with ordinary luck the All Blacks will have a successful tour. Some of the experts who travelled <.O Orange to get a ‘‘line” on the tourists said after the game that they were satisfied that the team would retain the Bledisloe Cup. That remains to be seen. The opposition the All Blacks encountered to-day was poor—-the chances are that the weakest provincial team in New Zealand would beat the side, and because of that it is difficult to estimate the merit of the victory. , , Yet. though the All Blacks were opposed to inexperienced players who let them take command of the game from the outset, they showed in the workmanlike manner of their play that after a few more games they will mould into a formidable combination. The most pleasing feature of the game was the way the New Zealanders threw the ball about, not only among the backs, but among the forwards as well, fulfilling the promises of Mr. A. J. Geddes, the manager, and Frank Kilby, the captain, that they would play the "open” game. "The All Blacks played dazzling football; from beginning to end .they were aljyays seeking openings to score, and it they adopt the same methods in the big games ahead they will pack the grounds. The New Zealanders against Western Districts scored 12 tries 12 tries that came from spectacular passing rushes marked by unselfish play and faultless handling. The safe handling of the All Blacks was remarkable, considering that they have had only two training runs since landing in Sydney. Always on the Attack. There were few occasions in the iii\j half of the game that the AU Blacks were in theip own territory. They had the Western Districts men hemmed iu their own twenty-five almost throughout the speU, and it was only through bad luck that they did not come off at the interval with a bigger lead. Soon alter the resumption the Western Districts players put more devil into then play, and the New Zealanders were in trouble. It seemed that their condition was giving out, but apparently they got their “second wind.” for they once more took charge of proceedings, and from then on it was just a question of how many tries they would score. • „,, , , Before the team took the field the players received definite instructions that they were to make the game as open as possible, and the forwards were told to "feed” the backs. That is exactly what they did, and that is why the play of the All Blacks was so spectacular. It was when they were throwing the ball that the New Zealanders looked most dangerous. The question that everyone is asking is: Will they do it when it comes to the Test games? Why not? The All Blacks yesterday produced a back line which did its job well, and which should be able to show the same combination in the face of sterner opposition. It is certain at this stage that the All Blacks of 1034 look as good as the All Blacks of two seasons ago, and a great deal of improvement can be expected. ■ . The impression I got after seeing the North v. South Island game played at Auckland was that the strength of the All Blacks would be in the forwards. The experts who saw to-day’s game have the same idea. Mr. Gordon Shaw, who was manager o£ the Waratah team Which toured Great Britain in 1927-28, and who knows a footballer when he sees one, told me after the game that it was a long time since he had seen such a fine vanguard. "I’m afraid to think what will happen to New South Wales and Australia if any of our forwards shirk the ‘hard stuff, said Mr. Shaw. "These All Blacks are specialists. They know what is expected of them, and.forwards who know that are good forwards.” Australia is going to find it difficult to beat New Zealand for the ball in the scrum. To-day Hore, Hadley and Lambourne heeled it in such a way that it shot like a bullet into the eager hands of Kilby. One of the Western Districts front-row men said after the game that before he had time to move his feet it had gone into the All Blacks’ scrum! “This Hadley is going to be a nasty proposition," he remarked. Perhaps the All Black front row did not find much difficulty in securing possession because of the great advantage their scrum had in weight. There were occasions when the Western District forwards were pushed over ten yards by the huge New Zealanders as Boon as they had packed down. McLean the Star Forward. The four “M’s’ —Max, Mc'Lean, Manchester, and Mahoney—came out of the game with honours. McLean did some great thilfgs, and he had a hand in at least five tries which his side scored. McLean was the star forward of the 1932 team. It looka as if he will be the star of the 1934 team. Manchester was the man who caught the eye in the line-outs. He soared up for the ball time after time, and sent it cleanly back to Kilby for the half to get his backs moving. Mahoney was a favourite with the crowd. He used his weight to advantage and once brought the spectators to their feet when he cut through the defence, brushing three tacklers aside to send out a pass which led to a try under the posts. One of the features of the back play was the backing up. On the few occasions that a pass was dropped or went astray we saw a man doubling round to regain possession and start the movement over again. There was one occasion when Page, after sending a pass to Caughey, raced outside the winger, Hart, to take another pass before cutting infield to send the ball badk to the forwards, who completed the good work with H Griffiths may play himself into the first fifteen of the side. He was one of the stars of the game, shining both in attack and defence. The Wellington man made repeated openings by drawing the defence before passing the ball, and he was never afraid to be tackled. In the second spell one of the Western forwards was detailed to mark him, but Griffiths was so quick off the mark that he continued to pierce the defence. He scored two great tries. There was nothing spectacular about Collins’s play, but he wns as sound as a hell, and when ho kiclted for the line he always found it. Collins did not have

to kick much for he was seldom on the defence. Page had one or two lapses, and at times he moved sluggishly, but it could not be said that he played badly. He strikes me as the type of player who is seen at his best when things are going against his team. Kilby played the orthodox half game, lie was content to send the ball straight out from the scrum (not that that is a fault) and it appeared that he wanted to give his backs plenty of exercise,

Diu-lng the tour of Australia by the All Blades, the principal matches will bo reported for “The Dominion" by E. A’. Greatorcx, the New South Wales and Australian representative forward, who was in New Zealand recently writing preliminary football articles for his papers, the Sydney “Sun" and “Daily Telegraph,” as a prelude to the All Blacks’ visit.