ALL BLACKS' TOUR

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 98, 22 October 1924, Page 6

ALL BLACKS' TOUR

SOME IMPORTANT FIXTURES

LANCASHIRE NOT VERY STRONG

(By "Drop-Kick.'T It was stated recently that tfa» All Blacks -would be severely tested during the period from the 25th October to the Bth November, but with the results of Tecent matches in which the New Zealanders' have been putting- up" tall scores, it is probable that the framers of that opinion may now hold different views as to the. capabilities of the All Blacks. An average of 34. points per match leaves little room to doubt the scoring ability of a team, and that represents the performance of the All •Blacks Sri their last five matches, with a fraction under four points as the average; score against them. They-are -now-playing right-up .to New Zealand s. expectations; in fact, it may be said, in view of the absence of Nicholls and Cooke from the. back- division, that they have exceeded expectations in at least the last^ two .matches yin which the scores were the highest of the tour so far as it has gone. Only on four occasions did the original All Blacks Tegister higher" scoring in Great Britain than 'that 'put up 'by the present team in its last two matches. Taking general opinion at Home, the present side has yet to play its' hardest games; and that, one to which most importance "is attached comes right at-the end of the tour. Three of the matches^ during the period 25th; October ■to Bth November, are,. however^ -still- regarded as importa*nf,'!~in"spife "of .'the', fact that .the .All "Blacks'have risen considerably in-the estimation of those critics who, until recently, gave but little praise to. .the touring side for its successes. './IRELAND "AND" THE NORTH: . , .On Saturday next the All Blacks meet Cumberland, and as this is the champion . county,; the match must be set down' as one of ths most important of the tour. Then there will be a clear week before the test with Ireland, and this event,-of course, .figures as. one of the star games of the tour, although Ireland may have to depend almost entirely upon her forwards.' From Ulster on.the-sth November the All Blacks should not be seriously troubled, although the game will be played a few days after the first international match. On the Bth November. (Northumberland will try- its strength against the All Blacks." " Whether., the report's of "Rugby "coming into its own in the North" aro correct remains to be seen. Both Cumberland and Northumberland are in the eame__division of the.county championship. W . Yorkshire. Tne last-named county went near to beating Guriiber. land for divisional honours last seasu,), and Nbrtliainbeirland" were' not altogether out of the picture. The All Blacks last Saturday outclassed Yorkshire, and did it with fourteen men for the major part of the game, so that it would appear, that Cumberland and Northumberland do not itand much chance .against the New Zealand side. If they manage to show a marked im-' provement on last season's form they might be hard. Northumberland will have opportunities of getting into form as they are to play Cheshire next Saturday and Cumberland on Saturday week, these games being in connection .with this season's county championship. LANCASHIRE'S SIDE. To-day the All Blacks are meeting Lancashire, and another good win , should be placed to their account. As several of the members of the touring party are suffering from injuries this match might be used to some extent for experimental purposes./ Four of the backs—Cooke, Nicholls, Steel, and Robilhard—are on the injured list. With a view "to strengthening up the rearguard, it would be a good move to try out -Parker (wing-forward) as . a back. More than likely he took a place among the backs when Steel retired in m the Yorkshire match. Porter is also capable of filling a place in the back division. Lancashire gained only three points (a win and a drawn game) in 'the northern • division of the County- championship last seazon, but they gave their opponents close games. Their one win was over Yorkshire, but they could only draw with Cheshire., (through no fault of -their own), and they lost to Durham (again through a- stroke of misfortune), Cumberland and Northumberland. It was only by a point that they lost to Cumberland, and had they shown better place-kicking they would have - won. ■Northumberland beat them by 16 points to 13, and in this game Lancashire were imiortunate in being without their star. back,- E. J. Massey, who was one of the leading scrum-halves in England last season, and who was a member of the British team which recently visited bouth Africa. Among Lancashire players, who were called upon for the •anghsh trials'last'season were'Massey t*..S. Conway, and H. G. Periton. The two latter are forwards. If Conway is playing to-day the All Black hookers might have a hard tussle for possession of the ball A. F. Blakiston,-one of England s leading „forwards, . plays for the same club (Liverpool) as M assey , in South Africa. » He may be in the - Lancashire team to-day. - Another Lancashire player of notejs S. B. M'Queen, a Scottish international. Lancashire's mam fault seems to have been in not having a settled forward line. Their b*s^ reckoned to be a good St I ■". M Queen- is required, in the threepanvir ie *~A! y ' the half to ~- pany Massey is bound to be R Robin bitt? T ■ j:™°^':(the former is t£ tai"*d "I county matches'. ' The 1905 All Blacks did not nlav Lancashire or Cumberland P y