FAREWELLED

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 53, 5 March 1925, Page 9

FAREWELLED

ALL BLACKS IN ENGLAND

SPORTSMEN'S LUNCHEON

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S SPEECH.

The All Blacks in their European tour played and - won thirty consecutive matches. This naturally pleased them immensely, but nothing ' during their campaign so impressed them as the representative'sporting gathering thafc was present on 21st January at' the Piccadilly Hotel, when members of every branch of sport assembled to bid' them farewell. '

It was the most wonderful assembly of sportsmen we have ever known, declares "Sporting Lite." Lord Desborough presided, and the presence of the Prince- of Wales was an indication to Mr! Porter and his men that England greatly have appreciated their presence. We saw All Blacks and members of the national Rugby fifteen (says ithe writer); we s,aw on our right Jimmy Wilde and Bombardier Wells, and on our left Ernest Barry and Harry Blackstaffe, two or the greatest oarsmen, professional and amateur, we have ever known; we saw Steve Donoghue, the great jockey, members of the Hugby Union and Football Association, wonderful "Soccer" players such as Arthur Grimsdell and Andrew Wilson, Colonel Kingscote, of lawn tennis fame; swimming- men of no,te; Harry Mallin,, an exponent »of amateur boxing; we saw men from the Army, Navy, and 'Varsities, such as Commander Davies and Lieutenant C. A. Kershaw—the greatest half-back combination of all time—in fact, every branch of sport was represent- | cd. It was a glorious farewell to men we know; it was a, wonderful farewell to a magnificent body of athletes, and it must have done much to cement the friendship between ths Mother Country and a Dominion of which we aye extremely proud. After the loyal toasts had been honoured, the Right Hon. L. S. Amery, P. 0., M.P., Secretary of State for the Colonies, submitted the toast of "The Dominion of New Zealand." "This is the land where the All Blacks grow," he stated, amidst laughter, but in serious vein he contended that New Zealand was an island that developed a Wonderful band of sportsmen. i Colonel the Hon. Sir James Allen, X.C.8., spoke in appreciative terms of the New Zealand side. Immediately after he sat down there was a tremendous burst of enthusiasm-—for* the Priifce was to speak. ' '-.'.. The Prince of Wales, who received a magnificent ovation on rising, said: 'I am proud to be entrusted with the toast of the New Zealand footballers, as I am .'at being present at the splendid gathering- of sportsmen to-day. I first would like to sympathise with my friend* Mr. Porter, the A'l Blacks' captain, who has had a rotten lunch owiijg •to the fact that he has to reply to this toast. (Laughter.) . WONDERFUL BAND. "It needs no woids from me to emphasise the importance of such visits as we have had from this wonderful band of athletes. Their presence has emphasised ."?. * remarkable degree what good can be. done by the visitation of sportsmen from: far-flung "centres of the Empire to the Mother Country. But. this is not their first visit. . t The New Zealanders were over here in • 1905.' It takes many ™inS3:, such as the visit of a famous football combination, to impress a boy, and when New Zealand were here in 1905 I was but a boy. Yet I can remember quite well the deeds of that, famous combination. I remember that the 'vintage' of' the All Blacks in 1905 was perhaps entirely different %to that of the present year. But that possibly makes no difference, for my experience of New Zealand brands' is that they are very good ones. (Laughter.) ' "'But, seriously, whether it is in football or farming, or in war, New Zealand gives us a splendid 'brand' of man f° leww than eleven of the AH Blacks' team are ex-service men. Invincible W arj > mvincible in-.a mere game! (Oncers.) Twenty years ago the All I Blacks suffered only one defeat—l expect everybody in this room remembers that famous match in Wales—but this season they have triumphed in every 'match they have played, and the whole thing is altogether remarkable. It is' a wonderful record, and- although it has been made at the expense of the Home Country it does not in any way affect the genuineness of our congratulations to them. (Cheers.)' We congratulate every individual member of the side; we congratulate the captain, Mr. Porter,' and all those who have been concerned witli the organisation of the tour, and those who have helped to keep the men fit and in good training. After all-, combination is the secret of success in all games, and np doubt the combination, the efficiency, and ' the marvellous team work of the New Zealand side has gained for them the greatest^ of honours in athletic warfare. "In sport we always say when defeated wait until the next time.'. I hope in this particular instance that the next time' is not far away from us. We all anticipate welcoming the next All Blacks' team and witnessing the great football we have seen this season. (Cheers.) But whether on that occasion wo defeat the All Blacks or they defeat us, they will always be welcomed m this country, and we shall always have a. genuine appreciation of their skill. But their tour is ended, and we wish them well. Perhaps when they get home, when they arrive 'down under,' they will all say that even-if the Old.Country lacks ability they still know how to lose-(cheers)—and that they believe, as we do believe, that we shall always do our best to overcome a part of our great. Empire" that in sport and war we rather reverence." (Loud cheers.) NOT FAR FROM HOME. : Mr. S. S. Dean, the New Zealand manager, m reply, expressed the appreciation of every member of the touring party of the wonderful welcome given to them that day. It was doubtful if ever in the history of sport such a gathering had been witnessed. But those of them who came from New Zealand did not feel that they were far from home. They felt they were "at home," , and that was the one thought they had in their minds when they left —we are going ."home." (Cheers.) Iliey were gratified and honoured by the presence of. the Prince of Wales. They knew, the Prince of Wales (Cheers.) They had the honour of a visit from him a few years ago. They claimed him as their Prince as much as England did, and they did so for the reason that he was such a splendid sportsman. (Cheers.) Such visits as were paid occasionally between the Mother Country and her colonies—visits solely connected with sport—did much to weld together a wonderful Empire., But when we had suVh an asset as'the Prince—well, it would be impossible even for far-flung districts nut to be banded together. (Cheers.) The Old Country realised what sportsmen we had in the Empire when the great "call" came in 1914. The call came not in vain, and if it came tvven-

ty-four hours hence it would be responded to in the same way. As His Royal Highness had said, eleven of their team served in the Great War. Those who did not were too ypung; but if the same things happened next year the Mother Country would be supported just as well from New Zealand as she was during Armageddon. During their tour they had received the most wonderful hospitality, and yet, while they were "cubs" in the game, they believed they now had arrived at the point where they should be given' a share in the government of the game.

They hoped they would he able to receive an All British side in New Zealand in 1926. They hoped that if such a side came out lo them it would include representatives from Scotland. They had no grievance against Scotland, and they believed that the objection of Scotland against them was not in accordance with fact. They did not want this to continue; they did not want to wait another twenty years before they came back, but when they did they wanted to meet not only England, Ireland, and Wales—but Scotland. (Cheers.) 'Mr. C. G. Porter, the captain of the New Zealand team, referred to the compliment that had been paid them by Lord Decies, Lord Campden, and General. Kentish, and the fact that the Prince of Wales had honoured them i ™ Pr^sence. and said that while the Mother Country may have learned much from their visit, they themselves had gained in experience as the result of their tour.

Lord Lonsdale referred in eulogistic terms to the part the Prince of Wales was playmg in the life of the Empire He made a delightful reference to the only incident in the whole tour that we regretted. "Accidents will happen," he said, "in all branches of sport, but when these accidents are accepted in a sportsmanlike manner, as) they were on the occasion to which I refer, we should very soon forget them." And this was the last word m a remarkable assembly