RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 26, 30 July 1932, Page 20

RUGBY

:Br "OnofKicM." ; ;

WELL PLAYED I

LATEST ALL BLACKS

FINE RECORD ON TOUR

New Zealand's latest Eugby representatives have acquitted themselves remarkably well. In facing a tour of Australia at. a time when a good deal of experimental,work was going on in this country and some solid preparation was being made in' Australia for a tour to South Africa, it was expected that the team would have 'its work cut out to achieve honours in the major engagements, although; the writer held that.the standard1 of play in Australia1 ■was inclined' to be overrated. "There should be nothing to fear from the opposition, in-spite :of the special effort being made there; to-build up for the South African tour," it was stated in this column /before the New- Zealand team left for; Australia. The big thing ■wag to weld "the team into proper shape, and ■ the fact that Mr. \V. J. Wallace was accompanying the side'gave confidence in this'eigential to success being achieved.' There^was no doubt-about the ■:material being' of the rights type, and so ablyi'ljas^itv been handled, so .well has:it responded:-to coaching, and so splendid has.fits'ijperformarice been that it has come in for some of ; the highest praise given ■to any teams that have visited Australia.. From a rather poor begihning^yane^^some extent to lack of.'timepio^.fgetting,into proper shape, this.]atesMN<nv; J ,;Zcala,nd combination has wbri-itsiv^ay'.tplhandsome victories, and.'the.re.iis;:no. Jdoubt . that ''Billy.'?,^sljsije'js;.entitled to,much of the • creditV for./^tfte .;■ ifine, ■ ■ results achieved; v#'*.~ {-■:?-■ ■■■H !r-'-//':: :: ■■; . ■ Individual Successes. - The players, too, have played their part/ and taking them ' individually, there have been some notable'successes. .Some • have-been more fortunate than others in the matter of retaining'fitness: for,: play, and Max, in particular, is to be sympathised with in.not having; been able-to play since meeting ■with.'an, injury in the second match, of the tour. , The tour was quite a strenuous one, but the players have stood up to it well. It. is evident that Kilby has proved ia i capable'Tc'aptain, apd,. v that-, he has also beei/an butstaridirig player. When Page wettt in at the-las'tmomentit was stated/ by. the; jwriter that 'his^inclusion certainly improved the strength of the side, .'especially so far as inside.back play. wtfsX;<so'neerned.':";By' all accounts Page liats?been a great,'success.., Then, among the forwards .thejplayer who _ap: pear's tip 'haVe made the greatest' im? pre'ssion: is 'McLean. •/ What a great thing it", is 'for the -Wellington .Football Club to.know'that its three representa^ tive.s in the team have distinguished themselves to such an extent! It?was nnfortunate for :the Christchurch Club that Hart could not play in the important matches, as there is little doubt that; this-.club^too, would have gained a ' sjmilarv.distinction .to that of. -ttie. Wellingtoh^Ciub.;" As'it is,ln'C6ttreli aiid iManche,ster,:. the Christshurch 'Club has ■ or. the; New Zealand team's successes 'on the individual honours board. .'Pollock hag been another of the players to win high praise, and Bail and .-Bullpck-Donglas, too, have done wen^w,itissColiins evidently making- a reaU|fl|f6bd fist of the, full-back position. :'O'\ . - •In .additifft .to McLean, Manchester, aid Cottrelf, the" other forwards, Purdue, Steere,' Palmer, arid company, have played an important part . towards making the,'toiir-so successful. Of course, as in the case of the backs, some ■have 'had/, more .chances than, others. SolqmOn, af ter^ ai .indiißEerent be^inninit, 'came very much~intd;the picture, and it seems that .through his and other' performances ; the i play'of the -New Zeal an d teant has had 'to be -modelled; on .lines similar, to thosejwhen the;Tring-f orwa^cl'•was an important.aid to;Sßeces's. There , is. no lack, of ■ evidence 'that wirig-fo'r-■ward .play formed a-part' of the suceessftil operations, although the player • carrying, out the,>diities attached himaelf. to the scrummage' when the pack went down.; The play generally appears to have been modelled upon the lines of the game which New Zealand lias developed over a long period of years. • • ■ ' , ■ A Beeord Aggregate. The team has done well, indeed. If figures' count for anything, it can claim a high place among the. sides which ; have" visited "Australia; In the. number of points registered on:the tour* this team has' created a new '•■ record. No previous team has scbred'as".many points - as" this'" one during- si.' tour 'of Australia,' although spme.of .the preyi-; pus teams have ■ had fewer ; The "record of the tour is aa follows: v. New South Wales (first match), |»ron,. 13-11. ■ .. • ..... ■■ •■ -..;. j.- F -. : .. ■-~-■' ■,:■■_ v, Newcastle, won, 44:6^ . : ' v. Australia (first.TestJ,lost,vl7^22.v..New South '-"Wales1 (seeoinU match), yohj'p27-3 v .-ij J,;^;/i•;■';.'■•■ ; .:-;. ■-'■. '■..-, '-::' ' v. Queensland^; w0n,?28-B^' '.' ' ', . v.. Brisbane-Ipswich, won,' 44-12;; , : v. Australia,(secpna Test), won'2l^;-: v. Darlilig'.DbwnsV.'wbn, 30-6. ' '. ' -. v.'_ Australia" (third Test); won,: 21fi3; v.';Weste.rii^Distrifcts,' won,' 63-loi, ; Summary: AIL niatches, played 'IQ,: won .9, lPst/.'1,-points for';3oß, points1 against-99i?^Tests, played 3,' won 2, lost, I, points f()r!s9,jpqi'nts'against 38./ . "Tootball '^r«nieur,"- ; ' '■/ ■";?.] ■-.:- ' . The seccnld,Testy'at Brisbane, brought about a decided^ change bfl opinion as to the ,aua)jty^ai(4;Jaßility. ; of.,the New Zealand representatives,; ana some very glowingitjibuteawerVipaii.toithe performance .bithe'touring team in that match. -Sinee/.then. there has been. fur-' therhigh;-,pfaige}arid-there can be little' doubt tha.t ■■the..^^woriderfui. improvement ■worked.in'-Jhe;te.am -Vm created a great' impressipniV.'^A-vfew^weeks' ago, NeV' Zealarid^s :ypungef(t iepresentatrve ; ' team ', arrived >in.^A'ustralia^'vrith(-;only,, their: youth arid^hbpes ; (wrote^i'Specisil ' presentativerof -a /Sydney; paper 'after having seen;th^^aecisitemefeat-of Aus-, tralia's electvin thet'seVoridSTest). ; They have no inMd'iib'*,:;toT worry about a' name or'the'building of: a' reputation. They made itfii the Exhibition Ground when''they3scaied; the heights of-foot-ball grandeur'1 to ,-ruri'away' frbm Australia, in the, secondITest, winning by 21 to 3.' No victory was possibly; ever more.convincing or so much deserved. Australia won the first Test, and New Zealand/took the field in the second •with that-"do or die spirit" ,and a determination, which was. a greater factor than the confidence Australia derived from its win of two weeks ago. Youth won-, against experience, rising to heights" in keeping with the traditions of the grand teams which have preceded them. :Their. superiority over the flower of. Australian' Eugby "Union was pronounced in every department. Slashing. Forwards.

Prom}the: kick-off New Zealand's for-•ward»-were on top... There must hare ■been,'some, devil which spurred and inspired those eight tireless players almost to superhuman effort. At times they were irresistible, securing the ball from' every, orthodox,; source—scrum, line-out, and ruck—^anid- : / performing ably/in the loose, they'laidjthe foundation :for New Zealand's'sweeping victory. ■■-.-.■ '■ • ■ :■■.■"■■. ".

. When,the ehosen;pack was first announced there were some who were doubtful. "There are too. many loose znen," ; £thj>y'said, and:'no' ldoubt:had- in

mind Solomon, McLean, and Manchester. •■■ That -was their mistake. There were no loose men in that pack, at least none who might be termed a "shiner." Every one of them put his heart and soul into every ruck, strained every .sinew to gain their ono objective—possession. Upon that one thing largely depended the result of the.game, and for the greater part New Zealand achieved it. Bonis is, no doubt, a superior hooker to Palmer; but even when ho secured the ball the powerful New Zealand forwards would crush their .way over, weight taking tho honours away from hooking as a science, and then, almost before Malcolm ; could cry "Lost!" .or. "Won!" tho ball would be in Kilby's hands and away across the; line .of backs, each a threatening-unit. Backs Delightful. Apart from the forwards, the other big factor which 'contributed most to Sew Zealand's win was the speed of the inside backs. Australia suffered by comparison. -There was.a lack of force, penetration; and violence in tho attack of the inside 'men-, and tho attacking movements thus lacked that early necessary impetus. Barely did Australia's passing bursts get any farther ' than King and Sturtridge. Those players would either, attempt to, penetrate with a short kick/ in preference to letting the ball out, or, the All Black defence would have closed in. so quickly as to smother effectively the move. On the :other hand, New Zealand's wingers saw. much of the ball. ; And it. was tho spee'diof<Kilby,1 Page, and Inries/ which wasr'rcsponsiblc—that _ and the; ability of the niaji: in- 1 possession to ; draw his jrian, let'the ball1 out snappily and 'ac-; curately, and then back up to get in the mov^mentr again, • ,"..', New Zealand's back line .played as a division; Australia's.' did riot ' The handling of, the visitors was always; sure.; -i'.Thoir; running .was. always hard,; frequently dangerous, but the ; feature •which, inosti gave-, the; touch.-of greatness' to their play was the faultless support accorded each -man with the ball. Alwa3 rs there was a'man in position-to take the\ ballv when the man in posses-; sion had come to'"the'end of his tether; It/was delightful to watch. Only when in' dire, defence and there was apparently' no other way out of a tight corner .would, an All Black back kick for touch. There was too much of it in the Australian; side, and the chief offenders were Lawton and King. Often! there was .excuse for it, towards the finish, for instance, when the playera of each side were worn to a standstill by the terrific pace of the- game, but there-were also many occasions when a transfer to the player supporting would have been more beneficial. . . "Magnificent Bpectacle." . Australia■■" was beaten, almost out-! played; by;: a: combination which was; immeasurably .superior 'on the day. v/| The game^was a magnificent spec-' taele, in the ■ niore even first;1 half,.when-brilliant attack and counterattack wereI'launched with bewildering efficiency ; and. speed. .That .was' an .all-' purple -. half,.; full; of' great' things; ..reaf football incidents, which will live "in memory. ■.,-■■ -. , ,:.,;.,'.....,.■. . T ; The early stages of the second session1 were the same, but towards, the close, with Australia in a hopeless position, and when the speed and hardness of the struggle had taken toll of the players' vitality, it became loose and drab at times. Australia was defeated, but it at least provided. the grandest of many glorious .movements to score its, three points. It was. in the first half. A scrum got down near the touehline on Australia 's sid6 of half-way, round came Malcolm, with that low swooping run of his to the blind side. Cowper was ready to take the ball. He sent it back to Malcolm, before the half ;lot him have it again. Then the winger broke away across field* in a swerving, crescent run. Forwards and backs joined in. a. string of faultless passing, and finally Steggall raced. with determination, arid the speed,of a deer, to go over. That was Australia's only combined challenge to New Zealand's.superiority. Comment on Flayers. ■: Considering the overwhelming success of the New Zealand pack, it Would bo unfair to individualise., Sufficient is it to say that each man, Cottrell, Palmer,-Hore, McLean, Manchester,, Clarke, Purdue, and Solomon, did his share, and a littie more. ' Cpllina showed ,little enterprise, but a" ton of reliability, at full-back, and Kilby never once made a mistake. His fair head was always prominent in attack or .the reverse,; and his cover defence was grand. Ball was an electric winger, on his toes to. capitalise every small crumb of opportunity. Strong and fleet -runner, Bullock-Douglas, had fewer ■: openings, but exploited each to the end. Innes made a few slaghing runs and defended tigerishly, but the star attacking units were Page and' Pollock. Whenever they had the ball this pair imperilled the Australian line. They were elusive and speedy, quick to sense an opening or to create one., .; Australia's . forwards played to the best of their ability, but that was not good enough. Cerutti, Love, ana Cook were probably the ' best, while Brindle did some fine things in defence. Boss was as sound as ever at full-back and considering the work he had to do more than broke even with Collins. Bturtridge never seemed happy, and Kingfs inopportune kicking detracted froin.ari otherwise sound display Steggall'3/.try was a gem of determination and-generally he played well, as did t-owper,; when the ball came his way Lawton,> worried by Page, was too slow to mayeiin attack, but Malcolm was in .everything,^ sending his backs away on many moves destined to a fruitless ending.- A: ■ ■ . . •...•:! Notes.' :'~- ' ' ' : ' . . " [

i'w S l6 Klw^s ha^c Picked holes in the Kangaroos, and left them without ;a. feather to .fly. with," was the succinct if m ? xed contribution by a bystander, whose broad.'face was a map of disgust (states; a Brisbane paper in .making comment on-the second Test). The most delighted- man/ ore - the ground was ah Auckland visitor,/who made sundry .clucking,noises with, his .tongue disparag"ig to those,, gorgeous green and gold socks,: aad rkept- hopping about on ono c? .*.? whole.afternoon like;an enterprising-: sparrow; saying "I: told you so, I told you- so," to a-' dejected companion,, who,winced every time those charging . wave.s' of. Bugger' cavalry swept overthe'defence.iike the rising tide over a-sand'castle. '. .V

"Eugger Test, Asides'^-iu a Brisbane paper included the following: "Now wo know why the earth shakes in New Zealand," said a'bystander as the solid New Zealand paekVthurideredits way through the ranks.with s>vi£t charges that came with the smashing-effect of a volley of projectiles. The.Kiwi pack was a tireless machine that left no stray crumbs for foraging'Kangaroo^ howover individually-brilliant their game. Itwas the same tale, in the back division.' " " . " '■"' ■'■"■':',■•'■'■

A list of Eanfurly Shield matches drawn up by Canterbury, includes a match with North .Auckland. iThere has been no challenge <by. North; Auckland for the Eanf urly Shield, and the fixture has apparently been made:iii error.

In the first spell of the match between Oriental and Marist the passing by the Marist backs left much to bo desired, but a considerable improvement was noticed in the second half. Robins and Mactlonald made spectacular dashes, and each succeeded in .scoring, a try. Robins also did 'some good kicking. :

Drader, the ex-Taranaki'forward,, was ■in the thick of things in the EastbourheUniversity match. He toils away ceaselessly, but there-was no letting up by any of the/other Eastbourne forwards, n6r was there any by the University pack men, among whom Diedetich was always a 'prominent-figure. •■-.:.■■ ,