TOUR'S SIDELIGHTS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 10, 11 July 1936, Page 15

TOUR'S SIDELIGHTS

ALL BLACKS AT HOME

MR. S. Si. DEAN'S REMINISCENCES

Mr. S. S. Dean, chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, speaking to the "70" Club this week' at the V.M.C.A. gave some sidelights on the recent All Black tour in England. "To begin," said Mr. Dean, "the boys trained assiduously on the boat and practised hard with the aid of the scrum machine. Personally I don't believe:in such'a fmachine. The team ■was1: quartered first at Newton -Abbot, where the Devon people took the boys to their heatrts, showering wonderful hospitality upon them. They had many delighiful outings on the moors, and the pepple as a whole took a fatherly interesjt in them." A handsome Miaori bowl had been presented as a token of the team's esteem, while etfery member of a New Zealand teeon visiting this district is the proud possessor' of a piece of earthenware - with a fern-leaf emblem, said Mr. Diaan. After their good win at Plymouth r.thene were no misgivings about the' scrum, and things looked bright for the future. Then followed success at Coventry over Midland Counties and Yorkshire at Bradford. Theny came the Swansea defeat. Mr. Dean; said that he had not then joined up -with the team, picking it' up in LcJndon. He happened i to be in the company of an English)- j man, a captain in the Life Guards, who asked him about the prospects of the Swansea game. Mr. Dean replied that he wouldn't be surprised at anything the1 Welshmen did. ; "Later, at the, hotel, I was playing bridge with tk-e captain when the waiter came up: to me and announced that the All ESacks were defeated. However, I wasn't perturbed, as I imagined that uhe waiter was playing another of his .jokes on me. Naturally the captain, was astounded at the nonchalant mariner with which I dismissed the first defeat, and in a letter to New Zealanid the same gentleman said how much he admired the sportsmanship of the All Blacks, and also the splendid wray in which Mr. Dean received the news of the Welsh defeat." Mr. Dean, referring to the Welsh match, said that he considered the two .schoolboys, aged 19, who acted as halves, were two of the finest inside backs in the world. • WHY SCOTLAND DEMURRED IN 1924. "A totally vfrong conception of the misunderstandiing as to why Scotland wouldn't play the 1924 team has always existed," said Mr. Dean. "I want;to make. it. .clear: that this misunderstanding was between England and the other;. Home Unions. The invitation to pfllay had^ been sent by England alone, without consulting Scotland. • As the agreement was a gentleman's agreement, and.not written. Scbtlandi. was justified :in her action. It \\7as not that they didn't want t0,.,-.plajy.' us,", said Mr. peari. A'The.matter jhajs since been rectified and touring jteams ;tour Great Britain under a gentleman's agreement." ; Mr.' Deari. considered tflie' first 'rrfatclji at Twickenham very, disappointing. The team was not up to standard, and the forwards went wrong—packing too high. They* got very little of the ball in fiiis match. In the match wifh Oxford; it was-'Joey'Sadler's persistence that scared..;a, try in the last few minutes; and- Gilbert's great kick that saved arijd,won : the game. Strangelyenough,. . Gilbert frequently.. missed a "sitter," but* 'h?- seemed invariably .to putl over a Jgbal^frofri a seerh.ingiy T irn■possible angle. 'At Leicester'they saw iqupe^.a" Joti.Q^'^'tewie^Jpernpster, ' the caDf^'m*^i^etlTeice^teTr■ Cricket Club, and i{. was a. great, credit, to New Zealand, said Mr. Dean;'ithat he was held in isuch higjh esteem iri England; v "Much ' asl'we regret that men of .his calibre are lost. to. us, his case only goes'-to shoiw that.if our athletes arjj given the : opportunity they reach world class: For instance, we have among us jH. E, Wilson, one of the finest hurctlers in the world! Wilson finished fourth in a blanket finish in the 120 yds hurdles at the Olympic Games in 1920, when a world's record was established by Carl Thomson.

"The trouble is, we are too modest about our\ athletes,-, and that when they go abroad they hardly have the chance to acclimatise themselves properly," said Mr; Dean.

. Joe Sadler caused several humorous incidents'on account 6f his diminutive stature. : On one occasion lie was not playing, but was line umpire. As he was walking on the field the gateman said to him, "Sorry, sonny,' boys not-allowed on the field." On another occasion he was trotting on to the field at the tail-end of the team when a gate-rmtn. took him by "the shoulder and said,, "Hey, no you don't! No mascots flowed on the field. 'Op it!"

Mr. Deian related several instances of the ignorance of English people about New Zealand. One old squire told them that he always wanted to go to New Zealand, iand said he thought it was' somewhere off the coast of North America. When told he was confusing it with Newfoundland he exclaimed, "Oh, you come from the ends of the earth! I shall never get there!"