THIRD TEST

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1938, Page 23

THIRD TEST

COMMENT ON PLAYERS

The following items of comment on the third Rugby Test, New Zealand v. Australia, at Sydney last Saturday, are taken from the "Sydney Morning Herald":—

Referee Chapman was slow throughout the game in detecting interference. He let a number of glaring breaches go. J. Sullivan, the All Black centre, should have been penalised several times. Sullivan frequently interfered with F. W. O'Brien. Hodgson also suffered interference in the line-outs, but some of these breaches were noticed

The New Zealand three-quarter line

did not show the brilliance of the previous games in Sydney. The polish of N. A. Mitchell's play was missed in the centre. Receiving more than an equal share of the ball from the scrum- [ mages and rucks, Saxton tried to get his backs moving, but the ball seldom travelled right along the line. Hard i tackling by the Australian backs, P. .Collins, E. Hayes, and W. Ide, broke up most of the movements. J. Griffiths, the new man among the inside backs, showed a great tendency to cut in. He followed a policy of kicking for the line, a phase which he did with accuracy. Griffiths has a reputation in New Zealand as a great saver of his forwards' energy. He did this on Saturday. His play did not please the crowd, but it kept New Zealand well down in the Australian territory. Some of his line kicks were gems. Australia's backs found it even more difficult to get moving than New Zealand's. It would have been hard to imagine worse handling than that shown by the Australians. Hayes, generally a sure handler, was weak. When he took the ball he slowed up the attack. The handling'of Kelaher and O'Brien was woefuL It was the rule rather than the exception for them to put the ball on the grass. Kelaher found that J. Dick was more than he could manage, and Dick frequently beat him. The weakness of Kelaher's tackling from behind was shown. The New Zealander was too fast for Kelaher to catch him. Ramalli was the best of the Australian backs. He took a heavy battering from the New Zealand forwards, who came through rucks and line-outs at him. He never let up. He was always trying to send his backs away, and his passing, except for a wild one now and again, was fine. He varied his play nicely, and frequently slipped through the New Zealand defence to find that he was not properly supported. Ramalli had suffered a fracture of his nose in the second Test match in Brisbane. In tackling J. Dick in the second half on Saturday, he suffered a painful knock on the nose, which caused him to leave the field. He resumed, but another knock made his I nose bleed profusely, and he suffered I agony. He was carried off the field jon a stretcher, and later taken to St. Vincent's Hospital for treatment. He was also suffering from slight concussion. He went home after remaining at the hospital for*a time. Taylor put the ball well into touch every time he got it. He displeased the crowd, who have shown throughout the Test series their disapproval of deliberate kicking into touch. Many of Taylor's kicks were fine, and the crowd did not hesitate to applaud these efforts. Hodgson was the outstanding forward in the home pack, which was not outplayed, but which failed to beat the All Blacks for the ball. The New Zealand forwards were solid. All worked well together, giving little away. They backed up the man with the ball in fine style, and their cover defence was excellent. A. Bowman was, perhaps, outstanding, although he became too hot-headed when the play was hardest. J. Dick, the All Black winger, who joined the visitors half-Sway through their tour, was a great success. His tricky running nonplussed the defenders, and even when hands were laid on him, he proved a very hard man to bring down. Berghan and Sullivan tried all the time, but sound tackling kept them comparatively quiet.