The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1936. THE LAST MATCH.

Evening Star, Issue 22229, 6 January 1936, Page 6

The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1936. THE LAST MATCH.

Even the most enthusiastic among New Zealand Rugby followers should now be inured to these Sunday morning shocks, which, coming by wireless and cable, tell the story of an All Black defeat. It is very well so. The time has long since arrived when there should be a more general recognition of the relative unimportance of socalled international Rugby supremacy, as compared with the spirit in which the game is played. On Saturday New Zealand’s representatives were well beaten by a fast and clever English combination whose movements must have been delightful to watch. It was the heaviest defeat an All Black side, picked carefully for a British or a South African tour, has suffered since South Africa’s victory in the first test of 1928 by 17 points to 0. But there should be no regrets. An English newspaper, the ‘ Sunday Times,’ sportingly admits that the All Blacks’ team changes may not have produced the best results, but it is most likely correct when it adds that England played such superb football that it would have beaten any team the tourists fielded. “ The team is not as good as its predecessors, but its members are grand fellows off and on the field, and have pleased us immensely with the spirit in which they have played, which should partially compensate them for defeats,” says the ‘ Sunday Times.’ This makes sweet reading. A statistical summary of the tour just concluded does not reflect discredit on the ability of a side whose luck in gaining narrow wins in one or two of the lesser games was offset by ill-fortune in the matter of injuries, but most gratifying of all is the knowledge, procured from more sources than pne, that the New Zealanders have played the game all through in the proper spirit and with a carefree eclat which, although not always successful, at least made them attractive exponents of Rugby*

It is impossible to suggest that the team still abroad has been the equal of its predecessors of either 1924-25 or 1905-06. As compared with the more recent side, it has lacked a wily general like Mark Nicholls in a key position. It included no three-quartfcr with the flashing and yet sustained genius of A. E Cooke, whose kind does not evolve every year. And, although G. F. Hart’s brilliance is recognised, it had no heavy, powerful-running J. Steele — the type of wing three-quarter who is usually sought in the Old Country. Yet the New Zealand selectors did their best with the material available last season. Anv attempt to attribute defeat to poor work by the selectors would be unfair not only to those puzzled gentlemen, but also to our opponents in Britain, The truth is that Rugby over there has improved greatly, perhaps in part by reason of the lessons learned from previous visits of the All Blacks and the Springboks. A strange note of irony is conveyed in the cabled information that the loose forward work of the Englishmen, among whom were two wing forwards said to be invaluable in holding up the tourists’ three-quarters, was definitely superior to that of the All Blacks. It appears that while the New Zealand packmen, most conscientious in their efforts to put into practice the lessons of solid scrummaging absorbed by them on, the tour, were battling honestly in the tight, their opponents favoured a style of play which in all probability has been copied from New Zealand. And it paid them! The story of England’s clever inside hack play, of fast, straight running three-quarters, and of covering up in defence as well as backing up on attack, is also peculiarly reminiscent of past All Black performances. There is one aspect of Rugby in the British Isles that should be made clear, and the revelation—if revelation it be should provide some measure of consolation to the Rugby followers of New Zealand. The game at Home has a much stronger hold than many people here think. It is true that, in the eyes of the masses, it is not regarded as the national game. The club matches do not attract the same huge crowds as do those played under Association rules. Therefore, they are not given anything like an equal amount of publicity. Rugby in the Old Country is essentially a game for players, and these, except perhaps in Wales, are drawn almost exclusively from the public schools, universities, big hospital staffs, and offices. But in a country with a large population like that of the United Kingdom jt was inevitable that the playing strength should become high, both in quality and iff numbers. A recent issue of the London 4 Observer,’ detailing the scores in one Saturday afternoon’s Rugby, reveals the fact that, in addition to the sides taking part in trials and in the county championship, there wore 152 senior club teams on the field in England and Wales alone. There were also 142 senior teams representing the old boys of public schools (including only a fraction of the Scottish schools), and 112 sides drawn from the present school boys. W'hen it is considered that most of these clubs will have had juniors in action, it is easy to arrive at the conclusion that the numerical strength of British Rugby is not so low as some people would have us believe. If any of our enthusiasts are in need of solace they should derive some from this knowledge. In any case, the failure of the 1935-36 All Blacks to win all their games has made the path of their successors easier and perhaps more pleasant. That is something for which we may be thankful.