ALL BLACKS FULLY FIT FOR TEST: ROUGH PLAY WARNING SHOCKS PUBLIC

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23023, 13 August 1949, Page 3

ALL BLACKS FULLY FIT FOR TEST : ROUGH PLAY WARNING SHOCKS PUBLIC

(From Claude King, Press. Assn. Eep. with the All Blacks.)

(10 a.m.) JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 12. F. R. Allen and R. R. Elvidge have been reported fully recovered from the recurrence of their injuries, and the All Blacks will take the field on Saturday for the second test 100 per cent fit.

The ground will he very firm following a long dry spell. The weather is expected to remain fine, and the latest estimates arc that the crowd may reach 70,000.

lengths of newspaper correspondence on how to improve the standard of Rugby v Unhappy Atmosphere In the latter category came a letter from Mr. J. D. de Villicrs. a leading official, that weak refereeing was a contributory factor. He alleged that the referees were reluctant to send players off the field due to lack of support by unions and by the South African Rugby Board. The only regrettable incident on the tour, however, was the bottle-throwing incident by an excited section of the public in the second Transvaal game. There is now a feeling that an unhappy atmosphere has been created by the Transvaal Union president’s statement which has placed the referee for Saturday’s test in an invidious position. One writer has stated: “The referee is in charge of the game. What is going to happen if the Transvaal Union wants to punish a player for something the referee did not sec and on what authority can it act?” Fred Allen’s Comment Fred Allen gave a statement to one Johannesburg newspaper which may help to case any possible misunderstanding. “I must say that I feel we have had nothing but good, hard, clean games and I can see no reason to expect anything different in the test match on Saturday. I have seen a lot of international football and there is nothing in' the games we have had here that suggests there is likely to be anything to which followers of the game can take exception.”

During this week the statement by the president of the Transvaal Rugby Union, Mr. H. J. Sanderson, that foul play at Ellis Park would be punished has astounded many people. His concluding paragraph stated: “This union will take whatever steps there are in their power to have punishment meted out to any players who may be found guilty of any offence or attempted offence on the field of play during the international match next Saturday, whether they are punished by the referee or not.” This statement appears to have been inspired by one newspaper’s constant reference to “rough football” and “unpleasant matches” which have found little support elsewhere and the