THE ALL BLACKS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12750, 4 January 1936, Page 5

THE ALL BLACKS

TO-DAY’S DIG MATCH. REVIEW OF PROSPECTS. IS BACK DIVISION A GAMBLE? MUCH DEPENDS ON CAUGHEY. (UP.A. by Elec. ToT. Copyright). LONDON, Jan. 2. Though the majority of the All Blacks are confident concernin': the result of Saturday’s international match against England, some of the team are apprehensive, believing that the changes in the back division are in the nature of a gamble. A great deal depends on Tindill. Should he play as well as he did against London Counties, the New Zealanders should win. Tho.Wellingtonian, however, has not yet fully learned positional play, and has still a tendency, on oconsiops, to watch the ball instead of the man. He may find the tall, careful Gadnev a handful. ‘

Gadncy* is most skilled at breaking away frorp the scrum. Ho is a determined runner and needs a lot of slopping. He penetrated the tourists’ defence on a number of occasions in earlier games. On the Other hand, the Tindill experiment is justified, for lie has thrust which has been sadly missed when Griffiths has' played. Tindill’s amazing skill in dropping goals makes him a potential ;mateh winner.

SELECTION OF CORNER. Corner earned his selection. Sadler, the star of the team a l , few weeks ago, lias been over-inclined to try to make openings himself, instead of feeding the backs, which Corner did fStibcpssfully against London Counties. On present form Mitchell and Ball must be preferred to Mart: Both have ability to make openings and are experts at taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. Ball’s defence has improved out of sight. He will have to bo at his host to hold Prince Obolensky said to bo the fastest international Britain has ever had and a strong runner. The general opinion is that the English backs, Cranmor, Gerrard and Candler, are not in the same class as Wooller, Davey and Cliff Jones. They play rather mechanical football, mostly being content, to send the ball out to the wings, typical of the present English stylo. There is still doubt regarding Caugliey’s leg, which has troubled him on several occasions during training. Remembering what happened at Swansea, where Caughey played, though not keen to do so, it is considered it would he a bad thing to let him take the field if he is not fully confident that his leg will stand a hard game. Critics believe that the tourists would have little, chance without the Aucklander.

CONFIDENCE IN FORWARDS.

The visitors’ forwards can be relied on to do their part, though King, Reid and Mahoney did not show their usual dasli and liveliness in recent games, due to staleness. 'The English selectors have adopted safety-first tactics as far as the forwards are concerned. They have picked experienced scrummagers, banking on their beating the New Zealand pack with weight and strength. That is why veterans like Webb arid Dunlcley were preferred. ' There is much comment concerning the selection of the Russian, Prince Obolensky, and the South African, Owen-Smith. The selectors have departed from the rule of choosing only English-born players. The manager of the All Blacks, Mr V. R. Meredith,' left Porthcawl for London. En route he will visit the Welsh player Tarr, who is still in hospital in Cardiff with a fractured spine, suffered in the Welsh test game.

It is reported that- leading Now Zealanders in London may pay the expenses of the team on a visit to the Continent next week.

NOT FORGOTTEN. ALL BLACKS VISIT WAR GRAVES. The association of affection established between the Motherland and this com)try by the soldiers who served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force are kept alive by English people in a number of ways, and the All Blacks, when they visited the graves of the 93 New Zealand soldiers'ht Brockenliurst, near Bourne month, wore able to meet- a. group of people who. ever since the days of tlie ,Great- War, have made it their unselfishly performed task of caring for those graves.

Among those of the All Blacks who visited Brockenliurst. when Mr. V. R. Meredith'laid a'wreath on the Now Zealand Memorial were Reid and Dalton, who Were shown the graves of the son of a Napier family and of a brother of a- resident- of Hastings. Both Reid and Dalton undertook to call upon the people concerned when they return home, and thus to carry yet. farther this association between Hawke's Bay and Hampshire. There is in Brockenliurst a lady who Writes regularly to tlie Hastings resident- rrientioned, a>.d has been doing so for many years, to tell her of the services that are hold each Anzac Day at the memorial in Brockenliurst Cemetery, and who is one of a number of people who not only take care of tlie cemetery, but- see that the children of the town grow up with a knowledge of what and whom the memorial commemorates.

Describing the ceremony in which Mr. Meredith and some of the All Blacks took part, .she says tliaf among those present was ColoneJ Grace, a New Zaelander now living at- Brockenliurst.

The visitors were welcomed by Capt. Cecil Sutton, who was secretary of the hospital at Brockenliurst. There \vere also present many of the V.A.'D. staff who gave' their services

during the war at No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital, known as Tin Town, anil at- the Morant' Hall, and Balmer Lawn and Forest- Park Hotels, which were converted into hospitals at that time. The New Zealand flag given to the Morant Hospital by the Dominion was flown at the railway station entrance.

“I want- you to take a message back to New Zealand,” Captain Sutton said. “It- is that Brockenliurst sends heaviest greetings to our New Zealand brothers who lived among us for such a long time, and of whom we shall always cherish such affectionate and happy memories. May Vour visit increase the ties of affection between your country and the Motherland.” Mr. Meredith placed a magnificent wreath of cream roses and lilies of the valley at the base of the memorial. Two minutes silence was observed, and one of the c-hureh bells, dedicated to the memory of the New Zealand soldiers buried i?; the churchyard, wds tolled.