RUGBY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 9 August 1924, Page 11

RUGBY.

NOTES. Christchurch came third in the Rugby competition because someone forgot to polish up their rearguard. “Trot out your bands of strong men, that we may rnake mincemeat of them” -r-that is the All Blacks’ war cry. In a photo, dated 1883, of the Merivale Club’s firsti fifteen the names given below are: W. H. Lock, Alf. Gapes, J. W Bowman, W. G. Garrard. H. C. Evans, C. Curtis, H. E. Ijiddlestone, C.' Scrimshaw. C. Read, A. Ghees (captain), G. Hoare, H. Moorhouse, R, Halley, R. R Tucker, H. ; Lowry, and L. Pozzi (umpire). Nugget Pringle, Wellington’s popu- j lar elongated forward, has received doctor's orders to have an injury to his nose attended to, and will Very shortly go under an operation to have the defect remedied. This will mean that- Nugget will be missing from Oriental’s front ranks for a period, but it is to be hoped that his recovery will he speedy enough to make his absence from football as - short as possible. - W. J. A. Davies, England’s wonderful Rugby ex-captain and half-back, tells a good lstbry( against himsetf. While he was on tour in France his team was being entertained at a civic reception, and dance. Now, Davies rather fancied himself as a dancer, hut at least one of his oartners thought differently. After one' waltz with him she summed up the situation as follows: “Ah, Monsieur Davies, on the football field—superb: on the dancing floor—Oh, mo-n Dieu!” THE MAM AW*ATU MATCH. GREAT DISPLAY. FULL OF INCIDENT. Enthusiasts wlio went to Stratford on Thursday were well rewarded, for the match was one of the keenest, brightest and most interesting displays seen this season. The/ visitors came up with their mana high on account of the good showing against the All Blacks at Palmerston. Taranaki, however, with one of the best packs seen for some years, excellently led and inspired bv Jack Kissick, and supported by a, young back team who did no discredit to the many that have represented Taranaki, played wonderfully well, and, after twice being a point behind.the visitors, scored a sensational win just on call of time, thus providing the spectators with a contest that . was packed full of interest and thrills from kick-off to 110-side. Both forwards aiid backs made a creditable showing, especially the former, though there was in the first spell and part of the second a decided weakness frequently in the play of some of the inside backs. This was at times very noticeable in defence, and in the “lob” passing, instead of a quick, crisp transfer of the ball, and got them into trouble* mcir'e than once. It enabled the visiting forwards to come through practically unopposed, and j*!so gave the speedy Manawatu three-quarters' many openings, of which, they, specially Mullins and I jaw, 'took lull advantage. The hack play, however, in the latter part of the game, was really brilliant-, and went a long way to redeem the mistakes of the early part. Jeffries, behind the sciruni, stood up well to the vigorous opposing vanguard, and got the ball away smartly when his forwards let it out cleanly. Oliver played a plucky game, but nearly always got rid of the ball without trying to beat a man, and was slack in passing, in the second spell, however, lie improved vastly, and gave a really good display. Johnston was, as always, brilliant and lesodrcetul. His side-stepping and cutting m to beat his man were iuusl useful, and often were (responsible ■ far putting his backs in a scoring position, and twice was mainly responsible for the score. His passing was really capital, accurate and well timed, formerly a, weakness with him. Ennis played a good solid game, and worked hard, both in attack and defence. Ross was the star of the threeqnarter line, and, though in the first spell he was mostly crowded on the line, he played brilliantly in the second, and scored two .pretty tries as the final move in excellent- passing movements by the back line. McGregor did a lot of use>lul work and kicked and collared weii, but lie lost several excellent chances through failing jn his over-eagerness to take the pass. C’outts, at full-back, played a great game. It was one of his brilliant days, and he rarely made a mistake, and got .his side out of trouble on numerous occasions. His tackling at times, however, was not too good.

The forwards to a man played well, but the outstanding player was Jack Kissick. He was almost always on the ball, and his dribbling work and control of the ball excelled anything seen on a football field for a long time. He was also a great leader. Not far behind him were Walter and Ivivell, two great forwards who were always on ’-the ball and did a power of good work, '^3th in the ruck and in those great loose rushes for which Taranaki forwards have always been noted, and m which the present team worthily upheld the traditions of the province. All the others played a good gam&, and worked hard and tirelessly. Frydav especially did a lot of good tackling and spoiling work. The Manawatu team have also a _ great pack, of whom perhaps Carroll, Staite, Tyree and Anderson stood out ♦most prominently. They were fast and heavy, and were a 'worthy set ot doughty opponents. Towards the end, however, Taranaki, who appeared to be in better and hardeir form, wore them down and dominated the struggle. Earle, at half, played well, but was often caught with 'the ball by the vigorous rushes of the opposing pack. McDonald, at second five-eighths, played finely and gave his three-quarters every assistance. Cook, however, was, generally speaking, the weak link. Mullins, at centre, played capitally, his running and kicking' being specially good. He intercepted several times very cleverly and smartly, and gave numerous openings to his wings. Hewas Well hacked up by Law, wiio played also a- brilliant game, and proved himself a dangerous scoring man. Bailey did hot display the form which gained him a place in the trial game at 'Wanganui, and shaped only fairly. Marsh, at- full-back, hail a- lot of work to do, and oh the whole did well, kicking cleverly. Taking the ball and kicking were features of the whole of the backs. Generally speaking, the game was most interesting, and the form of the team must have pleased the selectors mighty well. They in their turn have reason to be pleased with their work, not too easy at any time. It is to be hoped that for the remaining rep. matches no chaises will be made.

THE ALL BLACKS. Even when the .Hawke’s Bay youth Xepia was performing well in the trials many old heads were dubious, remembering the many great Maori players who had failed to reproduce their form when placed on a losing side in a mixed team (says the Timaru Herald). M ith some brilliant native footballers it seems as difficult for them to show their real form when separated from their own race as for a Highlander to dance a fling without' the accompaniment of the pipes. It may be found when the internationals cpme up for decision that Svenson will be the New Zealand custodian.

A Hastings view of the half-back controversy: Some of the New Zealand papers have been very quick to suggest that because Mill'was below form in the first match in Sydney he should not have been in the team, and are already proclaiming that Dailey has superseded him as the principal halfr back for the team. It is very early yet to be talking in that strain, for it is hardly likely -that Mill would show his best form under the circumstances obtaining in the first match. Jimmy has tons of time to prove himself yet, and given a field I have no doubt he will do so. But if Dailey should prove, after all, to be the better man of. the two, more power to him! It will be all to the good, so far as the team is concerned, to have two firstclass halves.

It is to be hoped that the locks in the 1924 All Blacks come to light early in England. In all their matches so far the scrum has collapsed far too often, and the fault can be laid at the door of the lock. Unless Harvey and Masters improve, Stan Dean will be wishing he had Williams, of with him. 10

The All Blacks went away like a lot of new pins. All were provided with new overcoats, sweaters, grev flannel trousers, and football gear. 'lf they should strike bad weather on the trip and go ashore in their new coats they will look like a party from an orphanage. Though the place-kicking of the All Blacks in their matches so far has every reason to expect it to improve at Home. Young Handley Brown looks the most , likely one to come to light in this direction. The selection of Cliff Porter as captain for the Home tour of the 1924-5 All Blacks will meet with- general satisfaction. He was the man the team wanted,, and that is a lot. However, in a the writer is sorry for Porter, for following in the footsteps of the late Dave Gallaher, he is in for one whale of a time from the English press. It would have been had enougli to have been wing forward alone, without being shackled with the responsibilities of captain. “Do your “best. If your best is to Win, we will be doubly elated; if your best is to lose, we will take your lick“Jl? with you.”—Mr W. S. Glenn, M.P., to the departing All Blades. Among those present at the All Blaqk match at Palmerston was Dr. G- B. Sinclair, last year’s All Black ruli-back. It ; was a great pity that Jim had to drop out of the trials, and niefhinks that New Zealand will think so before the All Black tour is over'. RULES OF RUGBY. OFFSIDE EXPLAINED. “Referee,” New Zealand’s foremost authority on Rugby rules, below explains the working of the offside rule. As so many of our players are in ignorance of the correct interpretation of this particular rule it will be to their benefit to closely peruse the- following: “Mot 11” writes: A back (red') kicks 1 the ball well over his own forwards and the opposing back (black) fields it. The referee immediately gives free kick against red—ruling all red forwards offside, being in front of the kicker, who is running up to put his side onside. hat usual ruling of offside rule in this case? “Referee” replies: If the facts are as stated bv “Mo'tu” the referee is wrong, unless the players ruled offside are within ten yards of the black back, l’he free kick is not given because a player is in an offside position, but because ho does some particular act whilo in such a position*. These- are: (1) Playing the ball (2) Actively or passively obstructing • an opponent. (3) Approaching or wilfully remaining within ten yards of .any opponent waiting to receive the ball. (4) Not being in the scrummage, but remaining in front of the ball when it is in the scrum. (o) Entering a scrummage from his opponents’ side of the hall. So long as the offside red Mayers do none of these five things they cannot be penalised. As soon as a- player has kicked the ball, all his forwards are offside who are standing within ten yards of the opponent waiting to take it or who come up before he has caught and mulled or caught and run five yards. I hose standing within ten yards must retire outside that distance or they should be penalised. They cannot be nut onside either by B mulling the ball, or running five wards with It, or by R running up in front of them. Their duty is to get outside the circle at once, so that their presence shall not render B’s chance of taking the | ball more difficult. If they do retire ) outside the circle they can then be put j onside in the usual wav.

MEMORIES OF A FAMOUS SIDE. WELCOME TO NEW TEAM. (From a Home Paper.) The New Zealanders are coming. Mith what a thrill Newtonians this week have received the glad tidings, and how wonderfully has memory been switched back to the. season 190o t 6, when those wonderful All Blacks came to the Mother Country and exhibited Kugby football, the like of w’hich had never been seen before, and which possibly will never be seen again, writes Reuben Coomb© in the Mid Devon Times. Twenty years have elapsed since the invasion of that incomparable team of footballers, andvthe magic of their influence rests with us yet. They came quietly and not unduly heralded, at a time when no one in these islands suspected they would be other than easy prey for the splendid exponents we then boasted, but in the space of a few r weeks they had demonstrated themselves to be the most formidable, team of football players who ever stepped on a field. We welcomed them to Newton Abbot, watched them in their training at the Recreation Ground, but so strong was our faith in our superiority that we even then did not appraise them accurately. They surely could not hold out against the representatives of the Home counties. Came

disillusionment in the shape of that never-to-be-forgotten game at Exeter, when the wearers of the silver fern laid on the trowel against Devon to the extent of 55 points to 4, after an exhibition of whirlwind Rugby which left us gasping.

is it any wonder, then, that the New Zealand authorities have so readily accepted the town’s invitation once more to pitch their tent in our midst, and have turned a deaf ear to the puerile “imitation” which emanated from Torquay? In the more minute details of the tour of that amazing team it is unnecessary to probe. Suffice it to say they suffered only one check to an all-conquering progress, and piled up points on a scale which might never he eclipsed. The solitary reverse was against Wales at the Cardiff Arms Park, but this had better be printed “reverse,” for although Wales were officially returned the victors by a try to nil, most folk who saw the match (and I was one of their number) came away with the opinion that New Zealand lost only through a blunder by the referee. It was the greatest game of'Rugby ever staged, and when Teddy Morgan raced in with a try for Wales the floodgates of enthusiasm were flung wide open. The grim struggle which followed is inetfaceably traced on .the tablet of one’s mind. Every shot in the New Zealanders’ locker seemed to have been exhausted in superhuman efforts to retrieve the day, and then Dean forced his way over the Cymric line with several defenders hanging to his back, but, though he touched down legitimately enough, the referee, arriving from the rear, negatived the score. It was all a sin and a shame, and when, some years later, poor Deans, back in New Zealand, lay on a death bed, the last words he whispered were: “It was a fair try.” And so it was. The momentous error of the arbiter robbed that coruscating combination of what should have been a clean record of victory, and it very naturally was correspondingly perturbed. But the team would not have been pressed so hard by the Welsh had not its visit been delayed to the fag-end of the tour, when its players, because of such an exciting programme, had lost some of their elan. One wonders where these wonderful fellows are now, and how they are faring. Deans and Mynott we know to be dead, and David Gallagher, captain of that gallant company, laid down his life wearing khaki colours in a more grim game in France. Every man in the side was, of necessity, a wonderful performer. Charlie Seeling, perhaps the greatest, forward the game has ever known, Stead, Wallace, Geo. Smith, “Bubbles” Tyler, Jimmy Hunter, that able dodger, the gold-miner, Fred Roberts, the diminutive hut eel-like Thompson, and Eric Harper, who used to stand at the Recreation Ground and drop goals from three-parts down the field. Apart from their inherent skill, the All Blacks owed much of their success to the thoroughness which characterised everything they did. Their leathercollared jerseys completely ruled out any snap taclders, and their boots were marvellous unities of strength and lightness. If they had to be worn on heavy and slippery soil the bottoms of these were carefully black-leaded, with advantages that were obvious. How many of our present-day footballers will be bothered with such details? Perhaps, however, the main factors of their astounding success were the tactical advantages which' lay in the disposition of their forces. These were arranged as follows: A full-back, three three-quarters, two five-eighths, one halfback, a winging forward, though so named was no forward at all. At any rate he never formed part of the scrum. His function was to place the hall jn and make things as sultry as possible for the opposing scrum-worker. It was David Gallagher himself who usually performed the-role, and right well did he do it. Albeit, he encountered ill criticism of some of our scribes, who voted him an “obstructionist” pure and simple. But that was sheer bunkum.

The position of the two‘five-eighths opened^up amazing possibilities, as the attacks could rapidly and without warning be developed in any direction. Each of the forwards, according to carefully thought out considerations of weight, pace, etc., was allotted to a position in the scrum, from which he never departed, with the result that there was exhibited a heeling machinery absolutely guaranteed to deliver the goods. To make clear how quickly the hall was' delivered from the scrum, it is only necessary to state the literal fact that it was impossible for the same player who placed the ball in the scrum to get hack sufficiently quickly to pick it up again from the heels of the forwards! Was it any wonder that our teams, with their happy-go-lucky methods, should get such trouncings? Yet there must be recorded the lamentable fact that the lessons given by these enterprising tourists have never been appreciated, and that we still suffer from the exploiting antediluvian methods.

The question naturally arises—What sort of side will they he? This is more easily, .asked than answered A great team they will assuredly prove to be. Is it possible, sav, that they can be so wonderful as their predecessors ? I candidly confess that I cannot imagine another side reallv so perfect as they were J

The institution of professional Rugby in New Zealand will probably have robbed the amateur game of some of its best exponents, but even so, there indubitably will be collected another combination of giants—players of skill, speed, and subtlety, who \vill make our own dance to a merry tune. Advice from New 'Zealand predicts that the backs may not be so imposing as those of 1905, but that “the forwards will bo heavier and more speedy/’ If this be true, may the fates preserve us, for the forwards of that side were the most formidable ever seen in action—a swift-moving human phalanx, who swept down the field throwing aside all who thought to stav their progress. It seems stupidity early to hazard an opinion of how our guests will fare, but I shall be greatly surprised if we can find a team capable of holding them up. But be that as it mav, oine thing is certain, the hoys of the silver fern will be royallv received to our shores, and none will be more pleased to greet them than the townsfolk of Newton Abbot, who are fully determined that all the happy associations of 1905 shall be repeated. Our every hospitality shall be theirs.