RUGBY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 October 1924, Page 11

RUGBY.

All eyes and everyone’s thoughts aro centred on the tour of the All Blacks, and somehow most of us, though probably we are loth to admit the soft impeachment, do our accustomed work like the lazy man who has no special interest in his job and looks at the clock for his closing hour —have one eye on the middle and end of the week when the results of the two bi-weekly matches come through. What a wonderful hold on the English speaking peoples has this football of ours! The period of the tour the team are now entering upon after Cheshire today, which is not expected to be strenuous, is considered to be one of the most critical yet experienced. The northern counties have a doughty lot of- people who are desperately keen on their football. If report speaks true, and it sometimes ■ does, our men will be up against some pretty hard propositions which will test their capabilities and their prowess of endurance, and then they go over the Irish Sea and meet another tough lot of men — great fighters and keenest of sports. There will be many thrills during the next four weeks. Mr. Packer, the manager of the British touring team, who is an exNewport and Welsh international player, said that the Welsh club teams compared quite favourably, with the English county sides. Wales at present relied mainly on forward play, and had no great back teams such as the All Blacks met in 1905. This is of interest in view of the list of county matches to be played during the next few weeks. A football enthusiast says: The All Blacks beat Leicester by 28 to nil in 1905. and by 27 to nil in 1924: how long will it be before Leicester wins? —With the same interval between the tours Rugger fans in Leicester can look for a win in A.l>. 2437. The r.enort of the play of Nicholls and Mill' make interesting reading (says an exchange). In the case of Nicholls it may he said that the 'battle of Newport was won on the playing fields of Wellington , College. It was his practice there to take out half a dozen halls and kick at goal from all angles. He became so proficient that he could start, at one touchline and move across the “twenty-five” to the other, kicking goals all the way. Mill has been practising his score “round the blind” since his school days at Nelson College. His favourite “stunt” is well known to provincial players in New Zealand, who often anticinate it and prevent its success, but against a strange fifteen it almost invariably succeeds. It succeeded against the Springboks, and it has succeeded three times in England. . A correspondent says that the hardest match of the All Blacks’ tour would be on October 25,. against the champion county, Cumberland. Somerset were the champion county for the 1922-23 season, hut had not a very strong team at present. ‘ Gloucester will miss the “best forward in England,” A. T. Voyee, Cheshire will lose Maxwell, and, Somerset will be minus Gaisford. Newport, who otherwise would he All Blacks’ strongest opponents up till November, are considerably weakened by the absence , of such fine players as Neil. Macnhejrsqn and Dr. Roche (forwards), Harold Davies (centre-three^

quarter), and Will Griffiths (fly-half). Leicestershire play a wing-fonvard, as in New Zealand, and is the only county to do so regularly. This county team is generally comprised of Leicester Club men, and has better combination than is usual in a county side. In some racy comment on English Rugby and the chances o.f the All Blacks against, the international teams, a critic at Home says he expects the Welsh team to be considerably strengthened hv the inclusion of some players in South Africa. 'Rowe Harding is one who will considerably improve the Welsh chances. At Leicester the 2-3-2 scrum formation and two five-eighths among the backs were adopted from the New Zealand team in 1905, placing this side uniqpe among the British teams. Every time Leicester has a win or a less against the more prominent of the English or Welsh teams the old controversy of scrum formation and five three-quarters is renewed in Britain, and the style of play rather than the players given the praise or blame for' the win or loss. Against the All Blacks this element will he lacking, for the styles will he uniform, and no doubt the two hookers of the New Zealand scrum will find it a x'elief to meet the scrum formation that they are accustomed to. According to all accounts the Cambridge and Oxford Universities and: the All England teams are likely to prove very touch propositions. The All England match is the last of the tour of the All .Blacks in the Old Country, and by that time the team is likely to he growing a hit stale. Mr P. H. Francis, the British correspondent with the Rugby team in South Africa, states that the Springbok scrum halves do not put the hall in straight, and are allowed too much latitude by the referees. It was certainly noticeable that at Newlands, when Van School* put the hall in, the, locals heeled, and when Young’ put it in, Britain did the same (says a Capetown paper). (Is not this noticeable about many a match?) It is early to forecast, hut I can’t see the All Blanks heating the English XV., who hold the Calcutta Cup (writes a Bulletin correspondent). With the finest forward the Cold Country has seen for many a day in Wakefield (Cambridge) to lead them,, and a fast lot of; hacks, England should win on the All Blacks’ Australian form. Scotland, too. with Gracie (a great centre!. Liddell (the Olvmpie streaker) and “John’’ Wallace (if he is hack in time from South Africa), might heat them. A combined British XV. would he almost invincible these days. I should like to see the Maorilanders against a French team. The Frogeries (I saw in Paris) play a rattling game. Their hacks were the fastest I had witnessed for years, hut they lost their heads too often. . ALL BLACKS’ TRAINING. “GENERAL ROUGH AND TUMBLE” SHIPBOARD DIFFICULTIES.

Wri+ing to a friend in Rotorua. Mr. Les. Ononles. th« AH Black forward, mentioned the difficulties the players experienced in traininor aboard ship. “After left Wellington, ■ a meeting was called and arrangements tverp made for the controlling of games and

all manner of entertainments for the team, and also the rest of the secondclass passengers. We w*ere very fortunate in having a good run during the first few days, thus enabling the team to obtain their sea legs and be ready for training. A syllabus was therefore drawn up, so -that within three days the whole team was taking part in its system of training, calculated to maintain fitness during the voyage. An invitation was extended to the other passengers to .join in the early morning physical exercises. Two of the official party turn out regularly, accompanied by two ladies. It is pretty certain that these operations will he discontinued during the coining week, on account of tropical heat. We hardlv expected to carry out as much as we have, but the comparative coolness experienced up till to-day has been quite an outstanding feature pf the trip. Testing the Hookers. “At 7 a.m. we turn out for physical exercise under a physical culture expert who happened to be on board and who has kindly offered his services for the trip. • These exercises finish at 7.45. At. 10 a.m. there is scrum work, and passing for the backs, also medicine ball work and finishing up with a general rough and tumble all over the deck. The latter is a «omewhat dangerous game in which the whole 29 take part. At one time there were no less than nine or ten down with minor injuries. The chief scrum work is putting the 2 22 system down against the 32 —3, the latter being the formation we shall be opposed to in the Old Country. Very little or no hooking, is done with the whole scrums down. The continual roll land pitch of the boat makes it practically impossible to do anything satisfactorily. The veiy limited space we have makes it dangerous to put our two heavy packs down. Several times we screwed with the tremendous weight and went bang into the side of the ship. So the hookers are tried out with the lock only. The scrum is being perfected more and more, and I reckon it will startle the people at Home. There is no doubt regarding the better of the two systems, 2 —3—2 v. 32 —3. The former. acting as a powerful wedge, is capable of buckling up any 32 —3. Lectures on Tactics. ‘At 2 p.m. there are lectures. At. present each member of the team is giving a lecture on. tactic- 3 . Criticisms are freely indulged in, and the result is that, each point is fairly 'well threshed out. It is surprising the amount of good that conies from discussing operations on the field. Our wing- forward is going to be given a different name, probably he will he called an “extra half” or “rover.” Porter, the captain, is proving liimseif a good man iti that capacity. Dean is proving an efficient manager. “There is absolute good, feeling amongst all members of the team. The dances and concerts have been very enjoyable. Judge Aeheson has got a dancing class going for the nondancers in the team. Several good dancers in the first class are helping, consequently there are several of the team well' on the road to becoming proficient dancers. The team has formed a very successful jazz band, a great asset to the ship, I must say. Under 'Brian McCleary, a blindfold boxing competition was held, providing good sport for all on board. Each member is. weighed evpry Monday, and the weights recorded fop cqipparison at the end of the voyage. As" a whole, the

team is losing weight, but there are one or two who will probably need to restock with collars on reaching England. With a little luck, I don’t see how we are likely to disgrace ourselves. A lot will depend on injuries I think.”. COMMENTS. (By Wayfarer, Otago Daily Times.) ■ Though the All Blacks, in deference to rather captious criticism, have discarded their weird war-cry, I, for one, should be ready to proclaim it afresh to-day if I could remember the exact wording and had not contracted just a touch of “flu.” A froggy throat is no good for vociferous performances of that kind. Anyhow, with or without a battle-shout, our bovs are going strong The Swansea Welshmen piysumably in the absence of Mr Lloyd George, were simply nowhere V , . LONDON, Sept. 27. In tace of predictions by English clitics a$ to what would ' happen u’hen the All Bliqks met the Welsh clubs, they not only won handsomely at Swansea to-day but out together the highest score of the tour so far—biz., 39 points to 3 Les, good “biz.,” indeed. A tiny misprint—just one little letter awry—is sometimes faultlessly felicitous. llow much better, in this particular instance, is “biz.” than “\;iz.”f Of coures, “viz.” is familiar epough in print—m print and nowhere else. Most of us know that it stands for namely”; but could one person in a thousand state its precise philological origin ? * . & The thing, we know, is neither rich nor rare, But wonder how the devil it o-ot there”— got, that is, into common English unt. But “hiz.” we all know, if not m print, at any rate in heart and fact • and it is m “hiz.” that the All Blades are engaged. “Viz.” may go hang. All the same, we shall do well to avoid the note of premature triumph jest Nemesis pursue us. (The Dunedin Classical Association will observe with approval that I use “Nemesis” in the strict sense: punishment, not of any old sort of sin, but of the specific sin of excessive glorification.) It will be many a week before all is over bar the shouting. When the All Blacks meet combined Wales Mr Llovd George may he there, sounding a slogan far weirder and more unpronounceable, than anything ever conceived by Maori militarism. Not a recognisable vowel in it! And 1 then if Wales should win, “Hear from thy grave, great Taliessin, hear!” But away with such forebodings! My faith is large in the star of New Zealand. No Taffy shall come to our shop and steal a leg of beef.