ALL BLACKS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 16 June 1928, Page 5

ALL BLACKS

TO MEET TRANSVAAL. TEAM SELECTED. THE FINLAYSON INCIDENT. United Press Association —By Electric Telegr.ij.F Copyright.) (Australian Press Association.) JOHANNESBURG, June 15. The team for to-morrow’s match against Transvaal,will be: — l.ilbume. RcWMiiartl, C’arleton, Grcinsido. Strang, .Johnson Dailey. .Sonimsliaw, More, Swain, M. Brownlie, Alley, Finlayson, Stewart, Ha/.lett. The “Johannesburg Star,” in a paragraph. headed “All Blacks’ Secrecy,” says; “The Press and public were refused admission to the ground yesterday while the All Blacks were training;. Oike the All B'iuck** were practising none were allowed to watch the play, except the mere ardent spirits who craned their necks through the doorway and watched the visitors from a distance. This i'S probably the first tune that any team, whether football, civeket or tennis, has visited South Africa •an<l has practised behind closed doors.”

A correspondent, writing in tire “Star’’ under the heading ‘ ‘Sport sanship of the Crowd,” makes an appeal to Rugby spectators. He says: “I hope that a.t next Sat urday’s match the crowd, or rather the booing section of the crowd which made so painful an exhibition of itself last Saturday, will sinew a litte more true sportsmanship. The crowds at cricket and tennis matches in South Africa .are the most sporting I have ever seen, but the same cannot lie said of certain Rugby enthusiasts.

,'T was an eve-witness -at, fairly dost? quarters of the regrettable,incident last Saturday. It seemed to me and others in the vicinity that Finlayson received the grossest provocation. That did snot judtifv him in striking, but in view cf his handsome apology and his taking all the blame on bis shoulders, the fact refened to should be known. “The referee, who did not see what occurred before Finlayson’si action, subsequently behaved in none too' tactful a manner, quite unnecessarily drawing much attention to iit. Such incidents and the circumstances which give rise to them are unfortunate enough in matches between teams •draws from the same country, but they are doubly unfortunate when the match is Tie tween a home team and visitors from another country. If such things are 'going to happen in the amid such semi-hysterical, uaisportang demonstrations as we saw last iaic .Tdav from a section of the crowd, the sooner we cea» :: e to invite teams to came to South Africa the better. Othe-r----wi;o these inter-Dominion fixtures will en-cl in engendering liot good feeling, but bad'.” Members l of the All Black team nho Johannesburg and are going tlirough did not play at Kroonstad stayed at intensive training. They are playing tennis and golf. The team is being generally feted and entertained in a lavish style. They visited the Crown gold minyo this morning! and were taken down a shaft. Several payers are suffering from injuries. Harvev has torn a muscle in his leg. Lindsay ha.s a damaged knee. Burrows lias injured ribs and McGregor an inj mod back. All are mr.-!ik-ing a quick recovery. 'Alosfc of the '/lave;.'-I have skinned- limbs and play with bandages.

MATCH WILL BE TEST 0-F FORM. UP AGAINST' MASTER. PACK. PROSPECTS FOR. NEW ZEALANDERS. (Special to Press Association.) Received 10.25 a.m. to-dav. JOHANNESBURG, June 15. The Transvaal team for to-morrow is: R ichiter. Prinsiloo, Dobiie, Ratal'll, Liben/berg. De.vine, Ivotze. Forwards: Kruger, Mortimer, Oliver, Pretonious, Van Draten, Botha, Nykamp, Strachan or Veale. The only alteration from last Saturday’s team is the exclusion of Geere, who was injured. Geere wa,s> the man concerned, an the Finlays oil incident. The match will be a., critical test for the All Blacks’ form to be shown tomorrow, and should reveal the tourists’ chances in the international matches. After the All Blacks’ convincing display at Kroon stud the team has more confide nce in its cap abilities tha n previously. If New Zealand gets a reasonable share of the ball from the scrums to-morrow it should win, but our hookers are up against a master hooker in Kruger, in fact up against a master pack. Supposing New Zealand gets as much of the ball as against Free State and the backs are in equally good form, they should win comfortably. With the exception of Johnson, who has nasty abrasions on his legs, the New Zealand team 1 for to-morrow d.s sound. Devine, the .brilliant Transvaal scrum half, is stiilil suffering from the. injury received 1 last week. Otherwise the opponent’s team is in good first-class condition.