THE TESTS

Hokitika Guardian, 9 June 1930, Page 2

THE TESTS

CAN NEW ZEALAND WIN

AN INTERESTING REVIEW,

A writer in an exchange referring to the British Rugby tour in the course of comment states: —

Accounts of every game the tourists have played so far are full of praise for the way they go about it. They have a great array of talent in thenbacks, and the selectors of the touring side realised that, in order that trie flyers 1 in the rearguard should have a good chance to show their paces, thelohvards would have to be of a type to bold and get the better of the husky men they would be up against when on a New Zealand tour. The result is a splendid combination that has given i nail its games to date ample evidence of its worth.

The game in Wellington cannot be taken as an indication for the tests. A careful perusal of reports from the capital city indicates that the game was in the balance all the way, and that the tourists have one or two mistakes to blame for not bringing their score past, that of the homo team. It' cannot be said that Wellington did not deserve their win, for the site played superbly, and met the Englishmen at their own game, but nevertheless it appears that the tourists were far from being outclassed, and only magnificent defence kept them out time and time again. There will be no mistakes in the teats,

Where New Zealand should have a djsthipt advantage in the international pmes is in the forwards, Tim British packmen early demonstrated that they .were too good for the ordinary provincial side, but Wellington . fielding keen, well-trained workers who Went lull out from \rhktle to whistle, more than held their own, and gave their backs a fair share of the ball.

big Forwards

If the South Island trial game -played here a week ago can be taken as an indication, the New Zealand pack will be every hit as good as that which did such wonderful work in England in 1924. There ale any amount of players whose form justifies an inclusion in. the All Bluek team, and it is just a matter for the selectors to sort out the best side. In the trials for the 1929 All Blacks to tour Australia, the critics in Wellington raised the cry, “Where are the giants?’’ lamenting the absence from the trials of, such' stalwarts as Masters, Richardson, Hazlett, Stewart, and the rest.

This year there are giants, and to spare.

The hookers will not be out-sized, most oT those in the running being round about the thirteen-stone mark, and sturdily built, as is right and proper. Of the locks, Collett and Harvey, to quote a couple only, are men who could not get their suits ready made in an ordinary community. . Both are over the fifteen-stone mark, and both are splendid footballers, Harvey has made his reputation, and is playing well up to it at the present time, while Collett je just coming into his own, and should he not lock the All Black scrum he might find a place nt tire hack, Purdue, Hazlett and Stewart are three other South Island giants whose size is not their only recommendation, 1 On ms form in the trial game here, Hazlett is perhaps the best forward in New Zealand to-day. His weight before the South African tour was 14st 91b, and he is a bigger man now, while he has gained in experience and speed, Stewart js now over the six-teen-stone mark, and by the time the tests come should be as fit and effective as ever he was.

A GREAT SCRUM

As well as those men of the south, there are northerners of heavy calibre and grjaat ability. To mention the names of Porter, Solomon, Palmer, Reid, M’Williams, Knight, Batty, Finlayson and Steere would only be to mention a proportion of them. A great scrum would he: Cottrell and Reid, hookers; Harvey, lock; Finlayson and Hazlett, sides; M’Williams and Stewart; back; and that leaves out Collett, Purdue, Batty, Campbell and Steere!

Much will depend on the selection of the All Black hacks as to how the game will go. The half-back position is causing a lot of trouble. Dailey,

bably the commission shortly to investigate tin. condition of the railways will deal with the matter, and it is safe to predict that however troublesome it Ini-, been in its previous appearances on the Urder Paper, it is another of the measures which the Prime Minister would like to see debated before lie could undertake the representation of his country in the heart of the Empire. Assuming that parliamentarians agree that New Zealand must have its Prime Minister at the Conference, the Government will provide early opportunities of testing the House on controversial measures, and if it survives this ordeal, the Prime Minister could leave the remainder of the business in the hands of his deputy, the Hon E. A. Ransom. An immense amount of business of great importance to all parts of the country could be dealt with in the Prime Minister’s absence, and it is quite probable that the coming session will be as long as the usual middle or business meeting of Parliament.

si lire the. South Island trial, when he was dropped from the final trial, lias been below his host form. That must be admitted. Whether he can make a come-back is problematical. It would certainly be great to have the old Dailey behind the All Black scrum, but it appears that that will not lie, in the first test a any rate. / Corner is reported t,o lie showing great form, Holden is sound, if not brilliant, and Kilby’s performances for Wellington places him in the first rank. He shone in defence as well as in attack.

It is certain that against the Englishmen defence will he a great lactor in the selection of the team.

Again, the Wellington match shows that Mark Nit-holls will be hard to oust from the team. He has a. wealth of experience and a. talent for generalship as well as playing ability, and is a very’ useful man in any side on that account. Lilburne,' Ilines and Johnson are all going hard for a place, and the best of them will make a great combination behind the scrum. It is certain that the man who shows a weakness in the trial game will stain! no chance of selection, for the competition will be too hot for tlfiit.

THE BEST.

Cooke, the brilliant and sure, is a certainty, bar accidents, for the centre position, and there tlio Englishmen will have one who will show them a point or two in their own game. On his game, Cooke is perhaps the best back playing football to-day. The wingers for the trial games ar< Oliver, M’Kay, Minns and Hart, and two fine players should be chosen .Iron, them. Hart, the Canterbury hope, will hnvo a chance to impress the selectors on Saturday, The others are fine players, and the selection will not ho easy, Nepin js tho man everyone would like to see Rt full-back, but should his form be under par Heazlowod will make an efficient substitute, The Wellington game against the Britishers found - him a capable custodian. If Charlie Oliver shows the form on Saturday that he gave a taste of in the Canterbury trial game on Tuesday. he also should have a chance of selection in one of the test matches, if not the first, but he will have to be a little surer with his tackling. On Tuesday he scored four beautiful tries

A fine back line would be Kilby, Lilburne, Nicholls, Cooke, Minns, Han, with Nepia full-back. At t-hat, a- tremendous amount depends, on the trial in Wellington, and nearly all those mentioned, Cooke being the exception, stand a chance of exclusion.

IN NEW ZEALAND’S FAVOUR

On thing is certain. The New Zealand team -should be a combination to worthily uphold the traditions of the All Blacks, and if the Englishmen can win against them they will be indeed a great side. Whether the advantage of combination that a travelling team has, plus the talent in the visitors’ ranks, can triumph over a typically fast and solid New Zealand side, remains to be. seen, but judgement as well as patriotism suggest that New Zealand will have yet another series of test victories to their 'credit, As has been said before, the victories will be very hard to win, but they should he won with the wealth of talent at the command qf the New Zealand selectors, Should any one of the All Blacks prove lacking In the slightest degree in the first test, there will be many candidates for his position,

The pack, however chosen, should outweigh the visitors man for man substantially, and the fact that the “lost art” of scrummaging has been regained in this country, as a result of 1928 and 1929 tours, means that New Zealand will more than hold their own with the hard-working British forwards, In the backs there will be a happy blend of experience and brilliance, with experienced generals to direct the attack and see that the dash of the younger mombers is turned to the best account.

The Carisbrook ground should see a mighty struggle on June 21.