FOURTH TEST MATCH

Hokitika Guardian, 11 August 1930, Page 3

FOURTH TEST MATCH

(By Telegraph-Press Association).

WELLINGTON, August 9,

Before a record crowd of over 40,000 people, New Zealand had a decisive in.' the fourth and last Test; against Britain this afternoon by 22 points to- 8. ■ The game was an exhilarating one from start to finish, with the -New Zealand team attacking for two-thirds of the time, and it was remarkable for "the number of times the home, forwards secured the ball, and thus’ allowed Corner to set the backs going'frequently. : .a. , , - With The exception of brief spells in the first half and in the opening ten minutes of the .second half, the Biritish forwards were defending, though it was riot till fairly late in the game that the’New Zealanders could be said to, have had*the game well in hand..; Poster scored twice for' New Zealand, .Cooke twice, and Batty- and Strang once each, with Strang converted two tries."

~ For' Britain Novis scored a magnificent “try, after cutting in and leaving- tne defence completely beaten. Paricbr: kicked a penalty goal, and Black;converted, Novis’s try. : - \ full-back, .BaWett; hWf a lot;'of avork.to, do, and with,,the exceptiriri ofiwben lie was tori far. away to recover j and therefore let Cooke in foria/vtry,j|le;proved /himself, a last line- bf.defence.. J i

THE OUTSTANDING PLAYERS; M(?iyilliants,; JiicLean,; > ;and, .Porter worked ' wonders ;iw the f New Zealand pacldjythough eyery member of the teaniP|ustified his inclusion-, and Corner. Lucas, Strang, and Cooke shone in the back division. . - Spring was the best back on the field, ancTlfhe- frequently had the defence puzzled'with his swift elusive runs. Murray and Bowcott played soundly- ' ' iVjtvjrray 'was particularly enterprising Uri evading Porter’s attentions, whilp Novis, Aarvold and Reeve made tl of the opportunities that way. There was no doubt at all as to which was the better team.

THE PLAY

Britain won" the. toss,’ and there was a thrill from, .the start' when Porter kichestl off and caught the ball on the rebouiid from of vthe British forwards, whose comrades, however, packer aro.ui)d : and a line o U t was formed on .the half-way line. Britain hooked the'ball; and Murray passed to Spong, who sent to Bowcott, Aarvold and Reeve, who put in a short run and found the line at the New Zealand 25,where' both the forwards and backs-combined in returning play to halt-way, Lilburne and McWilliams being. prominent. From the first setscrum, Britain hooked the ball neatly, and'Spong received from Murray. He got in one of his characteristic speedy runs, but he was held up, and McLean and Cotterell were to the fore in heading a dribbling rush that, took"‘plhy hfick to half, way., McLean and McWilliams got the ball at their toes from a line out, hut a penalty for off-side play let Britain clear, Nepia allowing the hall to go over the line, and thus giving his side a drop off from the 25. Farrell got offside j;wl?eni;the, forwards were scrummaging in'neutral territory, and Nepia found the line.',

•THE FIRST SCORE. From a scrummage,. Corner , sold the dummy, and though he was smothered by the British forwards, he managed to send on to» McWilliams, who forged ahead for - a few yards, and passed to Porter, and : New first try came when the latter hurled himself across the. line. Nepia took the kick, hut missed. New Zealand 3; Britain 0. three minutes, Britain had equalised. Murray and Spong combined will in an exchange of passes. Cooke intercepted and a scrum was formed. New Zealand was then penalised, .and Dai Parker kicked a splendid goal from five yards inside New Zealand’s half way. Britain 3; New Zealand 3. Scrummaging .followed, until Porter stopped an attempted break away by Murray and Ivor Jones. ~ Murray -got offside, and Nepia found the line well dowji- ...

WON BY NEW ZEALAND BY 22 POINTS TO 8 - 1 ■' A DECISIVE VICTORY ' • .: : ‘ . .*• .V. O—— WITNESSED BY RECORD CROWD , ’ V i'» - ■ 'A- • • ; H A FINE EXPOSITION OF RUGBY O— ~ ;

N.Z. TAKE LEAD

New Zealand 6; Britain 3,

INTERESTING BACK PLAY/ From a scrum, Corner was given ..the ball, passing out aiong the line to Cooke, who clapped on the pace, and, passed to Hart, but the latter was pushed out by Reeve. Again getting the'hall Corner worked the blind side, 'rind passed to Haft and McWiliams. For-a' spell the forwards dominated the contest only a few yards away from the. British line. Eventually an infringement allowed Britain to clear. Strang, Liiburne and Cooke handled in a passing bout, and the. last-named cut in in an endeavour to make-an opening for Lucas. He lost possession, but Strang was handy, and picked up and attempted a “pot” He.,missed and Aarvold forced.

A BRITISH ATTACK. Black and Beamish then were together in a rush started by the British forwards, which gained 50 yards, before Nepia stopped it. From a scrum in New Zealand’s 25, Murray sent the ball out along the line to Novis, but the latter’s /pirns-in i, was well intercepted by Nepia, who brought off a; great save/'; f Spong. was again prominent in evading Strang and Corner/ hup Porter, headed a cpunter; i rush successfhliyp beating off ;'a/-tackle-' and passing on-- tri Lucas and Cooke. The centre'ivas clean, away, with Hart in support, when he was called back for an infringement, and : New : Zealand lost practically a certain try. Ivor Jones secured from" the scrum, and -broke , away supported by several forwards, but Porter and Lucas stopped the movement. Porter was penalised in a line out, and Parker missed another shot .at goal.

Corner at length set his line going. Liiburne cut in and sent a pass back to Strang, who went over for a great try. He missed with the kick.

Corner worked the blind side to advantage on several occasions, and New Zealand steadily gained ground, until in a scrum not far from Britain’s line, McLean was penalised, though he did not appear to be offside.

A CAUTION. Evidently some of the New Zealand forwards had, some remarks to make about the ruling, for Porter was called up, and the referee had a- brief, hut convincing, chat with him. O’Neill and Rew headed the British forwards in some hard work that took the play up to half way, aAd from here Corner passed out to Strang and Lilburne, the latter short-punting and accomyanping Cooke in a fast followup they caught Bassett in possession, and from the scrummaging that followed, Corner, Batty, Hore- and Lucas combined in a rush that ended in Britain forcing. For the remainder of the spell, Britain was defending, the score, being unchanged. SECOND SPELL. Murrays put the ball in action in the second half, and the British forwards, followed up quickly, gained a good deal of ground, until Corner Took a neat! mark and found the line. Britain secured from a scrum and the ball went out along the line to Reeve, who was held up, avid Aarvold, who was in support, was smothered by Cooke. Murray then went through the New Zealand pack in a solo effort, hut he lost possession. A hot British attack ended when Murray was penalised, and Nepia found the line well up.

COOKE SCORES. Lilburne, Cooke, and Lucas started a passing rush, which ended well in British territory. A scrum was formed, and the ball again came along the line to Cooke, who sent out a long pass to Hart, cutting out Lilburne. Hart was collared, hut in a scrummage that followed, the hall was kicked over Britain’s line, and Cooke produced a great turn of speed to win a race for possession, and score well out amid wild enthusiasm. Strang’s kick missed. New Zealand 9; Britain 3. The game- went with even greater pace after the kick off. From a lineout; after the -great kick by Bassett, a British forward kicked high, and Ne-

pin was tackled by Rev. who had followed up ijuicily. Both Nepia and Row were hurt, the game did not start for some minutes.-' FINE TRY BY NOVIS. A scrum was formed, and from here the ball was sent along the line to Novis, who had come in to centre, Aarvold having taken the wing position. Novis cut in beautifully, and left the defence completely, beaten. He ran 40 yards for a splendid try, and scored under the posts. Black converted. New Zealand 9; Britain 8. Three minutes from Britain having come up only one point behind, New Zealand scored again. Aarvold fielded Porter’s kick off, and found the line. , BASSE,'TT BEATEN. From the fine out, Corner secured the ball, and sent out a beautiful pass to Lucas just as the British forwards were breaking through. Lucas performed a similar feat to that of N'icholls in the third Test, and crosskicked. Unfortunately for the British, Bassett fumbled, and before the backs in support could retrieve his mistake, Cooke had come up, kicked across the line, followed up, and scored. Strang converted.

New Zealand 14; Britain 8

Play was held up for a few minutes when Spong hurt his thumb, and the next sensation was when Corner brought off a wonderful save after Beamish, Row Farrell and Welsh had broken through to the New Zealanders’ 25. Spong was again hurt, and lie took some time to recover from the effects of a kick on the thigh. LUCKY N.Z. SAVE. Murray- evaded both Porter and Corner in coming round the scrum, and he punted over .Nepia’s head. Lucas, however, took the ball on the bounce, and he was smothered in goal as he forced. The British forwards were playing much better at this stage. Aarvold was given the ball on the blind side, and cross-kicked, but New Zealand just managed to force in time. Strang, Lilburne, Cooke and Lucas then handled, the last two named interpassed until Lucas was pushed out. From the liue-out, Cooke had a shot .at goal, but missed. I ?! PORTER SCORES AGAIN. Porter scored a wonderful try when lie secured from about 10 ■ yards out, and, dodging through to the line, then threw himself over with two defenders hanging on to him; Strang converted. New Zealand 19; Britain 8. Lucas was penalised for obstruction, and Parker took another kick at gaol and missed by very little. Novis attempted a “pot” but was well astray. BRITISH BACKS GOOD. Britain won applause when Ivor •Tones secured from a scrum and passed to Spong, Reeve and Novis, all of whom inter passed at top speed, and took the play in a hash to the New Zealand line, where a heap of New Zealand and British players went over the line together. A scrum was ordered. Porter, and Corner cleared to the 25. Seven minutes before time Lucas was hurt on the knee, and, though he carried on, he was limping badly. He changed wings with Hart, but lie was immeditaely faced with the task of bringing Reeve down after the British line had handled from Spong to Bowcott and Reeve. A trick kick from a penalty, after Porter had got offside, failed to produce results, Porter smothering the movement at its start. The hall was kicked through to Bassett, and the full hack ran up and passed to Novis and Aarvold, the latter being pushed out on the New Zealand 25? N.Z.FORWARDS’ PASSING. Corner and Cooke followed up a short punt, and caught Bassett in possession. A line-out was formed, and McWilliams, Batty, Lucas and again Batty handled in quick succesion, Batty going over for a try, which Strang did not convert.

NEW ZEALAND 22 BRITAIN ... ... 8 A series of line outs saw New Zealand gain ground. McLean went over the line with the British players on top- of him. A scrum ordered, and time was called with New Zealand still hammering on the line.' CROWD’S ENTHUSIASM. The crowd stormed the field when the players were walking off, s and several of them were chaired. There was wild cheering / long after the teams' had reached their dressing rooms, and the scene was one of the most enthusiastic ever witnessed at Athletic Park. Guided by wireless megaphones, the crowd was dispersed slowly but in an orderly way, and for more than an hour afterwards was streaming down various roads leading from the park.

TEST MATCH CROWD. 42,000 SPECTATORS. NEARLY 6,200 CARS. WELLINGTON, Aug. 10. Jf all of the motor vehicles brought into use to convey the public to and frpm Athletic Park on Saturday were placed in procession, allowing 20 feet lor each car, they would have made a line approximately twenty-five miles in length, and the passengers probably accounted for about a quarter ,ol the vtvst crowd who witnessed the final test match. The Traffic Department tally, taken by experienced men, was 6180 motor vehici.es of all kinds. The estimated number of spectators was 42,000. At 6.30 o’clock on Saturday morning at the main gates, some 50 people had formed the head of a queue, which was to swell to fuich big dimensions later. A few of them had been there since 4 o’clock, they said. They were seated out boxes or sacks, and were making a breakfast off sandwiches, etc., with the aid of thermos flasks. The' gates of the park were opened at 9.30, and a big crowd of. people who by then had assembled soon found their places for a four or five hours’ wait. Apart from those who gained admission, there were probably four or five thousand people who .occupied “free scats” on the hanks and hillsides round the park and on the roofs of horses and similar 'points of vantage. ‘ At Wellington South, the schoo playground wps thrown open by the School Committee for parking purpose at a fee o' Is in charge of scouts. r he Committee will reap about £lO ■is a result. The grounds of the Lewisham Hospital were similarly used, and also numerous vacant sections. BOTTLES AND BOXES. Of course there were many early birds, who took something- other than flasks of tea and bottles were dropped iii any convenient corner or under staging. Boys with an eye to business Pole soon {oing round with sacks, cT.leetir.g. Several lads secured full •acks, which they slung over their shoulders and carried away to turn into cash at the bottle stores at a penny each. Hundreds of spectators carried bep-,-inn c;,ses etcq into the park, to use 'as seats or stands, abandoning these it the jclose of the game. There was Uoo a greet, rush for, these, one lad being smart enough to have. a good sized truck in readiness and he,secured enough firewood for weeks to come. CITY EATEN OUT OF BREAD. Due no doubt to the influx of some twelve thousand outside visitors for the Rugbv test, Wellington ran out of bread on'Saturday. The housewives who delayed purchasing their weekend supplies until a late hour, found it impossible to purchase any supplies.

THE DINNER, GATHERING OF VETERANS. PORTER’S RETIREMENT. WELLINGTON, Aug. 10. The British Rugby team were entertained at a dinner on Saturday night by the New Zealand Rugby Union, when the Prime Minister, the Leaders of the Opposition and Labour Party, Sir A. Ngata, and the Speaker Sir C. Statham who i»s also the President of the New Zealand Football Association, were present. The gathering was an unique one, as members of the “All Blacks teams from the year 1903 onwards were present, and other veterans of Rugby, the doyen being Air Munro, who captained the first representative team to visit New Zealand in 1870. Then there came Air G. Harding, the leader of the British team of 1900, and also Air J. Kissick, who captained the Army team and Dr P. F. MoEvedy, who played in Harding’s 1904 team and the Anglo-Welsli team of 1908. The Prime Minister, Mr Forbes, eulogised the visitors’ sportsmanship and splendid play throughout the tour.

Air Baxter, the British mangaer, expressed regret at the injury to Nieholls, and other New Zealanders. “Your forwards to-dav,” he said, “wore magnificent.” He appreciated the hospitality of the people shown to the team, and the spirit in which the games had been played.

Mr Prentice, the British captain, congratulated New Zealand on their win.

AH Porter, the New Zealand captain, said that he chose this as a happy time to end his Rugby career, [t bed been a hard game to win and he felt that lie could not find a better time to announce liis intention to retire. Mr Aarvold proposed the toast of the referee Mr Sutherland, who, in reply, congratulated both teams, especially th© British team, for the way they had accepted the verdict. PRIME MINISTER’S COMMENT. AVELLTNGTON, Aug. 10. “I was interested in the large gathering at Athletic Park,” said the Prime Minister, Right Hon, G. \V. Forbes, at the dinner tendered to the

British team oil Saturday night. “1 also had another interest in it. There is a little tiling called the Amusement Tax, which the Government gathers. L have never seen such a happy gathering, of taxpayers in ntv life. In the whole gathering, there was not one who had a word to say about the Budget. To-day was the (lay of Rugbe football, and that held the stage against anything. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Labour Party and others of more or le.qs notorious character were forgotten. The heroes of the day were . Porter and others who were playing the game.”