ALL BLACKS V. WALES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 2066, 13 January 1925, Page 5

ALL BLACKS V. WALES.

IMPRESSIONS OF A NEW ZEALAND LADY. The following extract from a letter just received in Te Aroha may interest some of our readers, states the Te Aroha News: —"Just lately I have been watching the All Blacks play football. We went up to Swansea to see them play Wales, and I shall never forget it as long as I live. We all wore N.Z. badges, and as we walked about the sheets the day before the match the small boys gave us a lot of cheek. One small boy called out: 'You are going to get it in the neck to-morrow.' We asked him who told hirn that story. He said: 'My father; he knows.' Well, there was nothing more to be said. One could not destroy a small boy's faith in his father; it isn't done. We got into our seats at 12.30 the day of the match, and play did not start until 2.30. But we were not dull. They had a band with a conductor, and they sang hymns and war songs. 'Land of My Fathers' we had four times, I think. It was great, and I would not have missed it for worlds. They gave our people a wonderful reception. Sixty thousand people cheered and threw their hats in the air. I was so thrilled that I wept. But, my hat, I was not thrilled when they started to play. They barged into our team and they played a very rough game. I had to shut my eyes, I could not bear to watch them. And then it rained. I was wet through in about ten minutes, and when we got back to the hotel they were all so excited that we could not get tea. The funny thing about the match was that the Welsh people were not angry with our people for winning, but they were fiercely angry with their people for losing."