THE NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALLERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 13949, 4 January 1906, Page 5

THE NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALLERS.

THE GLASGOW MATCH. THE WESTERNERS FARE BADLY, A POOR GAME FOR TWENTY-TWO POINTS. [FROM Ora CORRESPONDENT.] LONDON, November 24. “ After the Lord Mayor’s show comes the dust-cart,” is a Cockney phrase which may bo not inaptly applied to the New Zealanders’ match againt the West of Scotland at Glasgow on Wednesday last. For one thing the visitori had not their “star” team out. Hunter, Gallaher, Gillett, Sullivan, Casey and Cunningham being transferred to the “ breathers ” division for the time being, and for another the Scottish team, so far as the back division was concerned, was by no means of the class which opposed the New Zealanders at Edinburgh. Individually they may have been good men, but for / the greater part of the play they were ) indulging in purely defensive tactics, and when they did occasionally make an effort to turn defence into attack it was at once demonstrated that there was an utter lack of anything like intelligent combination among them. Forward, the Soots had a strong, bustling pack which, on the rain satuj rated ground, would, it was hoped, prove more than a match for the visitors. Once or twice the home pack certainly did get the upper hand, but on the whole the New Zealand forwards were their masters, and had the state ' of the ground been different, the score against the Scots might easily have been doubled. As it was, the slippery ; turf and greasy ball conduced to | erratic_ passing, and many golden op- : port-unities were lost by the New Zeaj landers. j The crowd, which numbered about 12,000, was by no means easy to please, and the referee was particularly severe on the visitors, whose tackling neither he nor the crowd seemed to appreciate. Twice ho penalised the New Zealanders for “ errors ” in tackling, and the crowd gave vent to its feelings in jeers. Penalties for off-side against the visitors were quite plentiful, and taking it all round, the game was a poor one. THE TEAMS. The teams were as follow: Glasgow—Back, H. N. Tennent (West of Scotland); three-quarter-backs, W. L. Church and T. Sloan (Glasgow Academicals), C. W. Stewart (West of Scotland), C. C. Fitzgerald (Glasgow University) and J. A. Findlay (Kelvinside Academicals); half-backs, L. L. Greig and A. C. Frame (Glasgow* Academicals); forwards, W. P. Soott (captain, West of Scotland), W. L. Russell and R. B. Waddell (Glasgow Academicals), H. Wilson (Glasgow University), G. M. Frew (Glasgow High School), W. Law (Kelvinside Academicals) and E. G. Copestake (Clydesdale). New Zealand—Back, W. J. Wallace; three-quarter-backs, E. Harper, G. W. Smith and J. M’Gregor; five-eighths, S. Mynott and W. J. Stead: half, F. Roberts; wing forward, G. Gillett; forwards, F. Glasgow, G. A. Tyler, A. M’Donald, F. Newton, W. Johnstone, S: Seeling and W. S. Glenn. Referee, Mr J. J. Gillespie. Kicking off against a strong wind the Scots were soon in the New Zealand twenty-five, but a clever dribble by Mynott transferred the play to the other -end, and soon the whole New Zealand pack, with the ball at their toes, was right on the Scottish line. Tennent saved _ magnificently, and a free kick materially assisted the transference of the play to the other end, where for a time the New Zealanders had quit© a busy spell defending. A hug© kick by Stead relieved the pressure, and again Tennent had to save by a kick into touch after the New Zealand forwards had crossed the line. So ten minutes sped, and then a rapid bout of passing, in which Smith and M’Gregor were prominent, led up to the latter scoring near the earner flag. Wallace failed to convert. On resumption the New Zealanders were momentarily “ all over ’ ’ their rivals, the forwards breaking through nearly every scrum and keeping the defending backs hard at work checking their efforts to advance. Then a fine run by, Wallace and a smart Lout of. swift short passing gave Smith an opening which he took to the extent of placing the ball right behind the posts. Wallace made no mistake with the and New Zealand led by eight points to nothing. From this time onward the New Zealanders were mainly in the vicinity of the Glasgow goal, and two or three times seemed certain to score. "Wallace had a penalty kick within epsy reach of goal, but failed,_and fine runs by Stead, Mynott and Smith were all successfully brought to an end by Tennent, whose splendid defensive work saved his side from further humiliation ere half time arrived. Without loss of time the game was re-started. The wind, which had hitherto j been an important factor in the game, now favoured the Soots, but they did not gain much and had to touch down. A “scrum” was formed just on the line, and Roberts, picking up, secured a try, but Wallace failed to goal. The Soots were forced to resume their defensive attitude, as the colonials got down again right on the line, bub the home team managed to evade disaster. Indeed, after ten minutes Glasgow had made so much ground as to actually invade the colonials’ quarters, where they remained by keeping the ball as close as their opponents would permit. M’Gregor, by a long kick, which the home back fumbled, brought the play back again, and, in the far corner, this player gained a try for the colonials. Wallace, against the wind, did not succeed in improving. The 1 New. Zealanders were most assertive, and were it not for the good defence of the Glasgow backs, their score would have been heavier. Five minutes later, by the same tactics—the beautiful passing of the colonials being displayed to perfection—Mynott planted the ball right behind the goal. This time Wallace had no difficulty in bringing out the major points. Immediately afterwards Seeling gained a try in the same corner, but the place was in too difficult a position for Wallace to succeed. Play w T as rather slow towards the-finish, except for one incident where the Scots, in the last minute of the game, compelled the colonials to touch down. Time was immediately afterwards called. New Zealand winning by two goals and four tries (22 points) to nil. ECHOES OF THE TOUR. NOTES AND NEWS. THE SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL. [From Our Correspondent.] LONDON, November 24. The New Zealanders have got their first international safely over, and their prospects for the remainder of the tour are now rosier than ever. The hardest match yet remaining appears to be mat against Ireland tomorrow, but it is not anticipated that the Irishmen will play a harder game than Scotland gave the “ All Blacks ” last week. The team that could beat Scotland on last Saturday’s form will take a tremendous lot of beating themselves. It is true that the Scots ran them very close, and nearly pulled off the match, but the circumstances were exceptional, and it was New Zealand’s own fault that they did not win by a more substantial margin. All the critics agree that the victory went to the better side. No impartial spectator, indeed, could come to any other conclusion. me Scots were playing for safety, with the off-chance of a,

score from forward rushes; the Blacks played for victory. The former were more keen on preventing their opponents from scoring than on putting up points themselves, whereas the New Zealanders stuck at no risk in the effort to push home their attacks. Theirs was the better game, and they thoroughly deserved their victory. Had the passing been more accurate the Blacks would probably have scored three or four more tries. I have never seen the backs drop so many passes in any other match of the tour. Some of the transfers it was practically impossible -o take, so loose and indiscriminate were they, and in this respect it must be admitted that the back division was disappointing. Even so, however, their passing work was far ahead of anything of the kind attempted by tlie Scotch backs, who were always promptly smothered whenever they tried the passing game. Taking the game on its merits, New Zealand were the superior side, and the team as a whole never showed its greatness more clearly throughout the tour .than in those last few eventful minutes. The way in which that game was pulled out of the fire cannot be too highly praised. It was a magnificent effort'. As their captain said afterwards, “the team play like Britishers, in ©very sense of the word—they don’t give up until the gun goes.” The hero of the match was G. W. Smith, who scored two tries, one of. which, obtained five minutes before the call of time, turned what looked like certain defeat into a victory. It was a brilliant •effort on Smith’s part, and quite deserved its reward. That great run of his, on which so much, depended, will live in football history. Wallace played a good game, as indeed he always does, but a severe shaking he received through being charged down and knocked over in the first spell seemed to tell upon his pace afterwards. He had hard 4 luck, however, in not scoring a couple of tries. Hunter, Stead and Deans were closely marked, and on a slippery field did not make as much ground as usual. The first-named played a sound game, but the other two were by no means at their best, especially in their passing. Roberts had a hot time of it under the tremendous onslaughts of the Scottish forwards, but the little cen-tre-half takes , a lot of beating, and though the Scotchmen were quick to pounce upon him, he was quicker still in getting the ball away. His passing, though, was not so clean as usual. His defensive work was very sound. The New Zealanders owe no small share of - their success on this tour to the clever and plucky work of their scrum-half. Gillett played a cool and resolute game, and though his kicking was a variable quantity it was generally on the safe side, and at times very fine. . Ho had little chance of stopping the rush which ended in Scotland scoring a try, as it was a mistake a little further up the field that let the Scottish forwards in upon him, and the charge came so quickly that the other backs ,had no time to fall back to Gillett’s support, and ho was overwhelmed. The loose rushes of the Soots, by the way, were a continual source of danger to the visitors, who found great difficulty in stemming their impetuous onslaught. When the Scotch forwards got away with the ball they generally made ground, and as they broke up quickly from the pack this was frequently happening. It speaks volumes for the calibre of the New Zealand vanguard that they were able to wear down this dashing pack, and gain the upper hand. New Zealand excelled in scrum work, getting the ball almost every time, and by. smart heeling out giving many chances to their back division. And when a great- effort was demanded, on the occasions when a scrum ’ was ordered near the New Zealand line, the forwards always rose to the demands' of the situation. Some of their rushes were irresistible, notably the fin© movement which led to Glasgow’s try,: and that other which M’Donald started in the last two minutes of the game, and which also resulted in a score. On the Scottish side E. D. Simson bore the brunt of . the work behind the scrum, and stood up to a heavy “gruelling” very p-luckily. His dropped goal was a very smart and timely piece of work. Munro, the brothers M’Leod and Scoular were strong in defence,. and it was a piece of misfortune for Scoular, after getting tnrough so much heavy work in good style, that Smith and M’Donald got past him at the last. The “ All Blacks ” had some new experiences In their first international. Their opponents scored first, led at half-time, and looked like winning until very near the end. The frosty ground, hard and slippery, and the damp mist which hung about the field of play, were also new factors for the New Zealanders to deal with. The ball, too, was a source of trouble. More elongated than usual in shape, it had been blown up so tight that it bounced about on the hard ground like a piece of indiarnbber, and broke ! away at the most unexpected angles, frequently baffling the man who was trying to field it. The Australasian Club ax Edinburgh University intend securing the ball as a souvenir of the great match. I wish the gentlemen who preach jeremiads about the alleged degeneracy of the British race could have been present at the Scotland v. New Zealand football match. The pace was terribly fast, and the Scotchmen lasted nearly, if not quite, as _ well as the New Zea-, landers, who finished up more strongly than they began. If this be physical degeneracy, it has a curious way of making itself felt. The fact is, as the Rev J. Kelman pointed, out in a speech at the Australasian Club on Saturday night, the men who write and talk so much about deterioration are thinking too much of themselves, and suffering from “ a morbid increase of jaw and decadence of backbone.” The Rev J. Kelman, of Edinburgh, who is very popular with the University students, took part in welcoming the New Zealand team at the Australasian Club’s “smoker.” He found some consolation for Scotland’s defeat in the large number of Scottish names amongst the New Zealanders. “You don’t bring a Knox or a Bruce,” he said, ‘ but you have a big proportion of names that are always welcome in old Scotland. We welcome you with all our hearts,, and" hope you will find yourselves at homo in ‘ Dunedin.’ ” When New Zealand were awarded a penalty kick against Scotland, Wallace took an unusually long rime to make a satisfactory hole in the hard, frosty gorund for the kick at goal. After he had bored away with his heel for some > considerable time a member of the Highland Light Infantry, losing all patience, roared out, “ Hi, remember that’s the Union’s field.” Still the New Zealander continued to dig into the turf, when the soldier, still addressing the men from “ down under,” added, pleasantly, “ Goin’ home, boys?” A remarkable scene was witnessed at the Cardiff and Newport match on Saturday last, when the half-time score

of the Scotch and New Zealand game arrived. When it was found that Scotland were leading, tremendous cheers were given all round the ground. What happened when the result of the match cam© to hand is not recorded; but the Welsh Union have ordered another trial game before picking their representative team. An advertisement in a Cardiff evening paper on Saturday offered two grand stand tickets for the New Zealand match (which only cost 5s apiece) for £2 each. Well over 2000 reserved seat tickets have already been disposed of for the Cheltenham v. New Zealand match on December 6, and applications are still pouring in from all parts of the Western and Midland Counties. Cheltenham have decided to play strictly their own team. When next the Scottish Football Union receives overtures from the promoters of a colonial tour it may bo taken for granted that the matter will receive- rather more careful attention than the New Zealanders’ project evidently did. The Scottish Union declined to give their representative match with the New Zealanders-recognition as an “international” match, and they refused to give a £250 guarantee, offering instead the entire takings less expenses. The upshot is (hat, while ©very tollower of sport in Sobtland has been treating this match as equal to any international, the, colonials have taken away from Edinburgh a good round sum, estimated at nearer twelve hundred pounds than one thousand. The attendance was 21,000, beating the Scottish-Rugby record, created on the occasion of the ScotlandWales match of last February by 1500 persons. The receipts were not so considerable as on that occasion, when £1450 was taken, stand tickets being sold for Saturday’s match at 4s instead of the usual ss, but fully £1350 was taken, and this the New Zealanders receive less the not very heavy expe-nses-incurred by the Scottish Union. These expenses might with ample justification have been increased by some few pounds with much advantage to the game arid the players. The weather was inclined to be frosty, and had there been a few more degrees of frost than there were on Friday night the ground would have been rendered unfit for'play. Yet no attempt was mad© to protect the- playing area with peat-moss litter, or ling (heather) either of which could have been had in sufficient quantity for a ten-pound note, to ensure'a ground fit to play upon. As it was, there was “bone ” enough in the ground to make it undesirably hard to fall upon and far too slippery to give the players a chance of exhibiting their football prowess to the best advantage. lam quit© certain the New Zealanders would have been only too happy to see their receipts diminished" by the "sura necessary to ensure a decent field of play, even if the expense had run to £3O. Such a precaution, indeed, would have only amounted to insuring the “ gate ” at a very low premium, for, given the assurance of a game nothing short of a real blizzard, would have materially interfered with the attendance, so great was the interest taken in the match in Scotland.