All Blacks’ Triumph By 24 Points To 9; Line Not Crossed

Northern Advocate, 25 July 1938, Page 5

All Blacks’ Triumph By 24 Points To 9; Line Not Crossed

(Received 10 a.m.) SYDNEY, July 23. Q AINING COMPLETE COMMAND IN THE CLOSING STAGES NEW J ZEALAND WON THE FIRST RU GBY TEST AGAINST AUSTRLIA BY 24 POINTS TO 9 BEFORE APPROXIMATELY 32.000 SPECTATORS. THE WEATHER WAS SUNNY AND THE TURF FIRM. < It was a triumph of tactics, and the merit of the victory was enhanced by the fact that New Zealand’s line was not crossed. It was a battle which lovers of Rugby enjoyed because of its tenseness, although, until the final stages, spectacular moves were rare and spasmodic. The wings of both sides had limited opportunities as the result of stern defence. The scorers for New Zealand were: Saxton (2), Parkhill and Sullivan. Taylor converted three tries and kicked two penalty goals. For Australia, Carpenter kicked three penalty goals. The only try in the first half was due to Saxton’s genius. Australia had tightened its defence, and the cen Ires tackled infinitely better than -did the New South Wales players.

Defence Outwitted. 1 The sidemen in the scrum had had instructions to smother the BerghanSullivan combination. A few minutes before the interval, Oxlade broke 3 ards away from the scrum, his intentention being the covering of Berghan. Richards and the three-quarters were all strung out in defence. Securing the ball, Saxton saw the wide opening. He flashed through and exchanged reverse passes with McKenzie, the defence .being completely outwitted. New Zealand never had full charge of the game until the closing stages, but the side was really never in danger, because of the definite superiority and speed of the inside backs. Mitchell always showed cool generalship, frustrating Richards’ attempt to vary the attacks, Australia early attempted passing, but Lewis and Hayes handled uncertainly.

The Australian centres were too slow in following up Richards’ short kick. Moreover, Richards had slow service from the scrum. Thus, by contrast, Saxton showed up as the best back on the field, although Sullivan also proved a champion. The Turning Point. The turning point in a hitherto dour struggle came when New Zealand was leading 11—6. For a period under continual pressure, Taylor had been compelled to often find touch. . Receiving from Berghan, who had the Opposing centres on the wrong foot, Sullivan swept toward the right corner fending Howard. Faced by the fullback, he centred the ball with beautiful judgment. Parkhill gathered it in his stride, and crossed between the posts. Thereafter the Australian backs were outclassed as New Zealand opened up play. Saxton’s next try was a splendid illustration of typical All Black backing up. He used Morrison on the blind side, received the ball again, passed out to McKenzie, who reversepassed. The whole chain of transfers was snappily executed, and left the Australian backs standing.

Highlights of Magnificent Game. Sullivan’s try was of an opportunist character. It came when Australia’s backs were obviously rattled. Rankin had a chance in his own-25 to kick clear. Instead, he chose to pass to Lewis, who, under pressure, miskickod. The ball bounced high, and Sullivan jumped and gathered it overhead. He side-stepped and had a clear passage between the posts. New Zealand’s scoring movements were highlights of a magnificent game and satisfied the Australian public in regard to a greatly improved New Zealand standard of back play. The forwards, however, were equally superb, particularly as they were opposed to a splendid Australian pack, all great ruckers. Match of Many Scrums. It was a match of many scrums, in which New Zealand gained a narrow majority of clear possession. Dalton, Quaid and George again gave a granci display, and never neglected . their real duty. King was as good as any forward on the field. Quaid’s hooking was superior to that of the veteran Australian Bonis. i

Bowman and Parkhill were both splendid in the open, but Bowman erred in being a shade too loose. He often broke too quickly, and was occasionally offside. In line-out play New Zealand did not show the superiij ority of famous teams of the pasfc The Australians had been schooled td : counteract New Zealand’s moves in this department. The Australian forwards generally jumped higher, although with a comparatively weak back division, the side was unable to take advantage of their possession/1 Unbeaten Tour Predicted. The anticipation that New Zealand will go through the tour unbeaten was verified by today’s showing.