FOOTBALL

North Otago Times, 12 January 1906, Page 2

FOOTBALL

■■"'. NEWSPAPER* COMMENTS., \ V By Electric Telcgrajih.-Copyl'ight,-' :■'■ ■ Tor Press Association,;;; . _"; Received; Jan. 11, at, 6,29; .; •./ ,--.-\ ') Sydney, Jan.,ll. Tho Daily': Mail,, commenting on the England Match, said evcryono had ' co-nib in sanguine hope of witnessing not.,the game of llugby as played on tho stereo-, typed'depressing lines with which Eng.isii' crowds were so long afflicted—nearly all lines out; Kciiniihagus and whistle—hut (or a display bt;i,oolball .pyrotechnics j but;tlie 7 gamo: been, going a iriluute before it .'was : ;clear the State of 4li(!;gi(iiiiKl;was all 'aga list ■fl'roworks. Tint players -slipped about on the ice, aud tho' Wet-ball; slipped through their, hands witli exasperating,'regularity.' Passes went.:forward-or ■■ nwry :that they were never meant to, .while the floundering foot;work was .merely 'a'; matter of. chance. . ; Tlic game consgqUeutlylost much oi its expected" openness anil"brightness, What Hie public'wanted tt) see; was that marvellous "All Black" back formation sweeping'; down thc : field 11 its ininutatlii and irresistible fashion,; to' its own accoinpanimciitTol deft-;touches ami ■ dazzling tricks, The'' result of the match was a secondary consideration, Scarcely anyono expeetc,-.! England to succeed when Scotland and Ireland ■' had signally failed.;

1 instead, • for. the most part, they. saw I mulled passes, ineffective sprints, absurd mistakes, ludicrous kicking, weary scrum after scrum, tiresome lines-out innumerable. Only on rare occasions/did. the ''All Blacks." machinery get in proper oration, then more often than not the whistle blew tor some infringement. At 'the same time, to those nitiated.in Rugby mysteries, were noticeable many delightful points, particularly the way in which the visitors circumvented the tac-

•tics by which England hoped to throttle their dangerous cutting in', which lias yielded so many triesg Their'half, instead of passing out to his fvc-eighths or three quarters from the scrum/would merely feint that way; but directly he had got] The English defence t on he would pass like lightning in the other direction with the result that one or other, of his backs rushing up, would find an opening. It was. this apparently simple trick that led to the first New Zealand tries, Rctats initiating the movement twice!, Gallagher once, and M'Gregor was waiting unmarked. The threequarters on each occasion, had little else to do but turn on top speed; and gallop over before the discomfited English delence, veering away from him, had realised the quick change, andtaild alter their feet. M'Gregor was.the hero

of the match. The place-kicking jvas in effectual. Wallace, after failing'thrice, gave way to Deans and GiHot, who, however, (lid no better, which was not to he wondered -at'consWcrihg the nituie o! the ground. When the whistle blew the wgole thirty players were alike all black;