NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL TEAM,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13048, 13 December 1905, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL TEAM,

THE INVINCIBLE " ALL BLACKS." wmmmmmfm*m»m*m ■■■■ -■ «f_ THREE MORE VICTORIES, MATCHES WITH BLACKHEATB, OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. » GOOD FIGHT BY CAR/!BRIDGE.

[FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ■'■'{

London, November 11. Things have coma to a remarkable pass •when a defeat by 14 points to nil is looked s upon as quite a moral victory." Yet such is the outcome of this week's match between the New Zealand * footballers and the University ,of Cambridge. The Can? tabs are insufferably conceited because they ;:;,': prevented the New Zealanders scoring more than 14 points—the lowest, score but one '• of their whole tour, so far. . They pass lightly over the fact that the Cantab score was nil! , Nor is undue stress laid upon the astounding fact that at the. time 1 writ* the New Zealanders' total score is 554 points against England !s almost miser- ■ ] able total of 15, while the-, New Zealanders, ; have won every one of the 17 matches they ;; have yet played in the Mother Country.-' People here are growing ashamed and re- ■*■ j sentful of the practice which at first obtained in some quarters of endeavouring to belittle the astonishing series of New Zealand victories, not only by suggesting all , sorts of purely imaginary excuses for the English defeats, but even by very meanly f£ and untruthfully imputing unfair play' to the visitors. ;.' I give below accounts of the latest matches played by the New Zealanders, together with notes and comments :—.; . NEW ZEALAND V. BLACKHEATH. / : FINE PERFORMANCE BY THE "ALL BLACKS." In spite of the fact that Blackheath had got together a splendid side for the contest with the New Zealanders for last- Satur- ' day afternoon, the same fate overlook that side as has hitherto overtaken all the teams .to which the visitors have been opposed.

The New Zealanders won handsomely by

five goals (one penalty), three tries (32 points) to nothing. It is considered that the game which the New Zealanders gave the Heathens on the Rectory Field was the best played by them in any of their games; ■ ' the men worked splendidly together, always backing up and always on the ball, and it ' is held to be very doubtful whether a threequarter line was ever seen on the Rectory , - Field with three such quick men as Wal--71 , lace, Smith, and McGregor, who are not ;. * merely sprinters, but displayed every attribute of the great footballer. The teams were : — " New Zealand: Gillett (back);, Wallace, Smith, and McGregor, (threequarter backs), Hunter and Stead (five-eighths), Roberts ~ (halfback), Tyler, Casey, O'SulUvan, Cun- ' ningham', Glasgow, Seeling, and Johnston • (forwards), D. Gallaher, captain (winger). Blackheath: H. Lee (back), S. F. Cooper, \ H. J. Anderson, B. M'aclear, ' and W. H. Newton (threequarter backs), J. C. Jough- \ lin and U. T. Robson (halfbacks), B.C. ,: Hartley, B. A. Hill, C. J. ; Newbold, W. L. '■' " Rogers, W. T. Cave, C. G. Liddell, J. E. C. "partridge, and W. S. D. Craven (for- , .' wards). It is observed by one critic who was pre- - Bent that "as public ■ entertainers the .New Zealand iootballers are decidedly the catch ■of the season. At Blackheath they gave v a display of aggressive football that was brilliant and irresistible. Blackheath were strongly reinforced for the occasion, not- j ,-:', ably by the inclusion of the Irish.giant in- ; " ternational threequarter, Basil Maclear, but j they met with the same fate-as their pre-- ' decessors in opposition to the colonials. With few exceptions; when the Blackheath '. . forwards made some determined rushes, the I % New Zealanders were attacking nearly all //•;Vthe time, and for one period, . lasting ■>>' j .-.; • quarter of an hour, in the first half Black- j ,',' heath did not get over the midfield line. ,-' -~ " The Rectory Field ground was in splen- | * "did condition after the recent rains, and with a dry ball to negotiate the New Zealanders gave what was probably their best 'j • exhibition of the tour. They were at full .' strength, and the set of backs presented a .'' formidable array, the like of which we canno* present on this side of the hemisphere. The threequarter line consisted of McGre- • gor, Smith, and Wallace, whose passing, kicking, and running was of an amazingly high standard. Wallace was responsible JiKMor scoring and converting the initial try in '(..V, the first five minutes of the game, and as a ",[ ?' scorer of points he is doubtless unequalled :..■ among the world's players of the game. The Blackheath backs, particularly ('cop- _ s , per, found him a most elusive person at the psychological moment. Blackheath played : ■ a spirited game forward, but they were un- ; - , fortunate to lose the services of Rogers in the second half. The old Oxonian spas- ." '.. modically tried a 'prentice hand at the role j of wing-forward, after Gallaher, but one I ,' " could not describe him as a success, and the : ■;- best feature of the Heathens' game was -.. . .their tackling. The backs were exceed- - ingly good in this respect. Maclear and ' % AndcrEon did heroic work, but Coopper was usually outpaced by that marvellous pair, Smith and Wallace. The New . Zealand Hsw forwards did not make the mistake of, playing into the Heathens' hands. They broke up the scrums quickly, heeling-out too fast . for the Blackheath halves, ; and rarely allowed the local scrummagcrs to get a 'fair i ' push on. Gallaher was occasionally penary . lised for being offside, but the referee had little trouble in dealing with an exciting i■ ' open game,.full of thrilling incidents. Curi- . : ously enough, the visitors got a penalty goal against Blackheatn, as Joughlin, the "! v /. halfback, was trying to steal a march on the colonial skipper right in front of the post ; Including the penalty goal, Wallace was r>. sponsible for the first four scores of the maieh, but his tries were the outcome of perfect combination between himself, Smith, and the two five-eighths, Hunter and Stead. The former made a dazzling " .corkscrew run through " the ruck in the ... second half that enabled Glasgow, a forward, to score the sixth try. McGregor, rv . by two magnificent sprints, got a couple ; more, and Stead wound up by getriig the 1,:,," ■ toventli just before the finish, the half-time : ■:■'*' we of 17 points being increased by'ls flit&£? ore - ' With a bit of luck the. colonials ;> might have had at, least three more tries, Tj''\,«od the final figures 1 barely indicate the'ex- , ' tent of their superiority. Their combina- ' tion aed science were too good for the ; life/ ; • '

I Heathens, and with the wonderful pace of ! the players to back these qualities up it is not ; surprising that they ■ do so well. . Blackheath made some desperate efforts to get through in the second half, and their backs constantly plied the ball to this object. But the New Zealanders' defence, cool and grimly vigorous, withstood all assaults. They' are as strong in defence as in attack, and that is saying a great deal," HATCH WITH OXFORD?. UNIVERSITY. ; ; "DARK BLUE" ROUT. On Tuesday in this week another triumph was gained by the New Zealanders at Oxford, the university fifteen 'being beaten by four goal and nine tries (47 points) to nothing. It was scarcely: expected that lhe«Ne\v Zealanders would be checked at Oxford after disposing of other opponents' in such.summary fashion. The. Oxford men are- said to have fought gallantly to the end in a hopeless game, ". Tho New Zealanders' gave a. dazzling display, and, except for the first 17 minutes, when their passing was wild, and Oxford looked like making a good fight of it, they seemed all dash and pace; Their backs were yards faster than those of Oxford, who, in comparison, seemed; dilatory and, without pace of . any sort, while the latter's: tackling each _ time that New Zealand scored was conspicuous by its absence, simply because the ' players seldom "got to their men in time, or missed them as they sprinted by. When a man was brought "down the ; ball had left him usually at the "psychological moment, only to change hands in "such a whirl of electrical velocity ,fcnat before the Oxford backs knew where they were the continuous sprint, in whica sometimes seven or eight New Zealanders had taken part in relays, had culminated on the other side of the, Oxford line.'-' '--.., The teams were: . • . ■

| Oxford University: Back, D. Davies i (Jesus); threequarter backs, A. A. Laurie (Trinity), A. E. Wood (University), L. [ Parker, (Christ Church), A. M. P. Lyle I (Trinity) halfbacks, P. Munro (Christ 'Church), H.' C. Jackson (Exeter): for- [ wards,; W. W. Hoskin (Trinity), R. 8. ! Wix, (8.N.C.), C. J. Gardner (Trinity), H. V. Hodges (Trinity), N. F. Howe-Brown (Oriel). N. T. White (Trinity), G. D. Roberts (St. John's), H. Hoadley (Keble). , ..New .Zealand:- Back, Gillett'; threequarter backs, McGregor, Wallace, Booth; five-eighth?, Hunter, Mynolt; halfback, ;; Roberts forwards,' Casey, Tyler, Johnston, Newton, ' Nicholson, Corbett, Glasgow, Gallaher. ...

Unfortunately the ground was greasy, but after some early mistakes the New Zealanders handled the slippery ball with remarkable accuracy. ■ Like their opponents, Oxford played seven = forwards, the threequarter line being strengthened by White, of Trinity, who had put in. : a. fair amount of tackling,: and. justified ms selection as an extra back. From the outset the New Zealand forwards were much the smarter in obtaining possession of the ball, and with their quick heeling,' afforded their backs many chances. ; For the first ouarter of an hour the Dark Blues succeeded in keeping their lines intact, but they only escaped through the faulty passing and handling of their rivals. The New Zealanders, . indeed, missed several opportunities during the early .stages,' but, settling down, they gave a brilliant display. Some of their tries were the outcome of magnificent combination, while otners were tne result of individual efforts., Hunter, who was in tremendous form,-gained four tries in the first half, and Wallace and Johnstone also scored. Two of. these six tries were converted, so that at the interval the colonials led by 22 points. ; In the, second half the play was even more one-sided, and I was only by determined tackling that Oxford averted an even heavier score being recorded against them. ■'■- Hunter obtained his fifth try, Booth twice crossed the Oxford line, and tries were also scored by Wallace, McGregor, Roberts, and Glasgow, Wallace and Tyler each placing a goal. The Oxford forwards stuck well to their work, but were quite unable to control-the ball in the scrummage. . Not once during the game did the Oxonians seriously threaten to score, being almost entirely engaged in defence, and, like most of the sides who have met our visitors, being outclassed. THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY ';'."' MATCH. " SPLENDID FIGHT BY LIGHT BLUES. Very great •' surprise was felt and expressed when the result became known in London of-. Thursday's match, -New Zealand v. Cambridge. .It was quite expected that Cambridge would have suffered a defeat equal to that experienced by Oxford two days previously. The Cantabs, however, played such a splendid game that they; have received as much congratulation and praise as if they had, won the match, or at any rate as if they had scored any points—which they." came near doing once or twice. As a rule, a margin of one goal and three tries (14 points) is a pretty convincing evidence of superiority, but this was not considered so at Cambridge, and it is thought that if the luck" had inclined toward the University instead of toward the New; Zealanders, the. sequence of the successes scored by ..the visitors would have, been interrupted—-at the least by a, draw, possibly by a defeat. The University had quite two-tbirds of the game, thanks to the splendid work of the forwards and the brilliant defence and kicking of the backs, and -if luck had inclined at all their way, " th surprise of the season might have been effected." . The teams were:-— ' University: J. G. Scoular'(St. ; John's), back; , J. . Burt-Marshall , (Clare), K. . G. Macleod (Pembroke), W. M. Penny (Jesus), +*L. M. . Macleod, captain (Pembroke), and *H. F. P. Hearson (King's)/ threequarter - backs; J. V. Young (Emmanuel) and T.G. Pitt (Emmanuel), halfbacks; +fH.;G.,;Mon.. teith (Pembroke), *B. G. \ Harris (Pembroke),

. F,;Vj| V. ; Hopley (Pembroke). R. M'c-Cosh (Trinity), W. ;C, Currio (Trinity), J. W. Alexander : (Clare), and ;■' R. B. Gibbins (King's), forwards. : <;;'■ ./ ;;- ■■;• iXNew; Zealand: E. E. Booth, back; 1). McGregor, G. W. Smitn, arid H. i). Thomson, threeqijartei' backs; W. Wallace - and Q.; Deans, rive-eighths; \F. ! Robert?, ; half-, back ;W. Cunningham, J. O'Sullivau, G. Tyler, S. Casey, G. Gallaher '.; (captain),: ,Glenn, F. Glasgow, and; G. Nicholson,-for-wards. ' > t Signifies an international. * Signifies an Old Blue. • v Referee, Mr. J. Crauford Findlay. i .s The Times' account of the . game runs thus:"Although ;the University suffered defeat by one goal and three tries (14 points) to nothing, the- side played very fine football, and wore decidedly unlucky .. to lose by a margin" which in. no 'sense .reflects, 'the run of the game.'. - During the first 15 minutes the University held their own; the game fluctuating .between their 25 and the centre. The .New Zealand forwards invariably 'got the ball' in the scrummages during this time, with the ■ result that Roberta was able to keep his backs almost constantly on the attack., The New Zealanders' movements were met, however, by a most resolute defence, aggressive and passive. ■. L. M. Macleod and K. G. Macleod did some splendid " spoiling,' and time : after time Smith was tackled before he could make an opening for bis wings. One moment, however, seemed likely to be crown"ed with success, but Burt-Marshall, ■ who •throughout showed great pace and much resource, brought McGregor down with a 'great tackle.' The 'University forwards, although 'beaten for the ..broke up so quick and followed up so fast, that they were of great assistance' to. their backs. After 20 minutes of this kind of play a fine kick by K. G. Macleod enabled the "University to take up an attacking position, 5 and from a forward rush Monteith nearly scored. Just after this the.'New. Zealanders were penalised for offside, and Hearson nearly kicked a goal. The University maintained their advantage, and a very clever piece of work by K. G. Macleod, who drew the de- . fence and passed .to his brother* appeared to leave the line at the hitter's mercy. • He elected to drop at goal, however, instead of running in, but just missed, the. ball passing outside the left post. This period of pressure was ended by Wallace kicking finely* to the centre. .; From the next scrummage Roberts passed out, and Wallace, after some passing, punted high across. Burt-M'arshali-failed to gather the ball, which rebounded rather luckily for Deans, and a try at the 'Corner was scored. The New Zealanders maintained their ' attack, and, from, a pass by Roberts, McGregor scored a try far out-on the right. As both placekicks failed, the New Zealanders led by six points at half-time. In the second half lire University played even finer football than before the interval, and for 30 minutes the New Zealanders were thoroughly held and kept mainly on the. defensive. Fortune went against, the home side, however, an. infringement on two occasions putting an end to movements* which promised a try, while on another occasion Burt-Marshall went into touch after he and K. G. Macleod, by a series of beautiful passes, had gone half the length of the field along the touchline. This was perhaps the best piece of play in the match. A little later Hearson ■tailed to kick a penalty goal from a very favourable position, and, .as it happened, this was the last opportunity which fell to the University, for the New Zealanders, by some fine kicking on the part of Booth and Wallace, got to the other end. Here in quick succession McGregor and Deans scored tries after excellent-passing. As the second of these tries was converted, the New Zealanders won a very fine game by 14 points to nothing." .-.' . '---;<- •■' ; < •■> NEWSY NOTES.

; FROM THE HOME PAPERS. ,-It is expected that a. great gathering in London of all the New Zealand residents here, and of the football team, will probably take place in January, prior to the departure-'for the colony of tb.fi players.;?'

• A 'series of *' Poems on Players" is appearing in a prominent sporting paper, and W. J. Wallace is the fiftieth person to be honoured in verse. The lines run as follows > - ,-.'-

Gliding away T at ■ a deuce .of a pace, jiwervins and dodging all over the place, ' Doubling and.,twisting:, . Stout taeklers resisting', . C To snap up the leather he's ever persisting; All hot sand and ginger. He's Trouble's harbinger, And scarcely the duel. you would care to embrace. .;' . '

Note how he's working; with verve, vim, and He gives nought away— it's the slip— ■ i . Jumping and bumping. ' ■ And o'er the line dumping The leather (his comrades the while aro -'■ "galumphing") With zeal never tiring; • ' • . . While focmen. perspiring, Are marvelling how ho escaped from their . "grip. <.-:. - - . ■;:' ; : .. ;1 '

Watch him when steering tire ball with hiss toe. .-.-"- (Sure as a Vardon when " putting," you know). 'Tweeu the sticks sailing, With skill never failing, (In -the. home ranks there is weeping and wailing). A djinn with tho ball is ' \ .This' wonderful Wallace, -,;• : And—abracadabra!—his goal-crop will grow.

"Rugby footballers who : do not know what a scrum is will find some valuable hints in a recent issue of a Radical paper," remarks the Globe, in its noted "By the Way" column. "'What is 'a scrummage':' says the inspired gentleman ' behind thepen. 'It is a living rat-trap writhing round a "dead rat. Now it is a beehive, now a battered bowler, ■ now a brand-new bustle, now a squashed Gibus. It is a giant crab trying to'='.walk-40,000 ways at the same time. It is a manner's compass with all its points lighting for the needle. It is a wheel whose spokes are wrestling for the hub.; It is a human whale eternally spewing out a dirty little egg-shaped leather Jonah.*' So now they know. Ths| genius cannot be accused of not giving his readers good value for their money," continues the Globe. "He [compares'".tus New Zealanders to seven different things in six lines. 'They butt like goats and 'charge like bulls. They leap up at the ball like trout at a, fly. They fling '.''themselves down on it like a cat on a mouse. They swerve like swallows and zig-zag like snipe. A zebra is running like a Devon stag before the hounds.'"

■ "Many of the ' All Blacks,'" says the Mail, are capable of playing in four different positions in the field. This means a thorough knowledge of methods of attack and defence."

Lieutenant Basil Maclear, who played -so finely for. Blackheath against',:, tho "All Blacks," says that the New Zealanders are the best team he ever saw. He attributes their successes to splendid 'organisation, perfect training, and attention to tactics. They all seem, he added, component parts of ia> smoothly-working machine. There was no such thing as forward work in theIrish acceptance of the term, no 1 * solid shoving, no fierce open dribbling rushes. : The New Zealanders bad ' the advantage over Wales 'in that the latter depended a lot on. their forwards. * "

Interest in the New Zealand footballers is taken even in France, and it has been left to a Parisian journal to discover the "answer'' to the burning question, "Why do the New Zealanders beat us?" In the opinion of the paper, Les Sports, the solution is simple. "The New Zealanders eat freshly-killed mutton, as do the people of France, Englishmen devour the same sheep after " he" ha been preserved frozen for: six months. Upon which a London paper comments: Fancy not seeing the force of the argument! It is incredible."

Punch scontains, a clever skit oh the erase fox international. football, in which it is stated that in the year 1912, playing Russia at Blackheath, before a. crowd estimated, at 250,000 spectators, " Great" Britain," ; with a-'. ; side 'composed of 14 New Zealanders and one Welshman.. had their Strongest possible combination, in the field

' English' Rugby players • have suffered an "All Black" eclipse', (says Hamish Stuart in the' Athletic News). , If,we accept what ■ some critics : say, Rugby men in' England

are like a. race of , pigmies lost hi a forest of giant ferns, seeking a way out in vaitt, and praying for their old 'pride of stature. A : few, "happily a few, are:so carried away by their pro-Zcalandism that they damn with faint praise sides v that make the colonials - "go all the » way," and use the same four-lettered word " without circumstance " when a referee dares to disallow a New Zealand try, stops a" New Zealand movement, or greatly daring, penalises one of. the "revivalists for some infringement of the rules. ; ... ,:. <;..' ; , ...'.- -^j'; : : ■'.-'-. ■'■/. ■'

One of the Welsh papers refers to Gallaher as "a speedy man,'.'; and as one who "would make fine threequarler back." It is somewhat against him," it is : ;.added, that he is rather slow in beginning to run. Once he is going, however,: he is an exceedingly difficult man '; to stop, and one cannot wonder that the emissaries' of -the Northern Union,"' who. were ;at .Gloucester and: other places where the early matches of the tour were played, were anxious to secure the services of the flying forward."

G, A. W. Lamond, a Scottish International, writes It certainly seems annoying, to say the least of it, to see most of our county and club teams having to' tap the floor,' as it were, regularly twice a week. There, has, been a lot of useless drivel written about the condition' of the English players, but few of the drivellers seem to realise that the New Zealanders are a. carefully selected international side, and, being; such, it is not at all: likely that they will meet with a defeat at the hands of any county or club side, It has been my extreme pleasure to witness, the play of our visitors. 1 saw them early on in their arduous, but' doubtless enjoyable, tour. Being a canny Scot, I loathe jumping hurriedly at conclusions, but when I saw them with their ' go-as-you-please ; air' I very rapidly, jumped; at the, conclusion that the 15 colonials engaged that day, (granted all remain fit) could easily overcome any combination (bar one, perhaps,) that, might be selected ill this.country." • ...

i "' Judex;" (the Hon. Captain Southwell FitzGerald), admittedly one .of_the highest authorities on the Rugby game, writes: — "At the present moment wo have now among us a team from one of our colonics who are showing us ' at Home' —as colonials always talk of England in their own colony —not only a. reformation, but a. revelation in our Rugby football. The New Zealanders commenced' their present tour on September 16 last, and since then they have beaten us Britishers—horse, foot, and dragoons. In Rugby football we are very conservative; we hate'reforms, and we detest nothing more than the innovation of being soundly beaten by a team which up to last September had never set foot in England,- and was unknown to the general Rugby public. I have written— and I still hold the same view— that the New Zealanders are the finest team who have ever played Rugby football. . . . Holding as I do this view of the excellence of the New Zealanders' prowess, I should havethought that-when we Britishers had been beaten, as we have been up to now, we should have consoled ourselves with the thought that we had been defeated by the finest Rugby combination we have as yet seen. I know it is very hard on us, in this little island of ours, to be beaten by, ;< metaphorically, our Rugby football children. Ave naturally do not like being beaten at essentially one of our most British games, but this is no reason why we should'endeavour to bolster up-"our defeats by excuses."

ihe New Zealanders tsars ono writer) are the substance at whose shadow the English teams vainly grasp: The Englishmen labour at the emulation of what these colonials accomplish with natural facility. 'It cannot he altogether/the difference of physique. The difference between the men is great, ' but the difference between the methods _ds greater. The. English game is padlocked, "and the key is thick with rust, We shall-have to .'begin not where we left off, but where the New Zealanders .•stand now. It is a game which otters scope for intelligent originality. The difference between English Rugby and the game as. developed in New Zealand is the difference between a team which apparently has nothing more to learn and a team which by slavish adherence to cobwebbed tradition lias much to unlearn. People say, "Wait till they meet a nation!" forgetting that all New Zealand is not much" more than a county. The success of the New Zealanders is < the best thing for English Kugby football, since it will compel divorce from tradition, and encourage the free indulgence of intelligent thought, • "What we are accustomed to 'do" will give place to "-what we think is the best thing to 'do. .•■■ .'. j r •' ■">••;■.■. ■ .^.-■■■■.-':,.;"'■•

Speaking of the prospects of the Welshmen against the all-conquering Blacks, on December 16, Hamish Stuart says:—ln the case of Wales there is some, reason for fearing that the team will not be up to the average Welsh standard, and may even fall far short of it. If the New ZeaUraders had been here in a, season in which Llewellyn, Ga.be, Nicholls, and Morgan were the Welsh threes/ and Owen and Jones were the Welsh halves, then, presuming all six to be at their best, the New Zealanders would assuredly be beaten. But Wales is unhappily in a state of " international transition," and the visit of the New glanders could hardly have been more happily timed from the colonial point of view, or. been less opportune from ■ the Welsh standpoint. At the same time I feci assured that the colonials .vould rather have met Wales at her best, even if the meeting meant their defeat, than Wales at her worst, Wales is to: have the advantage of a trial game, and events may show that the- rather pessimistic view "of . the prospects of the ; principality which one has been forced .to take has" been 'wholly wrong. In spite of retirements and so forth, a really representative Welsh side may be as good as the teams of recent year 5...;.... •■ . : , %

Commenting on Hunter's (Taranaki) play after the match against Oxford. "Astral,'' in the Morning Leader, says:— was the most destructive medium of attack, and his modest personal score was five tries. One-half of this little wonder's tricks have not been told yet. Tiie Oxford men were simply paralysed by his audacity. To the onlooker lie seemed to prefer tin: most difficult path of progress, but he made light of wriggling his way through a crowd of opponents. He is' a human eel, and would have made a,'wonderful contortionist, I should think. Two of his tries were gained in combination with Roberts, the able halfback, but the others were' sheer individual efforts, of almost miraculous skill. . Once he got the ball just as, the scrum had broken up near the Oxford goal-posts, and he literally crashed his way through the crowd, finally bouncing head over heels over a defending back to register a try. His final effort was the culminating point of individual skill, a run almost straight from the middle of the field to between the posts, a feat that was greeted with resounding cheers from a crowd chiefly composed of undergraduates, who for the most part sat dumbfounded, and, if the truth be told, in a rather resentful mood. ,

A game against the black magicians is a splendid corrective lor the disease of swelled head, and when they leave these blessed shores of ours email hats ought to be in fashion. The New Zealanders have nowscored 540 points to 15, an average of 36 points; for'every one we have registered. How they must love us whom they chasten,; " Astral," in the Morning Leader.

More perfect combination has rarely, if ever, been seen, and'l doubt if it ever will be, unless by a, first-class touring team (says -the " Old Athlete" in the Athletic News after the Blaokheath match).' The threequarter line, which was left to do the scoring whenever possible, were simply brilliant, and'though Smith did not score once, I doubt if he did not do more than either of his two colleagues, though this is'a-very tall order. :['. • ; . .

Above all their good points as football players, the New Zealanders possess the inestimable quality of great pace. It is their speed that enables them to press home an attack ■ successfully, and it is also their speed which- enables them yto retrieve a blunder that with ordinary sides would be fatal.— Telegraph.