ALL BLACKS' TOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18838, 13 October 1924, Page 9

ALL BLACKS' TOUR.

pijf DEFEAT OF CHESHIRE. EIGHTEEN POINTS TO FIVE, AN UNIMPRESSIVE DISPLAY. ' ' Australian a;vl N.Z. Cable Asaocia'.ion. (Reod. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON. Oct. 11. The All Blacks placed i-.nother victory to Ihoir credit to-day by defeating Cheshire, at Birkenhead, by IB points to 5. This makes their ninth successive win since the opening of their tour of Britain, and though the margin by which they won to-day's match is not as great, as that by which their predecessors of 1905 defeated the Cheshire fifteen the New Zealanders showed marked superiority over their opponents, especially in the back division.

•The total points scored by the present combination to date is 189, compared with 256 scored by the 1905 team for the corresponding matches, while 21 have been registered against them—five more than against the previous teaan. To-day's contest did not come up to ."•I pectations, aud as a whole was the ; poorest, display of tho tour. The forwards were evenly matched, and tho first half was marked by much close, raggod play. Thft Cheshiro forwards displayed plenty of dash and severely tested the > T ew Zealand defence. Both sides got a fair rjhare of the ball from the scrums, bat fs.ulty work by the All Black fiveeighths and the hard, spoiling tactics of the opposing team prevented the visiting backs from executing conccrt-ed passing jfH • riijhes, V There wat> only one score at half time, this being an unconvorted try in favour of this New Zealanders. However, iu the s«cond half the All Black rearguard showed marked improvement in the work, soma of their handling movements baing i-rilliant, and the issue was soon pat beyond doubt. The Cheshire backs were unable to push homo the advantages gained by their hard-working vanguard. The tackling by the New Zealand backs was not up to standard and Cheshire's only score resulted from weak tackling by the visi- ♦ tors. Keen interest was taken in tho contest and the ground was crowded, the attendance being about 12,000. Owing to indisposition among members ef the All Black party, several changes from tha team originally choson for the match were necessary. The outstanding player cn the day was Hart, the speedy T&ranaki wing-threequartor, -whose spectacnlar scoring dashes in the trials i.rought him into the limelight and won him his place among the 29 players selected. He was in fine form to-day and gave his best display to date. The place-kicking for the All Blacks was a failure, none of the six tries ecored being converted. Ragged Play in First Spell. The t#am which finally took the Seld for New Zealand was as follows:— Fullback i Nepia. Threequarters: Hart, Brown, Steel. Five-eighths: MaGregov, Paewai. Halfback: Mill. Wingforward t Porter. Forwards: Irvine, McCleary, Masters, C. Brown!!®, Richardson, Stewart, West. The New Zealanders opened the attack _ and rushed play to their opponents' end £ of the Jieia, out "Grade saved Cheshire's K liae at a crucial moment and relieved " \ the preisure. Cheshire worked into midveld, where their bsxks iniated some fine passing bouts. From one of these movements Hobday made a good run well into the All Blacks' territory, "and then sent the ball on to Richardson (Cheshire), who just missed dropping a goal from ;he field amid considerable excitement. The All Blacks cleared, bat hard, dash-ing-play and good footwork by the. Cheshire forwards carried play to the New Zealand line, only to have the scene of operations transferred to neutral area by strenuous efforts on the part of the visitors. Much of the play was of a very close and scrambling nature. There was little difference between the packs in the tight work and each side secured the same share of the ball from the scrams. How. ■„ ever, the All Blacks lost opportunities through faulty work by their inside backs. Neither of the five-eighths, McGregor (Canterbury) and Paewai (Hawke's Bay) were at their best. Both knocked on rej«satedly, thus breaking down the attempts to open up the play. Cheshire were playing a hard, spoiling game, taking advantage of mistakes % their opponents. Gracie took a prominent part in smothering movements by the New Zealand backs, and intercepted several weak passes. All Blacks Forge Ahead. There was no .score on either side daring the first 30 minutes, during which thagame was characterised by uninteresting scrambling play by both Eides. Then Mill, the Hawke's Bay halfback, initiated a successful passing rush. The ball was sent out to Hart who set out for the line. He hurdled over the Cheshire fullback's head in spectacular style and registered the f;?st try of the day. Nepia tailed to convert. Half-time cams with the sooree All Blacks k & nit •« 3 Cheshire . . .. . . 0 t The New Zealanders opened the sccond 'Hpif spell in a brilliant manner. They handled I the ball with much more crispness, sure- ' ness and precision, and the concerted movements by their backs broke through the defence. The improvement in their game was snch that within three minutes -hey had scored another two tries. The vi/iitors were now dominating the game, «id notwithstanding their efforts, fche Cheshire fifteen were rjuable to check the advances of the heavy , fast New Zealand combination, or prevent the score mounting. Porter, the AH Blacks' versatile captain, was the next to score. He finished off a hot attack by crossing the line at the corner. After the kick-out the All Blacks returned to the attack, -heir backs got going in a handling bout and Steel, the speedy West Coast wingthreequarter, maintained his reputation as a scoring wing by dashing over the line. Nepia again failed with the kick, this bsing his fourth unsuccessful attempt since the interval. Cheshire Forwards Rally. The Cheshire forwards rallied at this and set out to reduce the margin gainst them. They stopped the New Zealand advances and launched a series of onslaughts which oarried play right into the All Blacks' twenty-five. However, the work of the Cheshire fifteen Jacked the necessary finish and for a time they were unable to reach their objective, although they had the visitors strenuously defonding on occasions. They persisted in their efforts and at last Locke penetrated the defence and' notched Cheshire's first and only try. He was able to score owing to wetk tackling by tiiS All Blacks, at least six of whom should have tackled him before he reached the line. Richardson (Cheshire) concerted the try, making th« scores:— \\ m All Blacks . ✓ .. ,* 15 ju Cheshire 5 v, J n kter stages of the game the All "W" Black backs launched another fine pass- \ mg rush, the ball being handled in good j - style. Hart capped the movement by j % sooring his second try for the day by j . . touching down after a brilliant run. This time Steel took the kick, but he was not *ny more successful than Nepiia, and j? , w>e shot went astray. The game ended, .With the scores:— All Blacks , a ■ 4 a e 18 Cheshire 8 . § n» ; j'-M •

The superiority of the Nevr Zealanders in the back division was moat pronounced, but the game generally was the poorest exhibition they have yet shown. The loose, single-handed passing by the Cheshire backs offered innumerable opportunities for interception, but the New Zealand Ijacks, even when they had a big lead, continually used the line instead of keeping the ball in play. Hart alone deserves special mention for his determined running and wonderful pace.

The results of the nine matches played by tho present team to date and the record of the All Blacks of 1905 for the corresponding games are as follow, the New Zealand scores being given first in each instance:— 1924. 1905. Devon .. 11-—0 55—4 Cornwall , t 29—0 41—0 Somerset .. 6—o 23—0 Gloucester . 6—o 44—0 Swansea . . 39—3 4—3 Newport . . 13—10 6—3 Leicester . . 27—0 28—0 N. Midlands 40—3 21—5 Cheshire . . 18—5 34—0 Totals . . 189—21 256—15