TODAY'S RUGBY STRUGGLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18879, 29 November 1924, Page 13

TODAY'S RUGBY STRUGGLE.

'VALL. BLACKS V. WALES.

MEW ZEALAND'S TEAM.

CAPTAIN NOT INCLUDED.

GREAT CONTEST ANTICIPATED.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. A. and N.Z.—Sim. LONDON. Nor. 27. The All Blacks play Wales at St. Helens ground, Swansea, on Saturday. Rain is falling steadily at present. The team selected to represent New Zealand is as follows:— Fullback; Nepia. ThreoqufaTters: Steel, Cooke, Svenson. Five-eighths: McGregor, Nicholls. . Halfjjiack: Mill. Wing-forward: Parker. Forwards: Irvine, Donald, Masters, M. Brownlie, C. Brownlie, Cupples, RichardSon.

If the day is wet Dalley will replace ■ Mill. The absence from the team of White, the Southland forward, is probably due to a shoulder injury. The Welsh team is as follows. —Johnson, E Finch, A. Stock, A. Jenkins, Rowe Harding, J. Wetter, E. Williams, W. Delahay, S. Morris, D. Marsden Jones, D. Parker, C. Pugh, J. Gore, R. Randall and P. Hiddlestone. Hiddlestone is the Welsh team's winger. The critics applaud the Welshmen's policy of giving their team a special preparation of a week's training, but criticise the droppng of some of the Cardiff and Newport forwards, and they consider the - team is overburdened with veterans. The Rugby football correspondent of the Daily Mail admits that it is bold to predict that' Wales will beat the All Blacks, but he does so after carefully weighing the chances. He says the All Blacks possess great combination, and a high standard of individual skill, but in meeting fast, resolute opponents they do not possess the supreme mastery of tactics, perfection - and accuracy necessary to win. The Welsh, team is much stronger than seemed possible after the final trial. The selectors were compelled to go outside the 20 trial players, resulting in a strong, trell-bahmced side, combining youth and experience. The team is fully equipped with attack and defence, which it will use powerfully.

Thf

defeat of the All Blacks by Wales

«.,C - in 1905 invests to-day's contest at Swan Bea with peculiar interest, and it is saf< to say that no match of the tour, with the {•ossibk exception of that against Engand in January, has or will arouse keener public interest. In view of the pcrform- ' »nces of the present New Zealand team to date-there are many Rugby followers in the Dominion who believe that the one

loss sustained by the 1905 combination will be avenged, but in Wales, despite the fact that it is admitted that the standard of Rugby has fallen in recent years, some authorities consider that the Welsh fifteen ■ ■will still be able to check the All Blacks' victorious career. Last month a Welsh critic of considerable standing expressed • the belief that Wales had seven forwards quite equal to holding the best the

~„__ ._ ... _ pack . All Blacks could put in the field, but thav the home backs were weak. Every effort has been made by Wales to field a strong side in a condition to last out a fast, Btrenuous game, but unless the weakness in : the back division has been remedied, the Welsh team will probably find the Sew Zealanders more than a match. The Weather conditions will be an important factor. "

The Omission o! Porter. The omission of the captain, Porter, from the All Black team-for to-day is the most striking feature of the selection, as he was also omitted from the team which met Ireland in the first international contest. It clearly indicates that Porter has not played up to expectations. one factor thai influenced the selection committee in adopting this course is Porter's weakness for offside play, a practice that is looked on with great disfavour ■. in. Britain, where -wing-forwards are alwsys regarded with suspicion. Parker ' 'was the wing-forward in the Irish match, and on his displays generally seems to hive outshone his captain. He is one of the most versatile men in the team, and

in the event of one of the backs being injured would be able to fill practically any position with credit. The back division differs considerably from that which played against Ireland. Hart and Lucas have been replaced in the * threequarter line by Steel and' Cooke, . while the last-mentioned player's position •i at- five-eighths has been taken by McGregor. Dalley was tZe half in the first international game. There is only one change in the forwards, C. Brownlie replacing White. The pack is a formidable one, but in the event of wet weather iWhite will be greatly missed. Munro, one of the team's best hookers, is apparently still on the casualty list. When the All Blacks of 1905 met Wales -they had already played 27 matches, including ganies against England, Scotland and Ireland, so the present team, having played only 20 matches to date, will not nave to contend with as great an element of staleness, as did their predecessors. . v . The Teams' Records Compared. The matches played by the respective teams up to the time of meeting Wales are giveu in the following tabic, the matches being given in the order in which ihey were played:— . £ " 1924. 1905. Devon . .. 11-0 Devon .. 55—4 Cornwall .. 29—0 Cornwall .. 41—1 Sojnereet . 6—o Bristol .. 41—O Gloucester . 6—o Northampton 32—0 Swansea .-. 39—3 Leicester .. 28—0 Newport .. 13—10 Middlesex . 34—0 Leicester .. 27—0 Durham .. 16—0 V.. Midlands 40-3 Hartlepool . 63—0 Cheshire .. 18—5 N'thum'land 31—0 Durham .. 43—7 Gloucester , 44—0 Yorkshire . 42— i Somerset . ■~ 22—0 Lancashire . 23—0 Devonpoxt Cumberland 41-0 Albion .. 21—3 Ireland .. 6—o Midland Ulster .. 28—C Counties . 21—5 N'th'um'land 27—4 Surrey .. 11—0 Cambridge s—o Blackbeath . 32—0 London Coun- Oxford .. .47 —0 ■ ties . . 31—6 Cambridge -. 14—0 Oxford .. 33—16 "Richmond . 17—0 Cardiff .. 16—8 Bedford .. 41—0 Scotland .. 12—7 Total points 484—71 W. Scotland 22—0 Ireland .. 15— 6 Minister .. 33—0 England «. 15-.0 Cheshire ... 34—0 Yorkshire . 40—Q

Total points 800 —22

The team which represented New Zealand against Wales in 1905 was as follows:—Gillett, Wallace, Deans, McGregor, Hunter, Mynott, Roberts, Gallaher, f'asey, Tyler, O'Sullivan, Newton, Glasgow, Seeling and McDonald.