RECORD OF THE ALL BLACKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18888, 22 December 1924, Page 10

RECORD OF THE ALL BLACKS.

On the score of results no one can cavil at the achievements of the New Zealand footballers, who have had a magnificently, successful tour up to the present. What is generally expected to be the sternest test of the trip still awaits them in the match against England on January 3. Whatever be'its issue, the team has already established a record for the tour of which the members and the Dominion can justifiably be proud. The only discordant note that' can be found in what has been written about the team lies in some of the criticism of its tactics. Allegations of rough play and unsportsmanlike methods are not pleasant to read Some of the criticism has appealed self-contradictory to anyone with even a superficial knowledge of New Zealand football methods. Rugby football is not a gentle game; it is not meant to be. There is a distinction between hard play, which is within both the letter and the spirit of the rules, and rough play which regards neither. It has been open to suspicion several times whether the critics who attacked the New Zealand tourists realised the difference. Football of acknowledged standing have denied the truth of many of the charges made against the team —and, incidentally, against the referees; for if some of the things said about the All Blacks were justified, the referees must have been either incompetent or woefully lax. Sir James Allen says that the spectators have been uniformly cordial. It is not concei able that football crowds, naturally hoping to see their own side win, would have remained silent in the face of and continual foul play. The inference from all this is that too much has been made of occasional outbursts against the team. New Zealand has been given these criticisms in a heavily emphasised form, and" little of the oilier side of the story. The evidence from witnesses for the defence has generally been belated, but it has also been more convincing than the charges made. This is reassuring, for had there been substantial proof that the All Blacks were putting winning the game before playing the game, it would have been a disappointment to many New Zealar.ders deeply interested in their success at both.