LEAGUE TEAM'S TOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19469, 27 October 1926, Page 17

LEAGUE TEAM'S TOUR.

FIRST GAME IN ENGLAND. 1 VICTORY AT DEWSBURY. GREAT INTEREST OF PUBLIC. t (Prom J. O'Shaaghnessy, with the New Zealand League Team). f, HARROGATE. Sept. 12. L The opening match of the New Zea- C land Rugby League team's tour of Eng- 0 land and France attracted fully 16,000 spectators to the Dewsbary's Club's r ground at, Crown Flatts, yesterday. The t! stun taken at the gates amounted to *- £960. The prices charged were: Heserved stand, 5s 9d; stand, 3s 6d; r ground, Is 6d. As this is a time of in- v dustrial depression here in the north of s England, owing to the coal strike no ® doubt, the gate was affected. Enthusiasts * were present from all over England, some, coming from as far south as Lon- f don; others came from Wales and from f Scotland. * We arrived from Harrogate, onr headquarters, by charabanc, and were £ driven to the "Man and Saddle" Hotel, r where we lunched. The team to play 1 that afternoon retired to bed and slept until it was time to leave for the £ ground. The departure from the hotel t was taken amid a scene of great en- i thusiasm. The market square was one • dense mass of cheering people and the ' boys received a great ovation. The ( town band played us to the ground, , heading the crowd. Dewsbury is a town of over 20.000 in- j habitants, and it is safe to say that the < large majority, men, women and child- 1 ren, attended the match. The League 1 code has an astounding hold in the north j of England, particularly in Lancashire ( and Yorkshire. Our team was neces- 1 sarily an experimental one and several matches will be necessary before we can bo satisfied that the players have individually struck form. We were led on to the field, to the accompaniment of the cheers of the crowd, by Mrs. Mair, the wife of the manager. Mrs. Mair carried the New , Zealand flag and our mascot, a New Zealand kiwi. The Mayor of Dewsbury kicked off New Zealand won the toss, and Avery elected to play against the wind and sun, feeling sure, no doubt, that the team would last and gain the advantage in the second half. This wind made the New Zealanders very unhappy, and had a far-reaching effect on the play. From the kick off, Dewsbury got well into the New Zealand twenty-five, and Dufty (Auckland) saved with a clever kick, gaining much ground. After a few minutes of desultory play, a Dewsbury man retired hurt, but resumed after attention on the side line. The Dewsbury men were, all round, a fairly hefty side, and our boys found at otice that they had a hard team to beat. A penalty kick in the first ten minutes gave Dewsbnry a chance in front of the posts and, judging the wind cleverly, the Dewsbury captain, Lyman, piloted the ball over. Dewsbury, 2; New Zealand, 0. A Deficit ol Two Points. This stirred the visitors, and gathering the ball in his stride, Singe (Auckland) made a fine run to Dewsbury's territory, but his pass went astray. A high kick by the home team had New Zealand in trouble and Cole (Auckland) saved just in time, with a force down. At this stage it became apparent that for some reason, probably on account, of the fact that the outside men were allowed to lift their feet, Carroll (Manawatu), the New Zealand hooker, was not getting a fair share of the ball, and thus our backs were greatly handicapped. From a period of bright posing, Dewsbury crossed our line, but were called back for infringement, and we breathed again. At this stage it was noticeable that New Zealand was playing a handling game, the Dewsbury men doing a great deal of kicking, a surprising thing in League football, where possession of the ball means everything to a side. Another thing that was a feature of the game was that players who did not stand off a man "playing the ball," were not penalised .bv the referee. This is the opposite to the custom in New Zealand. Dufty, Avery, Kirwan and Wilson Hall all played well, Hall having any amount of work to do. His cel-like run often had the Dewsbury men completely puzzled. Gardiner, proved a strong-run-ning wing and handled and kicked well all day. Half-time came with the score: Dewsbury, 2 (penalty goal); New Zealand, 0. Tha Second Half. Only a few minutes of the second half had elapsed before New Zealand equalised the scores. Hall, at half, sent out a quick pass to Sanders on the wing, on the "blind side" of a scrum. Sanders got clean away and had only Stocks, the Dewsbury fullback, to pass. Sanders punt-ed over Stocks' hef-d. In my opinion he would have certainly regained the ball and scored as he hid a clear run in had he not been unfairly brought down by the fullback, who cellared him by the ankles. It would not have surprised anyone on the ground had a penalty try been awarded. A penalty kick was ordered and from this Dufty (Auckland) had no difficulty in equalising. New Zealand, 2: Dewsbury 2. Dewsbury were soon ahead again, for a burst by McLouglin led to Ryan scoring near the 'posts for the skipper, J. Lyman, to add an easy goal. Dewsbury, 7; New Zealand, 2. From this stage until the end of the game the New Zealanders asserted themselves and played real football. The second half certainly' yielded play of a vastly better and brighter standard than we had been given in the first half. Splendid passing from Hall, at half, for New Zealand, right along the lino of our backs, gave Davidson the ball. With a splendid swerve and a glorious side-step, he was over the Dewsbury line. Dufty converted with a good kick from a difficult angle. New Zealand. 7: Dewsbury 7. Visitors Gain the Lead. Then Avery was penalised for off-side and a fine kick by the Dewsbury captain put his side ahead once more. The run of play was most exciting, arousing the dense crowd to great enthusiasm. With surprising impartiality they cheered every piece of good play on either side. They proved themselves fine sportsmen. Gardiner (Auckland) at this stage put in a good run and crossed the Dewsbury line, but could not pull up quickly enough and crossed the deadball line. Thus a certain try was lost. Our boys were now playing in fine style and definitely established their superiority. We took the lead again, when Avery, who throughout the game had been working like a Trojan, headed a rush and . scored. Dufty took the kick, but hit the post. New Zealand, 10; Dewsbury, 9. Then followed a fine forward rush, the finest of the day, with Singe, Peterson and Monat at the head. Mouat gathered 1 the ball and went over for a try. The 1 kick failed. New Zealand, 13: Dewsbury, 9. Comment on the Players. There was no change in the score before the final bell and New Zealand left the field winners of the first match of the tour. Singe, Mouat, Avery and Peterson wero the best of the New Zealand pack, but Carroll and Herring were nearly as good, being honest grafters all the way. Dufty, on the whole, was disappoint- ; ing, but when he has overcome the effects ' of the long voyage he will startlo the crowds with his handling and kicking. Hall, the diminutive halfback, proved a veritable "box of tricks and a glutton for work. He was here, thero and everywhere. Kirwan and Colo proved very reliable as five-eighths, their straight running proving a constant so-mrce of worry to the Dewsbury men.