WIN FOR BRITAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20597, 23 June 1930, Page 12

WIN FOR BRITAIN.

FIRST RUGBY TEST. SIX POINTS TO THREE. ML BUCKS DISAPPOINT. SCORING CHANCES MISSED. SENSATIONAL CONCLUSION. tux TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDIN. Saturday. A sensational last-minuto try by tho speedy little British threequarter, Morley, ' converted a certain draw in the first test match .between Britain and New Zealand into a well-deserved and popular win for ' the visitors by 6 points to 3. The gamo was played under conditions that did not make for the best exhibition of the game, in spito of tho fact that for an hour preceding the commencement of tho game there was an unprecedented fall of snow, , which left the surrounding hills with a mantlo of white to an extraordinarily low level. There were about 27,000 people present by. tliQ time .the big match was begun. The ground, was, very slippery and heavy ' . mid .it was a. matter of a. few minutes before tho ball, became disconcertingly : greasy., The contest resolved itself into / a struggle between two well-matched packs of forwards. It .was a great gamo in spito of everything and tho crowd recognised early in the match that tho New Zealanders, who, it must bo admitted, were firm, favourites, had tho hardest part " to do to win. ; The British forwards, led by Ivor Jones, Hodgson and Beamish, were superb in both the tight and looso and in tho first, spell wero consistently on tho offensive. In the latter stages of the game, without overwhelming its opponents, tho New Zealand vanguard held its own. Tho 'All Black inside backs failed dismally and it must bo confessed that tho Lilburne- . Cooke combination at five-eighths cannot - be expected to be effective against tho skill of tho Englishmen. Wing-threequarters Starved. Mill wa3 far from impressive. He was / flow behind the scrum, and far too many of his passes were aimed at the feet. Tho crowd did not like this in such an experienced player. Lilburno's transfers to Cooke were scarcely any better. Cooko : iVras tho life and soul of the backs, but that is a doubtful compliment in that th(> New Zealand backs lacked lifo and initiative. ' v •' ' ] Perhaps, one of the most, regrettable features of the game from a New Zealand . point of view was the starving of tho wing-threequarters, neither of whom had half the opportunities they might have y had. Hart had one good chance which ho used to excellent effect, scoring one of the prettiest tries of the afternoon. Oliver, too, had one which he missed badly, dropping the ball through his hands' when / ' ho was a few yards from the line with nothing to beat. Nepia, at fullback, delighted the crowd. He was sure in dofence and his lino-kicking could not be faulted. His one mistake was when ho , refused to go down- to a forward rush. Ho tried to stop the ball with his foot and was swept along with the ball. Only Cooke's surprising anticipation saved trouble on that occasion. Tho day was a bad one for goal-kicking, and Nepia had few chances in that direction, anyhow. ; Forwards Bolow Standard. The forwards accomplished very much less than was expected of them. Porter was everywhere and did a lot of good, hard work, but somehow lacked finish. He wa3 continually offside, and, although ho attracted the referee's attention often,, he got away with too much in the opinion / ' of the crowd, who resorted several times to the expedient of nrging in chorus that he should get back on side. Finlayson /,•• ' was the hero of tho day, as far as tho forwards wero concerned, and Steere was generally in the picture, but the former was brilliant. He broko through time and again and could always be seen hard at work in both defence .and offence. 'Batty wa3 prominent frequently and , earned some applause, but the crowd had few laurels to spare after they had re- / cognised the performances of Cooke, Finlayson and Nepia. Hazlett proved to some extent the justice of tho charge of shining that has been levelled against him lately and most of the others did nothing more than was asked of them. _. Great. Play by British, Tho British team played an inspiring game. It was a case of "Even tho ranks of Tucany could scarce forbear a cheer." i Tho crowd simply had to cheer tho work of both" backs and forwards. Spong, Murray,. Bowcott,,-Aarvold, Roove and Mqrley were a delight throughout. Both halves exhibited rare resource and tho f . wings mado tho best use of their opportunities. Bassett, at fullback, distin- . guished himsolf. On last Saturday's showing he was unimpressive and gener4. ally considered to b9 a weak link in tho British sido, but, although . a shade on the slow side to-day, ho was sure and certain always. His sido owed' him much. •The backs played sparkling football of a kind that seomed foreign to tho All Blacks. Playing behind hard-working forwards they wero encouraged to open up tho game and they did it. Thoy outclassed tho Now Zealanders, of whom Cooko alone could teach them nnything. His uncanny knack of anticipating defenco was remarkably demonstrated this afterncon. llcovo's first try for Britain .was a great effort. Hart's scoro brought the crowd to its feet enthusiastically, but Morley's exciting run of 50 yards, fin- • ishing off a movement that began in the British twenty-five, sent the crowd into raptures. Visitors' Opening Try. Porter led New Zealand out to the accompaniment of vociferous applause and the home team kicked off. After a scrum 'fit half-way Finlayson led a forward rush ' ' ■ (to the British twenty-five. Play was in inidfiold until Hodgson found the lino well in New Zealand's twenty-fivo. Batty led the New. Zealand pack in a strong rush, but Bassott saved. Mill secured and kicked through to Bassett, who fumbled. The Now Zoaland forwards packed round, but Murray eased a diffi cult position. The British backs handled in a promising movement, but Aarvold was grassed in possession. A fico kick to each sido saw little change in play. Tho British backs wero then sent awav by Murray, who achieved a smart back ■" pass to Spong, who cross-kicked to Hoeve. Tho fast winger accepted the /- chance and outran Ilart to score at the k : '• : '' c °raor after seven minutes' play. Black's •+4>h' * a '* ec l- v Britain, 3; Now Zealand, 0. headed auother British offensivo ifSt 4 9 1 ®.' was repulsed. Offside *• by Brftain in front of tho goal gave -is , ~

New Zealand ; .a free kick, but Nepia's effort was poor, tho ball failing to rise. The British forwards came away again, led by Beamish and Hodgson, but Irvine found touch with a lucky speculator. The visitors kept up a strong attack, carrying play right to the New Zealand line. Tho New Zealand forwards bullocked their way through, however, but their progress was stopped when New Zealand was penalised. Black's kick fell short. Nepia found the line with a good kick, and from the line-out Porter dribbled through to Bowcott, who picked up and found touch. The ,weather had now cleared, but the ground was heavy and the ball greasy. Bowcott cut through, beating. Lucas badly, and passed in to Ivor Jones, who was well taken by Lilburne. Play was returned to midfield when Lilburne found tho lino with a good kick. Ivor Jones went through with tho ball at his toes, Nepia putting up an extremely weak defence. Bowcott stopped a counter forward movement by Finlayson, Porter,and Stecre. Tho British team was well adapted to the conditions. Murray sent Spong and Bowcott away, tho last-named cutting in cleverly, but Lilburno was in the right jilaco at tho right time. Nepia was fielding cleanly, and, -kicking without a mistake, saved his side twice in almost as many minutes. Porter was caught badly offside, and Black found touch well in the New Zealand twenty-five. Tho New Zealand .backs handled, Cooko kicking through to Bassett, who fielded well and found touch in tho New Zealand twenty-five. Murray secured and sent his backs away, Aarvold dummying Porter cleverly and passing on to Morley, who was brought down by Oliver. The crowd heckled Porter for offside play, but tho referee was not looking. Very Sound Defence. Cooke was playing a magnificent game, but tho dofence was as. sound as a rock. The Britishers were having the better of tho game territorially and at tho same time woro making all tho play. Lilburne started a passing movement, but Cooko dropped his pass although ho carried 011 with tho ball at his toes. Ivor Jones was always prominent and led Britain to tho Now Zealand twenty-five. An infringement in the scrum gavo Now Zealand a free kick, Nepia finding tho line at halfway.. A further free kick to New Zealand saw Porter kick through to Bassett, who returned play to tho New Zealand twenty-five. Finlayson broko through and passed to Cooke, who was brought down ten yards from tho line. A freo kick to Britain saved an awkward situation. ' Mill secured from a scrum and sent the backs away in ono of tho most promising movements of the gamo on the New Zealand side. It collapsed when Lucas was caught in possession. Britain was easily on top in tho set scrums, but the line-outs were slightly in New Zealand's favour. New Zealand was going much better when tho whistle sounded for halftime. Tho score then being:—Britain, 3; New Zealand, 0. Finlayson broko through from the first scrum in tho second spell and from tho rough Porter secured, dashing up to bo pushed out at tho corner. Mill secured from the scrum and passed to Lilburne, who sent on to Cooko, who kicked over the line. Britain forcing. From tho next scrum Mill sent his backs away again, Lilburne, Cooko and Lucas handling before the last-named transferred to Hart, who dashed across at tho corner, beating both Reevo and Bassett. Within five minutes of resumption New Zealand had equalised the score. Nepia's' kick hit the post. Britain, 3; New Zealand, 3. Some Faulty Passing. Tho New Zealand forwards were now battling to good effect, but Bassett at fullback was playing superlatively, in marked contrast to last Saturday's performance. Lilburne passed out to Cooke, who cross-kicked to Oliver,-but tho winger failed to connect. Batty find Porter led a forward rush to the British twentyfive, but'Bassett again saved. Mill sent out to Lilburne, who gave Cooko a bad pass, tho latter kicking. A minute later the samo thing occurred, Bassett finding the lino with a hasty kick. Faulty passing by tho New Zealand insider backs spoiled some good efforts. New Zealand was having all the better of the gamo now and only Bassett's sure dofence was preventing" scores. Hard tactics by Britain moved the sphere of action to tho New Zealand twentyfive, where «sn infringement by one of the British forwards gavo Nepia a chance to find touch well down with a magnificent kick. Bassett was caught in possession five yards from,, his line, but he passed back in time for Aarvold to find tho line. Spong picked up in a handy position and passed to Morley, who moved right up to Nepia. Ilis pass to Ivor Jones went . astray and the movement broke down. Injury to McWilliams. With the spell half gone New Zealand still held tho upper hand, although unable to pierce tho defence. A three-minutes' stoppage occurred as tho result of an injury to McWilliams, who was eventually taken off. Lilburne went down to a British forward rush, but it was only a temporary check, and the heavy pack moved on, sweeping Nepia right off his feet. Cooke, however, camo across in time to save. • McWilliams' return at this stago was the caiSse of tumultuous aprilause. Hazlett broke through with tho ball at his toes, and reached Bassett, who picked up cleverly to kick into touch at half-way. j- A free kick to New Zealand was taken by Porter, who tried the dangerous experiment of up and under, Cooko retrieving what proved to be a blunder by picking up from the toes of the advancing British vanguard. From a scrum Mill sent a bad pass to Lilburne, who, however, picked up and sent Cooko away toward the touchline, whero Bassett threw the ball out. Nepia's kick at goal failed. A 'minute later Nepia fftund the lino from a free kick, and a struggle ensued five yards from tho British line. Mill tried to get over on his own, but failed, and a second time he just missed again. Porter dived round tho back of. a scrum, but Bassett cleared. Cooko got away, to be pulled down after a good run. Victory Gained. Then Hart cut through and passed to Lucas, who kicked out of bounds just before he was taken by Reeve. Lucas charged down a kick by Aarvold, and New Zealand looked like scoring until Oliver let tho ball fall through his hands. New Zealand was still pressing hard when the end camo with sensational suddenness. What appeared to bo a certain draw was suddenly converted into a decisive victory by tho dcdoublablo Ivor Jones, who secured possession in his own twenty-five and set out for tho lino 75 yards away. He reached the half-way lino before ho was seriously challenged, and in the nick of tirno he transferred to Morley, who had come up fast. The little winger then set off for tho line .with Cooke in hot pursuit. Morley outpaced Cooko by about a yard, the pair finishing up on tho grass a yard from the corner, and just across tho lino, tho wing scoring tho most sensationallyunexpected try that has been seen on Carisbrook since Steel made his never-to-be-forgotten run against tho Springboks nine years ago. Tho stand, tho tiers outside, and every part of tho ground was in an uproar at tho unexpected termination to the gamo. When Jones picked up there was less than half a minute to go, and Black's unsuccessful attempt at goal was mado after tirno had expired. Round after round of tumultuous applause echoed around tho ground. The Britishers had snatched a drawn game from tho firo in a manner that could not but appeal to every sporting instinct of the crowd. Tho try was of the kind that is seen seldom, and the visitors deserved to win for the remarkablo opportunism they exhibited in that effort. Tho opening was there, and quick as a flash, Jones jumped into tho breach. Morley followed up in perfect stylo, and there was scarcely a yard between him and Cooko. But tho Briton was just too fast, and at the end of 1 great run had the satisfaction ot knowing he had won ! the game for bis side. Thermal score.was therefore: Britain, 6; New Zealand, 3. Mr. S. Hollander, Christchurch, wa3 roferee.