RUGBY FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20623, 23 July 1930, Page 19

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

BRITISH TEAM'S DEFEAT.

SHOWING OF ALL BLACKS.

HASLAM JUSTIFIES SELECTION

After tho first two matches played by ii a British team against Wanganui and Taranaki respectively it was predicted in .his column that the visitors would find .. verv difficult to defeat. Wellington and Canterbury and possibly Auckland Britain lias now suffered defeat by all three provinces. Flic prediction as far as Wellington and Canterbury were concerned u:iS lmscd 0,1 tho lact tl,at th ° tourists would be opposed I'.V fairly strong {onV anl teams, as well as remarkably sound back divisions. The doubt existing regarding tho Auckland team was in tho ability of the back lino to hold the visitors in check. The Auckland lack?, however, rose to tho occasion magnificently. '""> d the result alter the first fin ecu minutes was never in doult. A prediction was also made that tho jfew Zealand team should score a comfortable victory iu the test matches. Tho first test won by three points and the second lost by three points, with Britain playing fourteen men throughout the second half, so that tho All Blacks cannot lay claim to any superiority in tho play in either contest. In the light of the three provincial defeats inllicted upon tho visitors New Zealand Rugby followers aro at a loss to understand* why fifteen of the best men in tho Dominion have failed to account l'or tho Britishers by a fair margin of points i;i tho test matches. The average critic feels certain ho could select fifteen New Zealanders to beat the British team and if the side chosen to represent the Pominion at Eden Park next Saturday is not successful there will bo a universal outcry for radical changes to be made for the final test in Wellington on August 9. Britain Tires Near End. Auckland's victory over tho British team last Saturday was sufficiently clear cut to preclude any serious argument over tho result. Of course, tho visitors had done a considerable amount of travelling before the match, but a touring team is in constant training and should be ablo to stand up to this. There was no suggestion of stalencss about the fifteen that represented Britain, and when they tired toward tho end of tho game it is reasonable to conclude that this was chiefly due to the battering they had received in standing up to tho Auckland pack. It is even doubtful if the inclusion of R. S. Spoug could have made very much difference. On the day, Britain was playing against one of the finest packs in New Zealand, a pack that was almost inspired. Every time Britain secured the ball from tho scrums, tho local forwards broke quickly and were almost on top of T. C. Kuowles. He could do little else but pait with the ball as quickly as possible. This frequently allowed A. Jamioson to go ' inside C. D. Aarvold and force him across. With the other Auckland backs also holding the inside positions the British attack more often than not went, practically straight across field. No blame can be attached to either N. Poole or Knowles for the failure of the British backs to penetrate; it would have taken tho combined genius of Hunter, Mynott and Cooke to cut through the Auckland forwards on the game they were playing, 'lhe whole fact of the matter is "that Auckland took the initiative about ten minutes after the start and maintained its grip on the game throughout. It was another case of the British backs playing on'.y as well as they were illowcd.

No Short Punts. It is a common fault in modern Rugby j to overdo tho short punt, but n anything tho British team errs in the j other directioD. Ihere are times when j an accurately-placed short punt can bo most valuable, particularly in the face of bustling forward rushes. When the British inside blocks found they had no chance of cutting through they might easily have used the short punt to advantage, instead of monotonously throwing tho ball out to their wings or kicking ] obliquely to touch and allowing Auck- j land to win the bail from the Jine-outs. i Aarvold was a notable offender in this j respect. Frequently lie tried to cut through on his own when ho did not have a possible chance and when a short punt might have given bis torwards an opportunity. It all goes 1o prove how dangerous it is to accept a principle as axiomatic. The British ieam plays on the very admirable principle of keeping possession at all costs, but it was proved on Saturday that it is far more valuable to kick for a gap v/hen there is a chance of regaining possession than to kick for the line ind run the risk of losing possession altogether. M. Corner's quick dash round tho scrum and short punt to a gap which enabled Jarnieson to send L. Hook over for Auckland's first try was an excellent illustration of this argument. rive-cighths Successful. Apart from the great play of tho Auckland pack one of the features ot the homo team's display was the work of the five-eighths, Jarnieson and U. llaslam. Before the match there were no doubts iibout llaslam's ability on defence. How over, he not only tackled faultlessly, but ■alf.o played a dashing game on attack, damieson's defence was held to be weak, hut iio ruse to tho occasion nobly and played a great all-round game. Corner's lightning passes fiorn the base of 'lie scrum lightened the task of the Auckland five-eighths, but they worked consistently well arid fully justified their selection. The outstanding feature of the senior B grade representative game between Auckland and Taupiri at Ngaruawahiu was t lio splendid play of the subunion's inside backs, and in Smith, Whorskev and Wilcox they have a dangerous attacking i ri< >. It is pleasing to sec Wilcox lias been selected to icpro■vnt Waikalo as fullback, and he should do ueil, although he usually plays at centre threequarier. fho rel'ereeing was of a very high standard and the game, which was and open and resulted 'n a win for Auckland by 25 to 17, was Hindi eni'ivf'd by a crowd of GCO.

i;ncitin<; football.

enthusiasm of spectators. In describing a football match in Mel bourne an Australian paper says:— "Nothing in the way of oxcitcmerit has been :,ee> to surpass the enthusiasm that prevailed at the Carlton v. Collingwood 'natch, [ti the sensational finish tile in Merest was at fever heat, and when the bell ram; with Carlton the winners, their supporters were mad with joy. Young ineti kissed each other and flung hats and Umbrellas into the air. women wept, tears filled tho eyes of old men, and children whimpered in a pandemonium of joy and •adness."