THE ALL BLACKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22214, 14 September 1935, Page 14

THE ALL BLACKS

TOUR OF ENGLAND OPENING MATCH TO-DAY STRONG TEAM CHOSEN CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS By Teleciapb—Press Association—Copyright (Received September 13. 7.15 p.m.) / LONDON, Sept. 12 The All Blacks are confident of victory in the first match of their tour / against Devon and Cornwall at Devonport on Saturday. They regard it as a curtain-raiser in which they are not likely to be extended. The following team has been selected to represent the New Zealanders. Fullback. —G. D. M. Gilbert (West Coast). 1 Threequarters.—G. F. Hart (Canterbury), C. J. Oliver (Canterbury), N. J. Ball (Wellington). Five-eighths.—T. H. C. Caughey (Auckland), J. It. Pago (Wellington). Halfback. —M. M. N. Corner (Auckland)". Forwards. —Back row: H. F. McLean (Auckland); middle row: J. E. .'Manchester (Canterbury), R. B. King (West Coast), S. T. Reid (Hawke's Bay), A. Mahoney (Bush Districts); front row: J. Horo (Otago), W. E. Had lav (Auckland), A. Lambourn (Welfingfon), The newspapers consider that the team is very strong. The manager, Mr. V. R. Meredith, declines to say how the forwards will pack. The News Chronicle says it considers that whatever plan is adopted the vanguard will be a formidable lot. The visitors should be supreme at least in the line-out. The New Zealanders have practised strenuously. The turf is so velvety at Paignton that Oliver played barefooted. He showed a rare turn speed. Some critics are not impressed by the forwards, and say that some attempts at screwing the scrum missed the fundamental principles. The newspapers expect the All Blacks to play on traditional lines, keeping the ball moving, with sharp hand-to-hand passing. They say the visitors are capable of sudden bursts of extra pace. The west country people have taken the team to their hearts, and the practices havi) been largely attended. The All Blacks have agreed to play a number of matches against French teams, provided that the English Federation resumes relations with France.

The selection of Caughey as fiveeighths comes as a surprise as the Aucklander has not yet played in this position- However, Oliver can play either at centre or five-eighths, and if the combination does not fit in well, the positions are sure to be reversed. The team selected is strong, although it necessarily must be*an experimental one. There is little doubt about the strength of the forwards, and' if the backs can settle down the team should prove hard to defeat. Four A'ticklanders are included in the side, Caughey and Corner (backs), and Hadley and McLean (forwards). It is assumed that the scrum formation will be 3-4-1. According to the cablegram, McLean is playing • back-row forward, although Mahoney was selected for this position.

PLAYERS' HARD TASK ' ' ,V. i' ' - ' — PREVIOUS TOURS RECALLED TWO OUTSTANDING RECORDS The eyes of the Rugby world ■will be foCussed on Devonport, England, to-day -when the All Blacks will commence their tour with a match against a combined Devon and Cornwall team. They are faced with a tremendous task in following such great combinations as the 1905 and 1924 teams and it is scarcely expected that they will come through the tour, with such a splendid record. The tour of the 1905 All Blacks in the United Kingdom placed New Zealand well on the map in the Rugby world. Their wonderful record in losing only one game out of 32 played is still - referred to with pride by keen followers of the game at that and the present > time. Nineteen years later the 1924 All Blacks went through their tour of England, Ireland, Wales and France undefeated in 30 matches. The 1905 and 1924 All Blacks met . Devon and Cornwall separately, winning ) .65—4, 41—0 and 11—0, 29—0 respectively. It is interesting at the present time to recall the records of the two previous All Black combinations. Thev are as follow:

1905 Points Points For Against V. Devon .. .. 55 4 V. Cornwall ~41 0 V. Bristol .. ..41 0 V. Nort hampton .. 32 . 0 V. Leicester .. 28" 0 V. Middlesex 34 0 V. Durham .. 16 3 V. West Hartlepool G3 0 V. Northumberland . 31 0 V. Gloucester 44 0 V. Somerset .. 23 0 V. Devonport Albion 21 3 V. Midlands . . 21 o V. Surrey .. ..11 0 Y. Blucksheath .. 32 0 V. Oxford .. ..47 0 Y. Cambridge ..14 0 V, Richmond ..17 0 Y. Bedford .. .. 41 0 V. Scotland .. 12 7 V. West of Scotland 22 0 V. Ireland .. 15 0 V. Munster .. .. 33 0 V. England .. ..15 0 V. "Cheltenham ..18 0 V. Cheshire .. ..34 0 V. Yorkshire ..40 0 V. Wales .. ..0 8 V. Glamorgan .. 9 0 V.. Newport .... 6 3 V. 'Cardiff .. ..10 8 V. Swansea .... 4 3 Totals .. .. 830 39 Hatches Played.—32 won, 31; lost, 1. •' 19124 Points Points For Against V. Devon .. ..11 0 V. Cornwall .. 29 0 V: -Somerset ..6 0 V. Gloucester 0 (I V. Swansea .. .. 39 fl V. Newport .. 13 10 V. Leicester 27 0 V. North Midlands 40 3 V. 'Cheshire .. ..18 5 V. Durham .. 43 7 V. Yorkshire ..42 4 V. Lancashire 23 0 V. Cumberland ..41 0 V. Ireland .. .. 6 0 V. Ulster .. ..28 6 ■ V. Northumberland . 27 4 V. Cambridge 5 0 V. London Counties 31 6 V. Oxford .. .. 33 15 V. Cardiff .. ..16 8 V. Wales .. ..19 0 V. Llanelly .. .. 8 3 V. East Midlands ..31 7 V, Warwickshire 20 0 V. Combined Services 25 3 V. Kampshiro 22 0 V. London Counties 28 3 V. England • • .. 17 11 Totals . . tis4 98 Matches Played.—2B; won, 28. All Black teams in tours of Britain and Franc© have played 63 matches. Only one has been lost and 1589 points thave been scored by them compared i»with 159 against them.