THE MATCH AGAINST AUCKLAND

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1696, 31 August 1904, Page 62

THE MATCH AGAINST AUCKLAND

For Auckland Avas reserved the honour of being the only province to defeat the British touring team of 1904, on 'Saturday, August 20th, and Auckland A\ r as a hot town that night. All up and down Queen street until after midnight there was scattered cheering, and it seemed aa if all Auckland Avas strutting about in its feathers of victory, asking itself Avkafc

it thought of itself. Had not Auckland given the Britishers the most complete defeat they had yet experienced? Had not Auckland won by thirteen points to nil? Certainly, it had. Well, then, fill Early in the morning the city was astir, and before 10 o'clock electric cars and 'buses were taking hundreds out to Alexandra Park (which is the newer name for Potter’s Paddock), until wnen the ball was kicked off there ware prooably c\er eighteen thousand people on tne ground. It is a bad ground for seeing, and great numbers of people carried 'vith them boxes, step-iadders, barrels anything that would give elevation. Nearly everybody wore blue and white, or red, white and blue favours. All the horses were bedecked with ribbons, and private houses along the route to the ground had flags and bannerettes flying from windows or improvised flagpoles. But to the match. ‘What sort of a game was it? and how eamesit that the Britishers were beaten so badly? Well, it was not much of a game.- ‘there was no thrilling work, and the tries gained were gained without any great difficulty. - As to why the Britishers were so oadly beaten, it was because they were stale—absolutely stale. In the second spell they were pumped right out. This is not meant to discredit Auckland, because the Auckland forwards would have beaten the .British at their best; but the figures wouid not have been so tall. Britain's team played the very worst game it has played in New Zealand. Even Bush was below his form for the • first, time during the tour. Little was to be expected from them to-day. They had a hard match against New Zealand; . they had a long railway journey to New Plymouth from Wellington ; played one of their hardest games against Taranaki in mud; and, to finish, had fourteen hours aboard ship in a gale. Then they were asked to face the heavy and fast Auckland forwards, who were in the pink of condition. It was too big an order. The local front-rankers got the ball in the scrum three times out of four, and if five-eighth: "Wood had not crowded his three-quarters .—if he had cut in when he got the bat instead of cutting across the field —the score against the Britishers would have been bigger. The match was won when the first spell concluded, and Britain, with a strong wind behind them, had not a point on the score slate. Even, in the - first spell, against the wind, Aucklanu had the balance of play in its favour. It was a “one-horse" show. Viie, scrumhalf, played a plucky game until the 110side whistle, and was carried shoulder high off the field by a party of bluejackets from a man-o'-war in the harbour. Although the weather had been bad feu the previous few days, and heavy rain had fallen on Friday night, the playing ground —one of the quickest to dry in New Zealand— was in good condition. The weather for the match was on its best behaviour, and no rain fell all day. Saunders replaced Trail in the British pack. As the Britishers entered the field behind Auckland's team a brass band played “Britons Never Shall be Slaves," and out in the centre of the field a long line of Maori boys greeted them with a native dance. THE TEAMS. Following aTe the names of the players of both teams: BRITAIN AUCKLAND. FULL-BACKS. O'Brien Harrison THHEE-QU AItTEBS. Morgan Fenwick Gabe Murray Llewellyn McGregor McEvedy McKenzie HALVES. Bush Wood Vile Gallaher Kier nan FORWARDS. Dobson Tyler Saunders Mackrell Rogers Cunningham Bevan Seeling Eld wards Nicholson C'rowther Hayward Harding Joyce Swann ell Up went a coin and BUI TAIN WON THE TOSS. They played with We good strong wind behind them. Away went the ball, and it oame back from a British boot to r? ackland’s side of half-way. Then commenced the business of the Northern forwards. Short, sharp, SPASMODIC DASHES sent Britain retreating to Its twenty-five line, and there the ball was sent out to their backs. Kiernan, Wood, McGregor, and Murray went up all in a line, and the last-named passed to McKenzie', but he missed it. McEvedy then punted to halfway. Again Auckland’s long forwards attacked, with Gallaher Nicholson, and Seeling in front, and there was little S’ouna to spare between the British goalne and themselves when they were checked. Bush and Morgan took the ball from them, and a punt with the wind sent the ball to touch at half-way. Then BRITAIN'S MISFORTUNES COMMENCED. Rogers, one of their best forwards, had his knee injured, and retired. He came back later, but was quite useless. At midway Vile tried the eentre attack, and Bush, Gabe and Llewellyn got away without stopping to say good-bye, and the party of bluejackets from the man-o'-war cheered as if a double grog allowance was to be served out for a month. But the northern players spread quickly, and there was no opening, even for the dodging Welshmen. In an ensuing scramble Gallaher cleared with a flying kick to near the twenty-five flag. There Auckland played off-side, and were penalised. An attempt was made at goal, but it was feeble, and Auckland was forced down. The first incident of note after the kick-off was e long punt to British ground, and Nicholson was after it in a hurry. He kept his opponents battling hard for a minute, until a Bri-

tisher marked, and sent the colonials back to their own quarters on the twenty-five line. Vile sent the Welsh string away again, and Llewellyn was thrown out ten yards from Auckland's line. In pushing the British away, a breach was committed, and Harding made an attempt at goal that put AUCKLAND'S HAIR ON END! The ball struck the post, and rebounded into play, and players snatched at it from all quarters. Wood got it, and punted to half-way, but Britain was making as much use of the wind as possible, and CKBrien kicked straight down the field under Auckland's posts. The players swayed and struggled, until suddenly Nicholson came through the ruck, and opened a forward charge. It was spoiled, however, by off-side play, and Harding had another shot at goal. This time he SHAVEiD THE POST by a couple of inches, and Auckland took a deep breath that could be heard at Cape Maria Van Diemen. Just prior to that Bush had had a drop-kick at goal from a penaltv, and lie barely missed the posts. It was too hot for Auckland to be at home, so they rushed desperately to the other end of the field, driving the English, and the Irish, and tho Welsh helter-skelter before them. The attack would have more than probably ended in a score, but the Auckland backs bandied the ball badly. The ball went to the ground, and for the next three minutes there avas some loose work at a pace which just about put the men from the other side of the world on their last legs. One of them was lying full-length on the ground; one was sitting down; one” was hopping about holding a wounded knee—when the SITUATION WAS SAVED for the moment by one of Bush's speculators. Harrison (Auckland's full-back) caught the ball as it came down, and. running up with it, sent it back to where it came from. Whistle and scrum. The ball came out to Vile, and Gallaher was sprawling on top of him just in time to see the ball fly away to Bush, and from that player's toe to half-way. Then a charge by Tyler was stopped, and McEvedy made a long DROP-KICK AT GOAL, but the ball went wide. Just after the kick-out again, Gabe marked on Auckland's twenty-five line, and Harding had another unsuccessful shot at goal. Auckland’s luck was right in. Just before halftime a British centre attack was tried again, but it was nipped almost at the beginning. When the HALF-TIME WHISTLE sounded cheers went up from all sides of the ground. Everybody knew then that it was fifty to one Britain could not win. Facing the wind, Britain kicked out. By this time o‘’Brien had gone wrong in one of his legs, and he and Rogers paddled about the field, and others were being winded and put out of action, one after the other, nearly every five minutes. It gave the team the appearance of A PARTY OF DERELICTS that had fought its way lone-handed over the playing grounds cf all the world. The second spell needs little telling, and practically there was only one team in it. Within five minutes Britain was forced down, and that was followed by McKenzie going so close to their lino that Auckland, thinking a try had been scored, rose up bodily, and WAVED ITS ARMS and whooped. Out of the loose the hall came to Murray, and that young player made a clever attempt at goal, missing the posts by a couple of feet. Auckland's first chance to get a goal from a placekick came immediately after the kick-out, and was given to Wood on the twentyfive line. It was an easy shot, right in front, but 'Wood made a miserable effort. Britain came out again, and they were at ■once bunched up in their twenty-fives. Out came the ball to Wood, to Murray, then to McKenzie, and the last-named SCORED NEAR THE CORNER-FLAG. ’Then such another scene occurred as was seen at W ellington a week previously when McGregor scored for New Zealand against the British. The cheering of the crowd was deafening. Cunningham failto convert. Auckland ... 3 Britain 0 Cunningham missed a goal again two minutes’ later from a free-kick. Britain faced their opponents again, and were sent back to their line. A scrum there was broken up, and Seeling was over the line, but the whistle had gone. Britain cleared to the twenty-five, but they couldn’t keep those Auckland forwards out. Everywhere was seen Nicholson, Tyler, Gallaher, Cunningham, and Seeling—Vile tried his best to stop them. Once, when he went down to them, they DRAGGED HIM TEN YARDS before he dropped the ball. Several times the Auokland backs tried attacking, but Wood hung to the ball, or dragged the Welshmen on top of McGregor, and then passed to him. The forward rushes were Britain's trouble. Out of one of them CUNNINGHAM SCORED easily, under the posts, and Murray kicked. a goal. Auckland ... ... 8„ Britain 0 All Auckland went mad. Its women were waving handkerchiefs and sunshades. Its men were jumping, danoing and roaring. Hardly had they calmed for a moment, before they were in another state of hysterics. GALLAHER HAD SCORED under the British posts, from a pass given him by Wood. Murray converted that try also. Auckland ... 13 Britain ... 0 The game was practically over, and hundreds of people left the ground—there was only Auckland left. Britain forced down and forced down, and forced down. Britain was dead.