The "All-Black" Professors.

NZ Truth, Issue 12, 16 November 1907, Page 3

The "All-Black" Professors.

Dominion Critics Knocked Rite-High,

"Taking into consideration the lack of originality and initiative referred to, the prospects before the team as as present constituted cannot be said to be very rosy. At Home they will meet many Welsh players m the Northern Union clubs, and the men from the land o' the leek are renowned for the possession of these qualities. Of course, the players will have plenty of time m their voyage to the Old Country to practise, but the methods of the "All Blacks" are i now known to English teams. Unless they can devise new methods, and unless they have the quality of initiating entirely fresh and surprising movements m the field of play itself, they are likely to have a 'hard row to hoe,' "—"New Zealand Times" football scribe on day following departure of Baskerville's team. Seeing the brilliant record the "All Black" professors have so far put un m a game to which they were entirely new, the crank— he cannot be termed a critic— who wrote above must feel very small indeed, more especially so as he apparently borrowed his opinion from members of the "family party" 'whose kole reason for so scathingly condemning the "Rugby abilities" of Baskerville's boys, is because they were not conulted as to the personnel of the team . and when you come to think of it, Baskerville certainly had a damned hide to set himself up alone the Lord Chief Justice over the High Court of New Zealand Rugby football as represented by George Dixon and ,Co. By the way, George, how about the only 22 clubs m the Northern Rugby Union, which you so generously stated to he the case to the N.Z. football public. It was all right for you to make such statements until the progressive "Dominion" secured an article from Baskerville himself, and managed also unearth another football scribe, who certainly knew something about the Northern Union, and knocked your silly utterances kite high. And now that we have something definite as to the Gates, George, you must feel quite. a "silly hass" over your remarks that the tour would not pay. Just think of it, George dear, 30,000 gate man ordinary club match., and vet your pets' record was only 42,000, are you not green with envy, George. Yes, old boy, half out of 30,000 gate at the colliery town means £900 net for Baskerville and Co. Did you groan. George, so sorry old boy, that you arc out of the limelight and out m the cold also. By the way, "Pakeha" notes that though the "Otago Witness" and other self-elected authoritative football journals printed the first article of Off-side Mac's, m the Dominion, when he t -slangwaged the professionals, but when that old fossil modified his views and wrote with suoh vigor that he poleaxed his late cobibers, the said journals did not hurry to "clip" his remarks. Similarly, when Gordon Russell penned an article giving merely a plain statement of facts— and, to say the least, he certainly knew what he was writing ahout— the "Otago Witness" did not republish , his straightforward views, notwithj standing that his favorable anticipations of the professionals' prospects has been more than borne out. No, these cranks, who regard themselves as critics, cannot bear to hear the truth or see it printed m regard to honest men whom they have so often maligned. Another scribe who it would have been thought would have made sure of his facts before characterising the team, as not even a moderate one is' the Wellington representative of the "London Times." The "Thunderer" will not thank its New Zealand representative for sending such misleading information m face of what the professors have, accomplished. And pool old Wray Palliser, the doddering old idiot, must needs make an ass of himself to be misled by the person named Wylie. &iit then Wray Palliser does not count for anything either m England or New Zealand. In face of all the adverse comments, however, Baskerville's boys can afford to smile, seeing that they drew 30,000 -spectators to witness their play at Wigan, and this is something to he proud of seeing that the record attendance for the Northern' Union Cup was m 1903 at Leeds (a far larger town than Wigan) when 32,507 paid admission, and £1834 was taken.