The "All Black" Team

NZ Truth, Issue 976, 9 August 1924, Page 9

The " All Black " Team

AN UNUSUAL "SEND OFF."

(By "M.E.W.")

There, is little to be proud of, and a whole heap to be ashamed of, m the manner m which bur chosen were sent on their long journey to the Homeland. ■ . ' The send off s of past All Blacks re T main as pleasant memories, but this one must go d^own to Rugby history as a disgrace to what we are pleased to term ourselves— a British sporting community. To those of us who have a love for the good of the old game, and have nothing but the happiest remembrances of the best days of our lives, the venom and unsporting attitude of certain sections of the community m adverse criticisms of perhaps the best Rugby team that ever left New Zealand is very humiliating. We old-timers blush to think of the feelings of those, members of the team who have been subjected to such thoughtless and unwarranted criticism, but we hope that they have long ere] this learnt the big lesson m all games, that the great and glorious public is a dirty dog 1 . He will lick your hand one minute and tear your innards out the next. They, with the loud-mouth r ed roaring barracker at their head, will purr like pussy cats when everything goes thefr way, and behave like blackguards dn the reverse. No team has ever represented New Zealand that has had the care m selection aau, this one had. and eyery playerwas subjected to the ' most searching trials. From a selection point of view it was as thorough as it was possible to be. No expense and labor were spared m gathering together , the aspirants, and when the work was completed there were few of the real dinkums" that did not feel m his heart that we had chosen the very best twenty-nine men to be had. There are possibly twenty-nine other men m the country just as good t but they., poor chaps, must join the great band of those who "just missed." They cannot be classed as better, m the face of what the appointed selectors consider the best. It does no \. milt^^ rap what the papers or the Public think and say. This is the teanr selected by the officials, who are representative^ of the Player^ and It was •v» to us" to accept them as such and neat them accordingly. Butdid U No' Throwing all the teaching of whntconstitutes sport to the wind, we payed their first match m the tour for which they were chosen. ■ However they are away from this no limed atmosphere, and we hope that they will realise that it is not the loudest sound that conveys the most, m, th<it the generous and kindly thouiSS ol the majority are with each aid fvery one of them on> the!? tour.