RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21196, 29 November 1930, Page 2

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

BRITISH TOURISTS* RETURN. • COMMENTS ON THE TOUR. (From Ouk Owir Correspondent-) ■ ■ . LONDON, October 23. Membere of the British touring Rugby team were officially . welcomed at Plymouth early on Wednesday morning. The Orient liner Otranto was anchored out in the bay, and among those who went out to the vessel by tender was Mr W. T. Pearce, president of the Rugby Union; Engineer-Commander S. F. Coopper, sec.retary; Mr W. S. Donne, a former president; Mr C, J. Wray, New Zealand’s representative on the Rugby Union Committee; Mr John Daniell, one of the selectors of the team; and Mr M. M. Holman, of Cornwall. “ It’s an unearthly hour to drag you out,” was Mr James Baxter’s greeting to the party. It was 7 o’clock, But the members of the team were soon on board, and each man referred in'most appreciative terms to the wonderful tour. Both Mr Baxter and P. G, Prentice, the_ captain of the side, had some interesting things to say. about the conditions vnder which Rugby .football is played in New Zealand and Australia, and also about the play’and-the players. Mr Baxter stated, though reluctantly. In reference to the controversy which had raged in New Zealand after his remarks about wing forward play, that his actual words, deliberately chosen, were these:— “A wing forward could Sot interfere with the fly-half unless he was offside.... If he deliberately manoeuvred into an offside position to interfere with the fly-half then' he was not only a cheat, but a deliberate cheat.” Mr Baxter added; “As a matter of fact, I found the majority of the authorities in -New Zealand anxious for the abolition of tbe wing forward, aSd there, is no question that the spectators hold the same view.” He feared that there was no possibility of an arrangement between the'two countries concerned for the. time being. The Rugby Union, of course, would not attempt to dictate to tbe unions of the Dominions, who would have to put their own .house in order. MAGNIFICENT GROUNDS. Mr Baxter, in further reference to the play both' of the Australians and New Zealanders, said be did mot think there was any marked improvement in any department of the game as compared with colonial teams of the past, and the Australians were not the equals of the “ War atabs.” On the social side they were overwhelmed with kindness. The Maoris, on one occasion,, assembled the* chiefs of their tribes from both islands to bid them welcome. On the whole, the tour was a pronounced success, and they returned with the happiest memories. Perfect harmony had existed among the touring party and every man had pulled his weight. The grounds in New Zealand were magnificent, but the presence of bulli soil in Australia caused a lot of trouble. Bulli was used in the preparation of Australian cricket pitches, and was found to contain poisonous matter. Nearly every man, said Mr Baxter, suffered from rashes caused by the poisonous germs, and, of course, the extreme hardness of the Australian grounds was an additional handicap to the British teams. CAPTAIN’S IMPRESSIONS. F. G. Prentice said that no captain could have had a more pleasant or easier task. Every man was ready to accommodate' himself to the circumstances of the moment. The New Zealand’ forwards were faster, than the British, but behind the scrummage the situation was very different. There we held a distinct advantage in pace. He considered that Great Britain should have won three of the Teste. In,reference to the exploitation of the wing forward in New Zealand, Prentice said that the main point was that the policy of the wing forward was to interfere with the opposing fly-half, and that compelled the British team to alter entirely their normal tactics. In addition, they were for a long time disorganised behind the scrummage. The captain spoke in high terms of Ivor Jones, whose value to the team could not be fully expressed, while Bassett, lino Penarth and Welsh International fullback. lost nothing by comparison with the famous Nepia. “VERY WELL INDEED.”. On Wednesday morning the following paragraph appeared in the Morning Post: " To-day Mr James Barter’s merry men will be with us again after their arduous tour in New Zealand and Australia, and they will receive a warm welcome. Considering their many casualties (the crocking of Sobey, with bis Kersliavian power and precision, was a catastrophe), we must admit they did very well indeed. If visiting sides from the Dominions were to meet all our strongest clubs, instead of the improvised teams which represent most of the counties, they would not be as statistically successful as they have been in the past. “ I have been shown'a letter from a great New Zealand player, whose name must not be divulged, which praises some of the returning tourists in the ’highest terms. The writer says that the snipe-like Spong (the epithet is not his, but Captain Wakelam’s) will never be forgotten down under. The work of our forwards in the scrum is also highly commended. But New Zealand critics were unanimously of opinion that our best available sides were not chosen for the Tests.” A BANQUET LATER, “ I am afraid,” writes one of the correspondents who were at Plymouth to meet the team, “the tourists could not fail to be impressed by the contrast between their reception this morning by a small knot of officials and the wonderful send-off by thousands of cheering spectators when they departed- from Wellington. However, the Rugby Union proposes to do the thing more handsomely later on. After the Ireland match at Twickenham the whole touring side, in addition to the English and Irish teams,- will bo entertained at on official banquet."