SPLENDID SHOWING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27391, 17 May 1950, Page 8

SPLENDID SHOWING

Win Well Deserved DEFENCE OVERWHELMED Special Correspondent GREYMOUTH, May 16. The touring British Isles Rugby team’s chances of giving Otago a severe challenge at Carisbrook on Saturday were substantially improved by a fine showing against the West Coast today on a wet and heavy ground. The British Isles won by 32 points to 3, and won well. The forwards gave their best display of the three matches so far played, and despite the difficult conditions the backs handled accurately and moved at speed. J. W. Kyle, the Irish outside half-back, scored three tries, and W. R. Willis, the Welsh scrum-half, who was having his first run, was an immediate success. The West Coast was overwhelmed in all departments. For the first time the touring forwards showed real devil, and when not supplying the backs with a feast of the ball—they showed conspicuous ability in carrying the play from line out or ruck toward the enemy goal. For some time a Scotch mist made the ball especially slippery, but the backs still handled with a high degree of accuracy.

There were three specially good features of the British Isles team’s play. These were the all-round showing of the forwards, a superb game by Kyle, and a most impressive performance by Willis, who in general ability proved a more complete half-back than G. Rimmer, who played in the first match, or A. W. Black, who played last Saturday. West Coast was seriously handicapped by an injury to R. Breeze, the second five-eighth, who went off after half an hour’s play,'returned and then quit the field altogether after 14 minutes of the second half. He had a bone broken in his forearm. The British Isles also lost a player, N. J. Henderson, the Irish centre threequarter, who was having his first game of the tour, having to retire with about 13 minutes of play remaining because of a leg injury. Perhaps the only weakness discovered in the British Isles team by the match —and it was merely a temporary one—was in the play of the centre three-quarters. B. L. Williams, the vice-captain of the team, had to cry off the match after testing his injured leg this morning, and J. Matthews took his place. In the first half, Matthews and Henderson, who had never before played together, had a tendency to crowd each other, but in the second spell this disappeared and there were some fine movements of notable pace. In one solo effort, Henderson hopelessly confused the defence by making toward the t,ouch-line before propping and turning infield. He dashed past man after man with a most effective burst of pace, and a try by V. G. Roberts resulted. One criterion of the West Coast’s ability was that the team a fortnight ago drew with Buller. Another was that the traditional toughness of the West Coast forwards against overseas teams was still evident. It seemed, therefore, that the West Coast team was neither much worse nor much better than Buller. The fact that it was quite outclassed, therefore, substantially increased tie merit of the British Isles performance. Several of the British Isles players were outstanding. P. W. Kininmonth and R. John were splendid line-out forwards,'- and Kininmonth’s was an exceptional game in all respects. T. Clifford was vigorous and tough as a front row forward, and D. M. Davies, as the statistics indicate, was a firstrate hooker. Both Roberts and J. S. McCarthy did much damage as wing forwards. Willis and Kyle clicked as a combination from the first, and only twice did Willis’s passes go astray. He proved very tough in defence, and as a wet-day half-back his handling of the ball was faultless. Kyle’s display suggested that there is not a first fiveeighth in New Zealand in anything like his class.

Ken Jones, the flying Welsh winger, again played finely and once broke clean out of a ta'ckle to score, W. B. Cleaver, the full-back, failed to find touch a distressing number of times, but his fielding was beautifully safe, and in the second spell, when victory was certain, he came up into passing rushes at every opportunity. R. Eastgate, H. J. Hagen and A. McCone were about the best of the West Coast pack and the full-back, J. Lindbom, who did some fine catching and kicking, was quite the best of the For Britain, tries were scored by Kyle (3), Jones (2). Matthews and Roberts Thomas kicked two conversions, and Cleaver and Clifford one each. Clifford also kicked, a penalty goal. The British Isles was awarded six penalties and conceded nine. The referee, Mr I. W. Gallaway, gave many puzzling decisions, and his interpretation of the scrummaging rules was particularly hard to follow. He had the curious habit of standing on the opposing side of the scrum from the half-back.