TABLES TURNED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16704, 23 July 1928, Page 7

TABLES TURNED

THE GAME IN DETAIL TERRIFIC FORWARD BATTLE Browulie won the toss and Benuio Osier kicked off for South Africa, who were playing with the strong sun in their eyes. From a scrum one of Osier's deadly line kicks put the Springboks on the attack in the corner. There was a series of determined scrums, in which the All Blacks showed vast- improvement. One of the backs attempted to clear the line with a kick into touch. but Brand look tho ball and made a dangerous clash for the corner, where he was pushed out on the Hag. A. penalty against- Devine for picking out of the scrum, allowed Lindsay to find touch past, (lie twenty five. The. Springbok hack-- then started a beautiful passing movement from a scrum, at the end of which Brand Centred accurately, but Van Dor Westhuizen knocked the ball on when he was under the posts. South. Africa- heeled the ball from the. following scrum, but the backs lost control and Ha/.lett. rushing through, cleared with a good . kick. There, was ominous hooting among the crowd when Todd was laid out temporarily, but details of the incident could not be seen from (he press stand. Fierce battling among the forwards followed in midfield, and the Springboks' first points came a minute later, when Mostert took a mark near half-way and dropped a- great, goal. Springboks 3 All Blacks 0

The Now Zealand backs started a concerted movement, but .Strang dropped his pass, Carleton clearing just in time. A penalty for lifting in the scrum was awarded the Springboks in Jhe centre of the ground," and New Zealand had a narrow escape, for Brand got in a. splendid drop kick, which, luckily lor the All Blacks, hit the, posts. New Zealand cleared their quarters, and from this onwards started to show their quality, the forwards at last holding the Springboks in the scrum. The South African backs, however, were also on their game. Breaking clean through the New Zealand three-quarter line. Van Dei: Westhuizen made a brilliant run until he was .solidly glassed by Lindsay. Tho South African backs made things merry with two more runs. In a, third. Strang let them through with a- weak attempt at tackle and only Lindsay's .safe collaring saved a dangerous position. There was a spell of terrific forward battling until from a scrum Dttlley sent his backs away in a, sparkling movement, which went to South Africa's twenty-five. Open but dangerous passing by Ne-w Zealand let the Springbok forwards clear. Back went the' All Black forwards and they stormed the, Springbok line for a time, but the defence was always sound, and eventually a kick by Vim Druten made ground for them. There was a spell of hard, but ragged play, which resulted in the Springboks being penalised for lifting in the scrum, and Lindsay landed a great goal from tho side-line, 25 yards out, and equalised the scores. Springboks 3 All Blacks 3

Half-time came with play near muliield. The opening of the- second spell was' characterised by three good line kicks by Osier, which put the Springboks in a bandy position. Dovine sent his hacks away in a gO(«l movement, and Urand kicked well, down the line. In attempting to clear, Lindsay kicked the ball into the. arms of Van Druten, w'bo bad ample time to take a pot. at goal, but failed with the kick, which fell short. The New Zealand forwards then started to play up to something like All Black standard, and the backs got moving in better style. First Strang and then Dalley wit" clean through the defence, but their passes went astray on both occasions. Slowly the Springbok forwards worked down the field, and a New Zealand forward Mas penalised for lying on the ball at the twenty-five line and Osier kicked a goal. Springboks 6 All Blacks 3 In a fierce forward battle that raged on the New Zealand line a minute later, Hadley's shoulder was badly injured, but. he kept on after receiving attention. A fine combined movement by the New Zealand forwards and a splendid kick by Johnson put- the Springboks in a desperate position, but, when the New Zealand backs got moving Johnson spoilt it. all by a poor, short kick, which allowed Brand to drive the ball out at half-way. For taking the ball out of the scrum, Devino was penalised and Lindsay made a. fine attempt at goal,, only just missing. New Zealand was having all the better of play at this stage, the forwards packing with better effect and several inns by the New Zealand backs looked dangerous, but the defence held good. Whipping the, ball away from the serum, Dalley started his backs going again. When Strang got possession ho took a quick snap for goal, the ball sailing fairly between the posts. All Blacks 7 Springboks 6 'this reverse, put the Springboks on their mettle, and they started an effort to pull the game out of the fire. Abandoning their tight scrum theory, they began to open up the game, the. hacks throwing the bait about in All Black style. Todd, despite an injured ankle, made; a great dash down' the line anil shortpuntcd over Lindsay's head, but Carleion came across and secured the ball. The effort petered out and the Springboks were obviously now a beaten side. Their backs had lost their fire, and were merely running across the field, gaining no ground, and the final whistle sounded with New Zealand still firm on tho attack, and the score : All Blacks 7 , Springboks 6

ALL BLACKS WIN TEST ONLY ONE POINT TO SPARE NEITHER SIDE SCORES TRY A TITANIC STRUGGLE. • iElec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.! (Special to Press Association.) . JOHANNESBURG, July 21. The famous Ellis Park was crammed to capacity to-day by a crowd of 40,000, when Sew Zealand beat South Africa by a penaity goal and a dropped goal to a goal from a mark and a penalty goal, after a desperate battle, in which New Zealand bad the better of the game. Everything favored the players, for the ground was in excellent condition, and tiie day Was perfect for Kugby. The New Zealanders deserved their win, for they were unquestionably the better side on the day. • - Although there were only occasional flashes of international .Rugby, the match was a titanic struggle, in which the pace of the New Zealanders gradually woi'e down the Springboks until, for a long time in the second spell, the All Blacks dominated play. The most amazing feature .of the match was the transformation .of the New Zealand scrum. The playing of. Stewart as a "loose head" did"not make any real advantage, for the Springbok? got two to one possession from the scrums. But the' all-round display - of the New Zealand forwards was convincing and encouraging. They played with skill, method, cohesion, and design. The All Blacks' new tactics, which had been practised for the past week, and their determination in scrummaging were eventually too much for the South Africans. In keeping with the tension of the crowd, play on both sides alternated from good to effete. Strang's clever dropped goal was actually paradoxical, for he was the weak link in the chain iii the backs. He won the match and so brought it about that the Springboks were beaten at their own game. •* * TURNING POINT IN TOUR New Zealand's win in the second test should be the turning point in the tour, for, with the adoption of solid scrummaging, which is so essential in Soiith Africa, they have found they can more than hold their own. Nothing was so •arresting as the pace and mobility of the New Zealand forwards. The ball was never too fast, and no prospect, ever too forlorn for them to pursue. The Springboks were only the shadow of the team tney were in the first test: Once again it was a case of a team playing only as well as it was allowed to play. Lindsay played another fine game, saving his side in many serious positions. • ..... The back line was erratic, faulty handling and bad passing being too prominent, but there were also some sparkling movements. Dalley was always sound, and at times brilliant. Johnson and Strang were patchy. The three-quarter line, especially Carleton, was splendid, in defence, but in attack was always under suspicion. It would be unfair to single out any ono forward, so hard did the whole eight work. Swain, Hadley, Finlayson, and McWilliams were alwayfc in the limelight, and Alley, Hazlett, and Brownlie were battlers every inch of the way. Even with the ligaments of his shoulder" torn, Hadley still played a fine game.. ~ The South African backs did their usual amount of kicking, especially Osier, but when they started t<j open up the game, their movements were surprisingly ineffective, for they simply ran across the field., The Inewcomers, Brand and Dobie, showed their capabili- * ties as individualists., Van De Westhuizen was easily the best Springbok back. There seemed to be little understanding behind. the_scrum betw.een,.Bevme and Bennie Osier. The forwards were triers all the way, with .Mostert, Van Druten, Pretorius, and Kruger.the. shining lights. Harvey slvowed a big improvement today and is quickly from his relapse. Kilby came up from a private hospital in Kimberley for the match. His ankle is in plaster, and he is, walking on crutches. The break is mend : ing quickly, but he wilt be unable "to play for the rest of the tour. DESERVED THEIR WIN SOUTH AFRICAN COMMENTS SUPERIOR IN DEFENCE (Special to Press Association.) (Received July 23, noon.) JOHANNESBURG, July 22. Phil Mostert, the Springbok captain, said the All Blacks deserved their win. Their defence had been better than the South African defence. He regarded that as the reason for the South African defeat. He said the All Blacks had used a "loose head" in the scrum, and as a result had got the ball more frequently. The New Zealand forwards had played much better than they did in the first* tesL <-■'-. Maurice Brownlie said: "** I am glad we won. It was a fine match. We thoroughly enjoyed it." -Mr. A. J. f Sport ") Pienaar,. president of the South African Rugby Union, said : " Our forwards were singularly devoid, of life, whereas the -New Zealand pacK played the best game of the tour. That, in a word is the key to the game. I think the result will do an enormous amount qf good. The All Blacks deservedly Won." The Johannesburg Sunday Times says: '• The South' Africans frittered away golden opportunities. The result shattered all anticipations. Before the match tlmre seemed little chance that the mighty Springbok pack, generally acclaimed as the* best in the world to-day, would not once again maintain its powerful vice-like grip on the game, suffocating the most strenuous efforts of tha. opposing forwards. All these notions of the unapproachable superiority of the home T>ack came toppling off the pedestal. From yesterday's play particularly it was obvious that'the New Zealanders were a power to be reckoned with. This was specially noticeable in the first--20 minutes of the second half. Taking all the varying fortunes of the game into consideration, even the most ardent South African enthusiasts could not be-, grudge the New Zealanders the win, which they rightfully earned."