THE ALL BLACKS

Southland Times, Issue 19393, 6 November 1924, Page 6

THE ALL BLACKS

RETURNING VIA CANADA Match against California GOVERNMENT GRANTS ONE THOUSAND NEGOTIATIONS WITH ENGLISH UNION. (Our Parliamen'ary Reporter). WELLINGTON, November 5. ft may be accepted as practically certain that the All Blacks will return to New Zealand via Canada. Questioned regarding the matter to-night, the secretary of the New Zealand Rugby Union (Mr H. E. Coss) stated that the actual decision as to the homeward route did not rest with the New Zealand authorities, but with the English Rugby Union, which was financing the tour. The English Union was at present negotiating with the shipping authorities on the subject of securing concessions on the alternative of returning via Canada and the Pacific. Mr Combs expressed the view personally that the team would return that way. In such case there would be a match against British Columbia, but this will be out of the question, as the grounds there will be frozen hard at that time of the year. Mr Combs wired that the Government had acceded to the request for financial assistance towards bringing the team home through Canada and had agreed to vote £lOOO for the purpose. A sum of £lOOO appears on the supplementary estimates, which made their appearance in the House of Representatives this evening. THE RUGBY CONERENCE. NEW ZEALAND PROPOSALS. COMMENT ON THE SUGGESTIONS. (by Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association). LONDON, November 4. (Received November 5, 5.5 p.m. lire critic of the Daily Chronicle, after examining the proposals New Zealand is submitting to the forthcoming meeting of the Rugby International Board, agrees that in the majority of cases, tries are more important and more deserving than dropped goals. He hopes the conference will at least reduce the points therefore to three. He supports the alteration suggested by New Zealand in the offside rule, under which the player guilty of offside play be not put on-side till his opponent has touched or kicked the ball. The Chronicle’s critic further recommends that lines be drawn parallel to the touchlines five yards inside and that nobody be allowed between the lines during the lineouts, though he admits that probably it will be regarded as heresy to adopt any Northern League rules. He strongly favours the idea of preventing the scrum half-cross-ing to its opponent's side until the latter has the ball in their hands from the scrum. ENGLISH RUGBY LATEST RESULTS. LONDON, November 4. At rttigoy, Cambridge University defeated Swansea 14 to 9, while Oxford University beat Edinburgh University 17 to 9. CORNWALL OUTCLASSED. A THRILLING * DISPLAY, GREAT AND GLORIOUS GAME. (By R. A. Byers Barr. Special Representative of the Southland Times with the All Blacks i. The second match of the AJI Blacks' tour of the British Isles was played against the selected representative team of Cornwall on the Recreation Ground, Qambourne, on Thursday. September 18, before a record attendance of 12,000 spectators. Keen interest was taken in the contest, and after the inglorious game against Devon on Saturday the prospects apd possibilities of the All Blacks was freely discussed. The weather was beautiful, almost summer-like with a gentle breeze blowing down field. The ground, a small one from a New Zealanders point of view, was in excellent condition —a trifle soft owing to rain over-night, but decidedly favourable for a fast open game. The All Blacks showed a wonderful recovery on the form displayed against Devon, the team combining perfectly on attack, each player having a complete understanding with his confere. It was a delightful game to watch, thrilling to a degree and fast, open and exciting. The All Blacks, after the lesson at Devon, left nothing to chance, making every post a winning one. The forwards were unrecognisable from the pack which faced Devon, the changes in the personnel of the team making for great improvement. Porter, the captain, was indisposed, and should not have played against Devon. He rested from the match against Cornwall, ‘Jock” Richardson captaining the team and Parker taking the place at half-back outside Mill, who, with the powerful pack in front of him, securing the ball from the majority of the scrums and the line-out, opening up with swift, crisp passing to McGregor, inside five-eighth, who played a truly good game. Cooke, at outside five-eighth, was brilliant and was easily the best back on the ground, as he had been in the match against Devon. Cooke’s wonderful elusiveness, quick “cutting-in” and dash through the defence completely bewildered and nonplussed the Cornwall backs, who were too slow to intercept all the artistry Cooke executed with such marked effect. The threequarter line, with the ball coming out swiftly, showed greatly improved form on the inglorious game against Devon. Robilliard, the young Canterbury wing, showed a fine turn of pace, frequently out-speeding the opposition in great dashes down the line. Brown, the ex-New Plymouth High School boy, was a success at centre, opening up the play from Cooke’s passes for his wings with wonderful celerity. Svenson, on the right wing, also played well, his daring dashes down the line frequently beating the defence to touch, where he narrowly missed scoring tries. Nepia at full-back was simply great. His wonderful stopping, saving and powerful long range line-kicking averting danger from almost hopeless positions turning defence into attack. Nepia is now creating comparison with “Bill/’ Wallace. who on the same ground at Cam- • bourne, 20 years ago, with the All Blacks of 1905, was regarded as one of the finest full-backs ever seen at Cornwall where “Johnny” Jackett, the Cornish and English international, is still regarded as a hero. Jackett toured New Zealand with Harding’s Anglo-Welsh team in 1908 when he was a great success at full back. Jackett is now at Drewsbury, where he is manager of a picture theatre. The present writer toured with the Anglo-Welsh team in New Zealand in 1908, and so had special privileges of knowing Jackett and the English players. I met Jackett’s father, at Cambourne yesterday. He was greatly impressed with the All Blacks of 1924, which team he stated, on the grass against Cornwall, compared favourably with the famous 1905 side, which made history in Devon and Cornwall. This expression from an authority like Jackett, senr., who knows English Rugby well, is worth chronicling here and is a fitting reply to English critics who know little about the Rugby game judged on criticisms of the Devon display. .Reverting to yesterday’s game the All Diacks revealed all their possibilities to a degree, out-playing, out-pacing and outclassing the selected of Cornwall, which team never looked at any stage of the like scoring. Even with the few chances which come their way the Cornish backs had do idea of the first principles of

Rugby requirements or attack. Like all English sides in the provinces they relied on their footwork in the forwards, the backs simply kicking into touch to gain ground. The passing was of the long, lob order, slow in execution and often faulty in fielding, sometimes overhead and often at the feet of their wing three-quarter. No attempts were made at straight running, cutting in or reverse passing, as we know it in New Zealand—just simply straight across the field, one lob pass to the other, without an inch of ground being gained and the wings crowded on the edge of the touch line. Just so long as English sides hang on to this fossilised system of attack just so long may they submit to defeat by more unorthodox teams, such as the All Blacks have proved. The one back of Cornwall who showed anything like New Zealand form was Hamat full back, who like Baker, of Devon, fielded well and kicked with judgment. For the rest the Cornish backs, like those of Devon, were hopelessly out classed by the pace, initiative and splendid resource of the All Blacks’ rearguard which never showed better form in brilliant combined passing rushes through the defence of Cornwall like a circus clown through a super hoop! As a comparison of play and the standard, as compared with New Zealand, every good inter-provincial team —Auckland, Hawke’s Bay. Canterbury and Otago, would easily defeat the counties of Devon and Cornwall on the form shown in the two matches plaj'ed to date. The wide margin of points in favour of the All Blacks—29 to nil—does not adequately represent the respective merits of the teams. On the play and the many .times the All Blacks got over the Cornwall line another 10 points | might easily have been awarded, but the referee penalised for unheard of infringements. This, by the way, to state that New Zealand’s defeat of Cornwall by 29 points to nil compares favourably with the I score of 44 points to nil inflicted on Cornj wall by the famous AU Blacks in 1905 for | the reason that the standard of Rugby In I the provinces has vastly improved during | the intervening 20 years. I Individually the All Blacks were greatly I superior to their opponents. The backs, i man for man, were degrees above anything 1 in Devon or Cornwall, on the latest game, i while the forwards, Richardson, Brownlie, White and Munro stood out head and I shoulders above any player in the games. 1 Special praise must be accorded to | Parker, the Canterbury sprinter and rover, ! who took Porter’s place against Cornwall. | Parker was brilliant in the extreme; his I great pace carrying him swiftly through the j defence to score two wonderful tries by I individual efforts of speed and anticipation. One of Parker’s tries was a masterpiece in its execution. Taking a pass from SvenI son at full stride, in the All Blacks’ twenty--1 five, Parker raced, like the sprinter he is, through the defence, until he was clear of I everyone but Jago, the half back for Corni wall, who hung on to his flank for a brief period, when Parker simply flashed away from him to score > great try. The magI nificent effort was applauded to the echo, I and was proclaimed the finest individual I movement witnessed in Cornwall. It was | a glorious game throughout the two spells, I played in a fine sporting spirit and made I memorable by the wonderful pace and pre- | cision of the AU Blacks, who again made ' history in Cornwall, retrieving laurels lost at Devon. The play was free from any unseemly tactics, but nevertheless, it was fast, hard and rugged—a great and gruelling game for CornwaU, but a glorious game for New Zealand. In one movement of the AU Blacks disaster threatened when Cooke, the brilliant back of the side, cut in cleverly to penetrate through to the line which he reached within an ace of a score. Cooke was struck with a flying flank , tackle, which knocked him out, necessitating his being carried off the field to the touch line, where he made a good recovery to resume his brilliant game.