A SMASHING ATTACK BY THE BRITISH FORWARDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1028, 19 July 1930, Page 17

A SMASHING ATTACK BY THE BRITISH FORWARDS

goal. It has been rightly claimed that the Wellington forwards, and the masterly leadership of Porter and Nicholls were the vital factors in Wellington’s success. As against that, it is fair to say the brilliant constructive tactics of the British were thwarted by what was largely a negative style of game, and the visitors missed at least two simple chances of scoring. But even in this disheartening defeat they kept a stiff upper lip. Canterbury’s victory was clear-cut and decisive. Several well-known critics say that the British erred in not putting a stronger side in the field. Whatever the British thought about that, they wisely kept to themselves. Mr. Baxter’s tribute to the Canterbury team was whole-hearted and generous —a sure indication that the British could taste the bitter pill of defeat, and smile through it all. Dunedin was Britain’s high tide. Many thought that the almost subAntarctic conditions in the dour city

which, when least expected, did precisely what was expected of its opponents. The Dunedin victory was followed by a win over Southland which was more important than it looked on paper. Apart from the fact that Southland holds the Ranfurly Shield, emblematic of the provincial championship of New Zealand, the Southerners are tremendously hard to beat on their own ground. . Their previous record against overseas* teams shows that. After Invercargill, and leaving to one side the controversial game at Timaru, came the second test. The British werebeaten, but only by a narrow margin, after having played the greater part of the game with only 14 men. Somebody has said that the visitors’ insistence on the “no-replacement” rule was their own undoing. The Maori match provided the British with a sound victory against a team from which one never knows quite what to expect. , The Maoris

days. But the old artistry in the backs was woefully lacking. Even that indomitable figure, Maurice Brownlie, could not lead the Bay on to victory, although he vividly demonstrated that he himself only wants match practice to put him back in the class he was in in 1924, when he was classed by many good judges as the world’s greatest Rugby forward. The British team is now on Auckland soil. We look forward to seeing George Beamish, the girthy Irishman, ranked as one of the finest forwards in the world todaj'; Ivor'Jones, the master opportunist, who revives memories of the halcj'on days of Welsh Rugby: Spong, prince of halfbacks and great test match performer; Bassett, the barndoor fullback, who tackles like an avalanche: and many another brilliant player from the home of the Rugby game. If this team needs any further recommendation, it is to be found in the considered verdict of one of New Zealand’s best known authorities, who says that it is the finest touring combination from overseas which has been seen in New Zealand in the past thirty years!