SPRINGBOKS’ TOUR.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1921, Page 3

SPRINGBOKS’ TOUR.

6 FEATURES of the tests, !- NEW ZEALANDERS ATTACKED. d k A SOUTH AFRICAN DISPUTE. Under the title “Features of the First ij Test,” the special representative of the - Johannesburg- Star, travelling with the Springbok team during its recent tour e of New Zealand, sent the following y somewhat captious account of the match * to the journal he represented. The article, which appeared on September _ 24, contains much material for thought, s as showing the South African point of ! view of New Zealand football and New Zealand followers of the game. The article was sent from Palmerston North on August 11, and in addition to the main heading already referred to, cone taiined. the following sub-titles: “A i Snatch Victory —Reieree's Error of r Judgment—How the South African 7 Score was Equalled.” Continuing, the • writer said: 1 "Had the New Zealand team accomg pljshed what practically the entire j population of the Dominion expected it would and defeated the South Africans e by a hollow margin, the result of the - first. Test match would have scarcely occasioned the same disappointment to ’ the members of the visiting side, their handful of supporters, and. presumably, r the people of South Africa. But after 5 asserting their superiority throughout , the first, half and a good deal of the - second, victory was snatched from them in a most regrettable manner. It is fairly safe to assume that the South Africans will not go so close to winj ning the second or third Test match . and in the end fail to do so, especially i as it is unlikely that they will again s prove the victims of a colossal error of judgment on the part of the referee, determined as are the New Zealanders of ' retaining what they are pleased to term the Rugby supremacy of the world. Al- , though it is generally conceded that the All Blacks were made a present of the > first tr.y. the Press and public of the Do--1 minion, disregarding the moral effect 1 that, such a lamentable decision was bound to have on the visiting team, . hasten to reassure the Springboks by . pointing out that the two scored sub- . sequently recorded were sufficient in any case to win the match. Such an attitude is characteristic of a people who, declining to recognise the possibil- , ity of the ‘'South Africans being a ' stronger combination than any previous side that has visited the country, altogether ignore the fact that their men I were extremely lucky to win at all, and 1 attribute the narrow margin or their to the belief that the standard ' of the game has sadly deteriorated in j New Zealand. SPRINGBOKS’ OPTIMISM. “There was every justification of the quiet optimism of the South Africans, especially as r neither the Southland nor , Otago jmatch pointed to the fact that the strength of the New Zealand game lay south of Canterbury, but none the less it was not a little surprising to find the All Black forwards, of whose prowess so much has been said and written during the last few weeks, so easily held in the first half of the game. The wedge that was to, operate so relentlessly had not the required driving force; or perhaps it wtfald be mure correct to say, the timber offered unexpected resistance, and refused to be split. And the fact that it did not obviously astounded some 20,000 or 30,000 people who were too amazed during that threequarters of an hour in which their forwards were outclassed to make scarcely a sound. How deep their astonishment, and how profound their misgivings, could only be realised when relief came •n the form of the try which was given them. To a public so educated in the game the fact that the ball was forced down by Meyer, even if not by the other two, must have been perfectly clear, and it was significant that it was I not until the referee had gone through | the procedure of awarding a try that the storm broke. It .mattered little to the crowd that the score was devoid of the slightest merit, apart from strong I I following up. All that they grasped fo? 1 rhe moment was that the referee had I re-established their idol, that the invincj ibility of New Zealand football was in , ■a large measure out of danger, that a I xiational calamity had been, for the moj ment, at any rate, averted, and that, in j fact, a try had been presented their reI presentatives in such a position that i t-he kick fur goal could scarcely fail to , ’ add the two points required to equal the South African score. The crowd, who . had sat silent and motionless through- ) out the stirring events preceding the in- t cident, then signified their relief by a mighty shout. To a person they rose, ( and sticks, hats, umbrellas, and even coats, were flung in the air. < “A FLAGRANT DECISION.” f “The densely-packed stands, from which a movement was scarcely discern- 1 able earlier in the game, became a scene f of animation, and not the least to ap- ji preciate the change in the position were c many hundreds of college girls seated a a bit back from the touch-line. In a man- < ner which suggested rehearsal, their c broad-brimmed straw hats were raised, 1 momentarily screening off the field of < play. 'l.’he ‘little band of South African t supporters who had the temerity fro s wave their banner when the first try t of the match was scored were approach- i ed by a party of youths from the stand Ji and asked what was the. matter with t the flag, and why they appeared so as- d tonished. A crowd given less to par- h tisanship might have noticed something almost pathetic in the action of the r green-jerseyed men on the field. In- s stinctively' each of them raised a hagd, h not questioning the decision of the refe- s ree, as some writer in Otago brutally p

suggested, but as if under the impression that the procedure of the referee Iliad been misunderstood and that it was impossible for him to award a try.... j hat the dash which had characterised the Springboks' play up to that stage visibly diminished was not so much due to their being unable to rise superior U a reverse as to the fact that, as thq'result of so flagrant a decision, confidence was entirely lost in the referee, and the remark of an Australian bffieihl that the I South Africans would never be permit- ! ted to win Test matches in New Zealand was, I have been informed, instinctively recalled... . New Zealand is now considered fortunate with regard to the first try scored by her players as she was considered unfortunate by the try disallowed the All Blacks in Wales. ...”

Continuing his diatribe on New Zealand football and Rugby spectators generally, the South African journalist refers to the selection of the South African team for the first Test, when, on the evening before the match “Pienaar .aaked the full eorapauy

were suffering from an injury of which the selectors were unaware. Receiving no reply, he stated that he himself had decided to stand down, and that the selection of the side had proved no easy matter. He anticipated that in one or two respects the side would occasion surprise, but asked them to believe that, in the opinion of the selectors, it was ♦be best fifteen for the occasion.” There could be no doubt that the omission of Zeller and Ellis in particular did cause surprise, and there were those who were of the opinion that Pienaar should have led his own men. “He is probably,” wrote the Johannesburg journalist, “just as good a leader as W. H. Morkel, and quite certain it is he has a far more pleasant manner of getting the most out of the players than vhe vice-captain. Of one thing, however, most were agreed, and that was that Zeller and Ellis should have had preference to Henry and Harry Morkel.” The writer goes on to say that there were more people in the Southern city for the match than there were “on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales.” During a description of the match iii detail he says: “A Rugby football international never has produced, and never will produce, all that is best in the game. When two sides have a great mutual respect for each other the tension is too great, and precautionary measures too pronounced for liberties to be taken.... Play opened with stern scrimmaging in midfield, and quite early in the game it became apparent that the warning of the All Black team against rough and foul play by the New Zealand president was to have the desired effect.” The writer parses over very briefly New Zealand’s other scores, after having devoted much space to what he termed “the referee’s error of judgment” which resulted in the All Blacks’ first score. Concluding the article he writes: “It was through Henry Morkel waiting for the ball to bounce that Steel was given the opportunity to score in a- brilliant fashion after outsprinting H. Morkel and Meyer. The final try to New Zealand came from an orthodox movement on the blind side of the scrum.” - x

“Touchstone,” the sporting writer from the Johannesburg Star, is more inclined to give New Zealand credit for Rugby ability, especially in regard to the preparation of teams for big fixtures. In the Star’s issue of the same date as the above, he writes:—“So the tussles with New Zealand arc over, and the Third Springboks will shortly be returning to South Africa. Well, they have acquitted themselves like men, and done exceptionally well. And the honors remain even in the international games.... I suppose New Zealand v?j*ll next play South Africa on South African ground. When the time comes I hope South Africa will gei their team together, as New Zealand got their teaun together, a considerable time before the actual clash, in order that they may be welded into a proper international side. Amazing,‘really, how thoroughly these New Zealanders do things in the sporting world. It will be as well to take a leaf out of their business-like book. Usually one has always considered that the touring side has the advantage. Put I do not believe th£t there was any d dvantage on the part of the South: African tourists owing to this very factor of the New Zealanders mustering weeks before the first Test and training under coaches. It will he absolutely i necessary for the South Africans to do the same when the New Zealanders visit us.”