TOUR OF ALL BLACKS

Taranaki Daily News, 12 July 1929, Page 4

TOUR OF ALL BLACKS

FEATURES OF FIRST GAME HONOURS WITH VISITORS, DALLEY'S KNOWLEDGE OF PLAY. Sydney, July 4. Twelve-foot slides in the centre of the field! Incessant rain! Mud bespattered players! A vast crowd of nearly 30,000 cheering almost exclusively for New South Wales, the Blues! Brilliant defence! A band tucked away in the shelter of a stand playing plaintive fox trots that seemed to bo quite out of place! An All Black team of great promise, but not quite ready! These were the outstanding features of the first match which the All Blacks played in Sydney last Saturday. The team included many players who were unfamiliar to Sydney crowds, and, while it did not succeed in winning, it at least prevented a strong New South Wales side —the strongest side the State lias ever possessed —from scoring, and upheld tho reputation of New Zealand football in the highest degree. Any other New Zealand team that has visited Sydney in recent years would have won the match. But that does not necessarily mean the present side is a weak one. Last Saturday it was plain it was not a team in tho full sense of the terra. AN EARLY PROPHECY. After watching the match one was forced to the opinion that the side will win its next match. Of course, it is a little rash to make such a prophecy, particularly as these notes will appear in print after the first test with Australia. However, the Australian team will not be vastly different to that which was met last Saturday, and it seems at the time of writing that the New Zealanders needed but a little practice together to ensure victory against the strongest team Australia can produce.

Last Saturday’s game will do much to enhance the reputation of Rugby in Sydney. Under extremely trying conditions it was played in the best spirit, and there was not one questionable action on either side. Rugby is regarded as the cleanest of games here, and it is certain New Zealanders will never do anything to besmirch it. The All Blacks are extremely popular in Australia, and this is probably due to the fact that they can always be relied upon to play a clean game, with sportsmanship as the main characteristic.

SPRINGBOK TEST RECALLED. By the time the game finished all the players were thoroughly weary, and it was impossible to distinguish the players of one side from those of the other. The match was reminiscent of that famous last test between the Springboks and New Zealand on Athletic Park, Wellington, for it was just such a day. Not once did the rain stop, and the playing area was a sea of mud. Worse than that, the central area of the ground, which is covered with special soil laid down for cricket pitches, was almost unplayable. Both teams slipped and slid all over the place, and accuracy was out of the question. The honours of the game were distinctly with the All Blacks, and it was extremely -disappointing to New Zealanders that nobody could put the finishing touch to the many brilliant movements that were initiated by the front line men from the Dominion. During the first spell it must be admitted most of the attacking was done by the New South Wales team, and on more than one occasion Nepia was the only man between them and their goal. But how safe Nepia was! His confidence in himself was remarkable. Twice ho must have realised that everything depended upon him, as it certainly did, and yet he strolled across the field to do his. job, in quite a casual manner. Then he would go for a low tackle, and in his tackling he never made a mistake.

NOT EQUAL TO NEPIA. Ross, the New South Wales full-back, is a brilliant man in that position, but he is not the equal of Nepia, and the crowd recognised the fact. The two penalty kicks taken by Nepia would have gone between the uprights if he had had another ounce of luck, and lie must not be condemned for those failures. Considering the state of the playing ground and of the ball, he would have achieved something remarkable—something that would have gone down in the history of Rugby for ever. The New Zealanders played orthodox wet-weather football throughout, and New South Wales did not, at least until well into the second half of the game. Rarely did New Zealand pass the ball, which was as slippery and elusive as if it had been greased. They kept the ball on the ground and the All Black forwards treated the crowd to some of the finest dribbling rushes ever seen in Sydney. Unfortunately, they could not control the ball as they wanted to do,

and, if they succeeded in keeping their feet, they often overran the leather, or kicked it too far.

The crowd was disappointed that Porter could not take the field, for his popularity in Sydney is most marked, even although he docs play in the unpopular wing-forward position. Porter, many think, could have brought about victory, for he has always displayed such uncanny powers of anticipation, and even Porter may have been able to anticipate the freak movements of the ball in the mud and slush of last Saturday. . R. T. Gundy was a splended substitutue for Porter and he was not called up for being off-side on more than three occasions. Of course, the crowd thought ho offended more often. But then the Sydney crowd does not believe in wingforwards, so it was probably a little biased. Cundy was certainly & verylively customer and was never far away from tho ball.

TM POSS IBLE ATTEMPTED. When New South Wales attempted passing movements among the backs they attempted the impossible and the All .Blacks were always ready for the mistake that was bound to come in such circumstances. It was from several of these mistakes that New Zealand should have scored, but every time they found the defence too strong. As already indicated, a more experienced All Black team would have turned these mistakes into profit and New South Wales, so serenely confident, would have been bewailing its first defeat. As it is, the wailing has yet to come. Tho New Zealand strategy comprised ruck work, with the stab kick, and gained considerable ground on more than one occasion with a high kick. Just as Nepia saved the situation for New Zealand, so did Ross do the same for New South Wales. It was a game that revealed more than anything else the attacking powers of the New Zealand, forwards and the sound defence of the backs on both sides. With a strong southerly wind behind it in the second spell New Zealand should have scored at least twice. In tho same period New South Wales should have scored once. So that should have been the result —two tries to New Zealand and one "to New 'South Wales. Oliver Is going to be a dangerou's All Black this tour and much will probably be heard of him. He has impressed the critics by his initial display and they seem to fear him more than any other player. Still, it would seem that Dailey will actually be more dangerous than Oliver, judging by Saturday’s display. He was brilliant behind the scrum and he is bound to do ever so much better when the conditions enable' him to set the backs moving. He seemed to know more about the game than any other player on the field and proved to be a capable skipper. He was always anxious to attack vigorously and when ho had the ball he never made the mistake which characterised tho play of Nepia, who frequently ran back instead of forward. Why Nepia played this amazing game it is difficult to understand, for it served no useful purpose. However, none of the others followed his example. One would not be far wrong in saying that Dailey was the outstanding back on the field. Waterman and Grenside showed great pace and are certain to do better on a dry ground, when they should be match-winners. It is difficult to select forwards for special mention in a game where all the forwards worked so hard and so well. The forward line is regarded here as' being true to the type the crowds have been led to expect in a New Zealand team. They are all men of great

physique and the match proved tha*» they were all great workers. They were just about a stone heavier, on the average, than the local pack and they made what use of that extra weight they could in the wretched conditions prevailing. They could scarcely hold their feet when they went down to a serum, so they were not able to do all tliey might have Intended or planned. Sonntag, Rika and McWilliams were probably the outstanding players. Actually -there was little to choose between any of them and, summing up, one can say the selectors, even if they have experimented, have I’f’one their work well.

The match was the first big Rugby game played on tho . Sydney Cricket Ground for many years and the great crowd must have been very encouraging to tho New South Wales Rugby Union, which has had a terrific fight with tho League. The League is still very sorq, at having lost the ground and in gaining it the union had a great opportunity to bring the Rugby game back into public favour.

The match was widely advertised and it is remarkable there should have been such a vast attendance in such weather conditions. It certainly justified the forward move of the union, whose officials are in high spirits. Moreover, the crowd/ was not disappointed by the display of either the All Blacks or the local team and is bound to want to see more of both. Consequently, tho attendances at future matches of the tour are bound to be large, and, as a result, the union will be put on a sound financial footing.

The New South Wales Union owes a great deal to the New Zealand Union and is not slow at any time to admit that debt. The warmest friendship exists and may it continue!—New Zealand ‘Herald correspondent.