FOOTBALL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13661, 1 August 1908, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

ENGLISH TEAM AT SYDNEY. AX INTERESTING INTERVIEW. T} essi Association-By Telegraph-Copyright Received 10.55 p.m., Juiy 31st. SYDNEY, July 31. The Rugby Union welcomed the English team.

Mr Harding, in an interview, said that the team . had been royally treated throughout New Zealand, and were given a really good time, but to dogged bad luck he attributed the loss cf several matches. His men had sustained a "remarkable number of injuries, limiting the selection, particularly as regards the test matches. In the first and third tests England was badly beaten, and undoubtedly out-played and out-generalled. The New Zealanders were magnificent footballers. He would • like to dispel any impression that the Englishmen's casualties were due to the roughness of the New Zealanders. The play was very willing, but not rough. The idea that their roughness was responsible for the Britishers' injuries was certainly wrong.

SOUTH CANTERBURY TEAM. Special—By Telegraph. AUCKLAND, July 31. The South Canterbury team arrived in Auckland this morning after a splendid run from New Plymouth. - After to-day the men were taken for a drive and inspected the SugaT works. They were the guests of the Auckland Union ail "Humpty Dtunpty" to-night. On Sunday they will be taken to Lake Takapuna. The team to-morrow will he—D. Scott-, Fraeer, Bradlev, Spillane, Coles, Horgan, Priest, -Roddick, Melville, O'Brien, Carlton, Fitzgerald ,Scott ,Budd and Smith.

The Auckland team is the strongest available. The weather is beautiful and tha ground promises to bo in good order.

TOUCHLINE TOPICS. (By C.E.H.) Tha Sooth Canterbury team play the second match of the tour to-day, against Auckland, the premier provincial fifteen of the colonv. Ou Thursday another powerful side" will be opposed to the tourists, at New Plymouth, where the representatives of the butter province are to be engaged. These are certain to be the hardest matches of the trip, Auckland being credited with the best set of farwards, and Taranaki with the finest combination of backs, in New Zealand. Next Saturdav another big test it set the wearers of the Green and Black, at Wanganui, though their chances of success appear brighter than in the two preceding games.The Anglo-Welsh team commence their Austfalian fixtures, next. Wednesday, playing New South Wales at Sydney. On Saturday their opponents are listed as the amateur" team for England, and the majority of" players in the first ftst match will take part in the second. If the second test match had not been played, the tonr of the Anglo-Welsh team in-New Zealand would have been a model of consistency, 'and if'the records of last

year's interprovincial games Lad been taken as a guide, it. would have been possible to have forecasted pretty closely the margins of points in almost every game after the visitors had fulfilled their second engagement. I did not hesitate to express my conviction last Saturday that the chances of the Britishers defeating the New Zealanders were small, and the concision drawn from their most important provincial contests that they were no better as a team at the end of he tonr than they, weie after a couple.of f.ia'cches had gone, received startling confirmation at Auckland last' week. The difference in points in the first big game was 27, in the third it was 29. And it.was only what mig'hi have been expected to hear it said that the colonials were playing to. orders in the intermediate test. There is little probability" that this is true, as the majority of,the players would be too anxious, to retain their foot-; ing in the national "fifteen to be likely to Tfiten to any suggestions of playing for gates, even if the officials' were foolish enough to offer them. But uhere was more than a suspicion that it was merely under-rating of the • opposition which caused the New Zealand team to be denied any opportunity of having" even a trial scrum until they'met_in the.dressing-room .before the match.-- ■ The result of the final match has removed any doubt as to the overwhelming superiority. of the All Blacks, and the " machine "• has pulverised the best side the visitors could put against it. The British skipper had attributed the two previous beatings to hard luck,' but no amount of explaining can minimise the severity of Saturday's defeat, even though Harding had to retire early, and the visitors will leave the colony -compelled to repeat the admission that they made in Dunedin—" the other side were too good."

There haa been more ink spilt over the visit of the. 1908 British party than over any other combination of sportsmen that has come to New Zealand, and a great deal of it has been the most inenable rot ever penned. And the pity is that the more unrebable portion of the. "descriptive writing" has found its way into print in papers which are expected to furnish staid and accurate reports and criticisms of play and players. The special correspondent of a couple of papers hold to the belief that "the Kin-* can do no wrong," and their adoration of the Anglo-Welsh captain in the later matches is viewed with suspicion by those who witnessed the two matches! in mSouth Island in which Harding so severely handicapped his fellows, and then read; of the brilliant rushes he was alleged to have made when he was able to do little moie than hobble. Harding's is only one instance of the glamour cast over some football scribes by the magic word "international," and in the three games I saw in the South Island several of the national reps, were distinctly inferior to. mere county players. Even an international can outlive his -usefulness.

The much-discussed question as to the respective merits of the All Blacks and the younger generation of colonial players may not have been settled to the satisfaction of the people who dubbed- the New Zealand, fifteen in the first"test the " resurrection team," but after the result of the test matches most of us are quite content to pin our faith to the /muchabused veterans for a while longer. The All Blacks predominated in two matches: results 32 to 5, 29 to 0. The young blood had its chance in the other; rtsuxt a "draw. If it.be urged that the later generation could not play in the mud,. it only emphasises the excellence of the veterans, who proved conclusively inl' the' inter-state game that they were not anchored by a trifle like a muddy ground. There are as good fish in the. sea as ever came out, but Tritons like Roberts,' Hunter, Seeling, Wallace, Cunningham and Co. are not hooked every season.- ■

Houlihan, one of last year's .South Canterbury hookers, is to play for Wellington against; Wairarapa to-day. Another old Star man, O'Brien, is first! emergency,. The Aucklanders are not repeating their mistake of last year in South Canterbury of holding their opponents too cheap. Their team to-day is the best they can turn out, and the northern men may .be ■trusted to do their best to wipe out uhedr defeat of last year. One of the outstanding features of the Mauawatu game on Wednesday was the safe fielding and deadly tackling of the South Canterbury backs, who ' delighted, their supporters by iiheir wonderful improvement in the tackling artThe visiting team was promised a bad time from Archie McMinn, and tha man who was described by the BrhSshers as a great forward was popularly expected- to proved too much for his vis-a-vis, Roddick. After.about half an hour's play.McMinn was content to do most of his work from a position among his five-eighths. Comment is needless.

The Press .Association report of the Manawatu-South Canterbury . game in Thursday's paper was substantially the account of tlhe Manawatu "Times,", and it may be taken for granted that it gave an unvarnished account of the play. The

rout of the local team was so complete that it was as well that the Palmerston people should tell tihe tale, as a similar account from a South Canterbury man might have appeared to be overdrawn. As a matter of fact it would be difficult tlo overrate what was a sweeping victory, i which is not properly indicated by the score. Half-a-dozen Green and Black rushes only just- failed, and with ordinary luck Horgan and Fraser would each have added another try. The Green forwards justified their well-earned and rapidly growing; reputation, and until the game wjs well in hand showed no disposition to repeat the loafing tactics I referred to last week. And even when Manawatu were allowed to approach the visitors line—which was. seldom—one of those sweeping rushes which were so conspicuously absent against Wairarapa would carry the Manawatu back to tiheir own 25. Every for- , ward in the South Canterbury pack play- J ed splendidly, and it is to be hojKsd they ■will reproduce their form against Auckland to-day. W. Scoit, Roddick, and Fitzgerald were perhaps most prominent in the first half, though almost every rush was a combined one, and thel manner in which tight work was broken up intio a fast dribble was an eye-opener. In the second half Carlton, Smith and O'Brien came more into prominence, and the. Manawatu backs were at a loss to know how to deal-with them. Melvin and O'Brien were opposed to a noted " hooker" in Alex. McMinn, and secured the best, of the deal, and as McMinn is said to have beaten his men for the ball previously this season, the South Canteibury bucks should have some work before tile lour is finished. One of the diiierences iu the play of the two packs was the individual rushes of Manawatu and 'the "everybody in it" rushes of the Green and Black scrummers.. It was generally expected that the forwards would be able to bold their own with most teams they were called upon to meet, but the " poor " and "weak" backs were not looked to to rival the rear division which trounced Wanganui lastl week. The.play of the South Canierbirry backs came as a, huge surprise to their most sanguine supporters, and it can be safely said that they were as much ahead of their opponents as the forwards were. Their tackling was ahead of anything shown by them this season, and their fielding, rush-stopping and line-kick-ing was vastly superior to that of their opponents. Dave Scott soon established himself as a favourite with the crowd, and when he had the assistance of the, wind did some perfect line-kicking. One mistake only detracted, from, a -delightful exhibition, and some of his.fielding was little short of brilliant.. Spillane and.' Fraser each improved greatly on their club form*, and if they can'keep up the standard set on Wednesday the weakest spot in the team is likely to prove' a strong, one. Eraser's try.was a fine one, and was.the outcome of a piece of play which I did not dream a South Canterbury, team was capable of. Bradley also excelled himself in fielding, tackling and line-kicking, and showed a return of the form'he showed last season. Horgan ■ played a splendid game, and with the exception of a few fumbled passes and one or two bad trans-' fere could ; apt have been .improved -upon, iiis try was a sweet one, and his defence and clever kicking "were invaluable. Coles and Priest did not. show in such' a marked degree the improvement mu.ue by the rest of the rear division, the half not playing above his club form, and Coles not ap- ■ pearing to such, .. advantage , as / against j North Otago.' . Neither played badly, how- I ever, and did some solid stopping and tackling. Coles also learning 1 , to find the line with that lately-developed kick of his. Summed, up it-may be said that winning team were better in' every department of the game, and if reliance can be placed upon the Manawatu-Waiiganui form, then South Canterbury can be ex-; pected to make a better showing against the formidable .teams than was looked for. A better' line, may be given by the game to-day... . ' The .Rev..-.0. C, Harper,; who. controlled-Wedne-sday'-s 'game at Pabnerstoni plays the advantage rule up to the hilt, and makes a" fast and open match.. ' . The'team had a splendid time in.Pabnerr ston, the president and secretary,-Messrs Gibbons and Muller, being very attentive to them. ', •■'■". •;

Ted Horgan tried drop-kicking at goal instead of the orthodox place kick on two occasions on Wednesday. Both . shots -were' good ones,, the first just being outside by the wind, and the second being an unmistakeable goal. Fraser played the game of his life against Manawatu, and was hard to:recpg'nise as the -uncertain player of a fortnight back. His tackling-was almost equal .id that of Bradley and Horgan, and his following was a big asseton his aide's credit account.

. The match' between the Timaru Main arid Marist Bros.' School to decide the the for the schools' premiership, will/be played at 3.30 p.m." to-day ,on the Athletic, Grounds.. ' '• . . The Marist and : South School second teams met on Russell square yesterday afternoon, the Marist boys winning by 25 points to nil.- Scores were, obtained by L. Kane, HHermer* Scott, A- Mackenzie, Murphy, Ward, Eeeley, L. Kane and J. Kane: , " . '■'.'.'