FOOTBALL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 20932, 11 January 1938, Page 10

FOOTBALL

AUSTRALIAN TEAM IN FRANCE NARROW WIN AT BORDEAUX United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received January 10, 6.30 p.m.) BORDEAUX, January 9. The Australian Rugby League team beat South-West France by 12 points to 11, the half-time score showing the Australians one point behind. Fifteen thousand spectators watched an exciting match in which the Australians narrowly escaped defeat. The Australians led by 10 points to 3, but the Frenchmen rallied and led by a point at half-time. It was only in the second half that the Australians secured their victory with a penalty goal kicked by Beaton.

“WORST TOUR ON RECORD” LEAGUE TEAM IN UNITED KINGDOM AUSTRALIANS SHOWED POOR FORM Though they won the last of the three tests, the 1937 Australian Rugby League team will return from England with the worst record of any team since the pioneers in 1908-9. They lost the earlier tests. The defeat by Barrow on December 4 was the fifth the Kangaroos had suffered in six games. They had then lost ten of the twenty-three matches in England and drawn one. The 1933-34 Kangaroos lost ten matches out of thirty-seven, the 192930 nine out of thirty-five, the 1921-22 team nine out of thirty-six, and the 1911-12 five out of thirty-six. Before reaching England they lost two out of three games in New Zealand, so that their record is twelve lost out of twenty-six games.

The pioneers in 1908-9 lost twentyone games, but played forty-five in all; and had a better record for their first twenty-three games in England than the present team, winning fourteen and losing six. Cables from the managers of the team reveal that the team’s shares of the gates from the matches against Leeds, St. Helens and Barrow were £2BO, £6B, and £179. These represented an increase of £2l, and decreases of £192 and £179, compared with the corresponding matches of the 1933 tour.