NOTES AND JOTTINGS.

Thames Star, Volume XXXXI, Issue 10692, 22 August 1904, Page 1

NOTES AND JOTTINGS.

I'raUkally this disposes of iho u'alue Ho fai' as. the iv-tuai si-omul 1" in concerned- I have desuibed the s.fiiu at the grounds fully; 1 have detailed, the (Ininjrs of this mill oilier Knijlish tesms that bill littlo l'Liu.-'iiiK- to le said, and thai will le princ-i-iplly uok.s and joltings on the ir.ii)H> and I he- j il:> vois. First and I'oveino.-t there was the undoubted I'ni-t that ■—The Jit ,-_;t Team Won, - and won fairly and squarely on their nioiits. There mv several win; would take troii) the Auckland players the lull ciedil lor their win, but 1. am not one of tin no T'rui. 1 their ojij onetits piovedto he somewhat stale, but making due allowance- for this very patent jaof,'. \«• j. An .Hand, j,.,,,i 11,|, .-'dvaiiLaiu 1- How the Driu.slav.s eamo to [.lay men in Ihe .stale that Kodi<eix wiMi in is ine:qi!:>able unless' the bal- i an c of (ho loam arc cripples, and i! | Ijceame not a matter of riiekiii'_r a \ (earn but. of selui tiiiLT the men who had sustained the least damage. The ciowcl was most iinpaitial. and i heered itself hoarse- at every display of football, whether Hn'tish or col- '- <-iM;il. Iliere wax- a lew win: indul.L;- < ed in an oceasiona! hoot or a, !i::o-hoo, but to the credit o>f Auckland, be it J .\;;id. they were only a. few ! The sip]it of the I'ark was a treat, Jt looked like a lni^u aiiipliitliciitiv lesemL'liii^' , the "■atlicrinps of tlie aiuieuts when the giants strode forth to show their ■ jirowess- Every seat, every pla<nk, e-.'ory roof, every lencc and ]>ok was j —Thioii'ied With Ilvuian Aiuts, — j who elim« s to their precarious jiositions, their amis tirtxl and their brows (iivered with swe;it-— 'but they saw i' the niiik'li. There wero motor ears, t buses, trains, cabs, and vehicles of v all desriiptions. uaily decoratx.l with 1 white and blue or red, white ancli bkif, ili'iicl some originality was shown in v seTeial cases. From, the various stands 1 or.c sa-sv the colours of the- rival teams

fluttering in the breeze, and the thousands present wore budges—mostlj Auckland, some great- Britain, and f largo number the two colovlrs intertwined- During the progress of the gamo -—Cheers and Counter Cheers— wore .freely exchanged between the partisans, and a large party of men-o'-warsmen from H-Ms. Phj'sic, in Calliope Dock, made thing's! d.eeide.db lively in the partiaulair .portion of the field allotted to them- They wen strong; supporters of the red, white. and blue, and they cheered and cheered again as the Englislunen approaihei Auckland's line, .but there was ii significant silence at the conclusion oi the game. —;Ai Welcome Ha,ka.— As- the teams lined on the- field die dusky sd-.olars of St- Stephen's (Native) and: St. John's Colleges formed themselves into a row' and danced a ha&a to the evident amusement of the visitors 1, who indulged in a hea.rty round of applause,- and many were beard to shout '"Kia Osa !" and ,'Haea"emai." Swanriell, who has attracted! a gontl deal of attention, is credited with sayir-g that the lads played football as cleverly as they danced— and that was passing them a, high compliment. The sailors too were greatly pleased at the lads' performance', and ii was at, their suggestion that the liaka was; repeated, for the special benefit of the Englishmen- "When, the two teams took the field the general impression was: that the ■■—Englishmen Were a Heavier Lot, — the forwards I mean—than the local players. The reception accorded the visitor:: was of the most cordial nature and astonished some of the members of the team, who said that there was no doubt the -colonials! were rare sports, and took an enthusiastic interests in many pastimes that surprised even the men from. Home. As to (lie play it was not of a sensational order throughout, but there were glimpses, —Startling .anil Doubtless Instructive— in themselves, that showed' what the Eimlish team we-e capable of—i>ro"vided, of course, they got the opportunity ! For instance there would he a lull in the game and Auckland's play would be superior to that of the visitors, when suddenly a nuggety figure would dart from somewhere, snap up Ibe ball, run like a, 100 yards' sprinter, and with a beautiful, low punt send the Uall to the line, or centre the play to where —Another Cat-like Back Was Waiting—. What struck the average spectator. I Ihink, • was the. remarkable vigour of I he. kick..- of the English ba-e-ks. Their long drops were a treat to witness, :>. ucl 1 theiii" lightning-like punts, the lv.ll shooting over the field like a stone from a catapult, were a revelation to many. Then again their passing was a treat to witness, although the —Deadly Tackling of the Auoklanders— was just a« brilliant. The Englishmen clo not pass the ball as Xew Zealauders have been taught to do- They do not throw the ball, it is simply ■:hot. to the man, or to the plane where the man is supposed to be. Take one itisii that struck me as being one of ( rite particular samples of httrh-class Football. Vile, the English half-back, threw the ball-into the serum in his >wn particular way. That is he stood '.bout three yards to his left of the .'ac-k —he was then on the grandstand <ide of the ground'—and stooping lown, opened, hi.* legs and 1 —Howled the Ball Tnto the Scrum, — .be forward nearest. Vile- lifting his leg w the half-back shot the ball in. iii v second if was out to Bush, and the .alter" spurted a, few ya,ids' and then apparently threw the bail away. That y, ho throw' it over his shoulder withiiit looking in* the direction in which \e was throwing it, and; kept on. If n.'- was: ta-e-kled he never complained — io took his. gruel—-he hadn't the ballJrt when he threw fheball away —Gabe Darted—ii, and I lie. latter taking Iho leather 'caulit'ully. he sailed at top for the i inc. As .\l!i<Keiizie fa.ikied him, ho iso tliMAv tjie ball away, but M.eEvedy .-as there, and a--? Kicrnan settled the x-.Yew Zealander, he also threw the all over his shoulder—and Morgan as ihe'.e. 'But so was Harrison, and —Aif(er ai Splendid Tackle— , lie AuJda.ndi forwards broke away, irl. ramu down, the Held amidst the linofit. Irenzicd cheers of spectators, ho had cheered the Englishmen a mv MCi'iul.s before- The line kicking as also a feature of (heir play, but. le lijii.ijuei' f-liey backed one. another p. w;ik .splendid. Their tackling too as of liiph grade quality and the L'ht. of the four backs' spread! fanke atross the field- taking man after an witli a regularity that deserved .'ti-er .lccognitiou was A. Sight Long to be Hememlx'red.— icy were seldom out, of their places, id when they were absent- they were iually busy with the ball in some her "part'of- the field. But if they :te ho remarkably clever why didn't oy win / the query will perhaps be a:rc. Ju.st so, but wMk the lglishmeu fit and well the game th. Auckland, I believe., Avould ye been a, .slightly different one. The rskland' forwards —S-'motlicred Their Opponents,— d their deadly (adding Was such at the visitors never had a chance icui the ball came out to the Engl--h back's there would be Nicholson, iila'_Ther. Reeling, o-i' Cunningham, iile. ivicinan, McKonzie, McGregor or 'nwi'.k were there, if the other ■ere afceeut. They w'eut at their uiej

■ I like tigers- They tackled low. and ' they brought -theia man down erery i time. —MoKenzie's First Try— 1 was the result of a splendid piede of play. Wood passed to Murray, ajg| the latter'feinted!, and beat both Vile i and 'Bush, who nearly collided in their ' eagerness. Then Murray darted t through, and as the line was reached r he whipped to MiciKenzie, and the exOtago representative darted' ovier. The s scene that followed Was , —One of Unparalleled Enthusiasm— ■ The vast concourse of people.rose ns one man, and cheered!, cheered, and » cheered again- It was several minutes ■ before the excitement subsided, and the vast, audience quivered' like- the troubled waters, of a geyser ready at any moment to burst into full play. ■ The Aiueklanders had adopted' the taptics of their exponents, alternating long passes with short quicik passes with a considerable amount of success, time after time beating the Britishers, tout failing to reach the line. Their second' try was obtained by WCunningham, whose great strength enabled him to hud himself against. his opponents and over the. line, Ha was tackled as he fell, 'but he wrested himself away, a.ud dinging to the ball was rewarded! when the referee's whistle blew. Again and again the peo2)le cheered, and! —Almost a Shriek Went TJp— as Murray piloted the ball over the bar, and the excited: spectators saw that eight points had to be wiped! out, before. Great Britain cttuld add another IMew Zealand victory to its banner- Wood. Murray, an* K. McGregor, I think, were instrumental in securing the lust try, .but the bulk, of the credit should be given to M. Wood, who made a, splendid opening, and 1 I --Most Unselfishly Passed;— , when he had done so, and made "ai s^ore possible- Efc was pleasing to the spectators that. Gallaher should have' .snored^, a& he was playing a great game at. the time—and, indeed, all the match. iWhen Murray again kicked a.iid the i&fcill sailed towards the ba# the niiidienctei heldl its breath, and when the leather sailed over, both flags went up, and the >\iast. assemblage knew that, 13 points had been scored with —The Englishmen Fast Tiring— [(indeed in the lasfc ten minutes they went all to-- pieces:) everyone knew that it was a,ll over bar the shouting. I For the winneirsi I give the. palm, to , KieriMMi, who played' a. great game— t the game of his life. He never made a mistake, and the way lie came round the scrum and downed Bush or Vile was a tjreat to witness—Some of the Players— j MciKenzie was- disappointing for a time, but. he becianie more settled, and tlie nervousiness appeared to wear offHe then sprinted like a professional runner, he tackled well. a,nd, his long kicks were of special value to his.' side. Murray and Harrison also ( came out of their shells, and the latter j looked at one time as though he was going to score a try! But the English. !meu: chipped in, and the Auoklujni ( full-back was forced to pass to a man , who was in no tetter position than himself. 'McGregor was solidly consistent, but he was never brilliants. ( He put in some heady work, and made splendid openings, and one of these i would have resulted! in a. certain score had the pass been taken neatly. Wood played brilliantly at times, but. ho was inclined to be selfish, and ( in the opinion of niany she was some|\vhat neglectful of .McGregor- At times! the Auckland captain changed his tactics, and the style of pla^mp roved! in consequence. Ren wick waa ConsKstent and! be shone out, oefc-a--sionaJly, putting: ing ood handy world andi gaining a, lot. of groundOf the forwards, Nicholson to my mind' played! a marvellous game. He was here there and everywhere, and he put in some splendid work- Gallaher who had a roving, commission, and Seeling were not much ilfchind, and! Cunningham surprised hi* best friends. Hayward put in hard worfc —work that, was not. showy and was not seen by everyone—but the play and dash was there all the time. Of the English players the back* Mould be hard to indivtidualise, but Bush, Vile, and Morgan appeared to be the fast. It is hard to select, any player for special praise- Siwannell, Dobson, C'rowther and Harding appeared to be the best of a very even pack.