The All Blacks.

Thames Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 19604, 9 January 1936, Page 3

The All Blacks.

TRUTH ABOUT 1905.

SELECTOB CHAIRMAN'S VIEWS

OUR PRESENT LEAN PERIOD

(By Telegraph.—Press Association) WELLINGTON, lau. 9

"It must be remembered," said Mr. E. McKen/ie, chairman of the 1935 All Black Selection Committee, "that the 1935 team had a far harder row to' hoe than its predecessors. The standard of Rugby in England, when the 1905 team made its sensationa. Lour, was at a very low ebb, anci each year since has shown an improvement, and the 1924 team had a harder tusk. There wen; no runaway victories to the tune of 6L points to nil. The .1935 team met Great Britain when her players were practically at the top ol their form and the record it has put up agains. them must be considered very satis factory.

"New Zealand Rugby at the present time is going through a lean period. It is not the best football when compared with previous standards. It is, in fact, a similar period to that we experienced when the 1921 Springboks toured the country We did not show up well then. The improvement of Rugby overseas wil certainly have this effect: Enthusiasts can never look forward to a New Zealand team touring Groat Britain undefeated—that is, unless Britain undergoes a lean period of Rugby, the same as New Zealand is at present suffering."