Combined Team Surprise By Wonderful Showing.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19109, 30 June 1930, Page 5

Combined Team Surprise By Wonderful Showing.

PASSING AMONG BACKS WAS LESSON TO ALL BLACKS; STRANG PLAYS WELL. PLAYING with great dash, the Combined Team extended the British fifteen at Timaru on Saturday in the brightest match of the South Island tour. The showing of the local men was surprisingly good, and there was little to choose between the teams. Britain won by 16 points to 9.

(From Our Special Reporter.) TIMARU. June 28. The combined North Otago-South Can ter bury-Ashburton team created a surprise in their great showing against the British team at Timaru to-day. Few of their most ardent supporters expected them to show such wonderful combination, in view of their not hav ing played together before; but the combination was there, and the spoil ing work was more effective than Brit ain’s. The forwards kept up a fast pace from start to finish, giving the British backs as little opportunity as possible for getting passing rushes under way. Though the visitors had at* advantage of over twenty stone in the scrum, they failed to make the difference very noticeable, for the combined side received a fair share of the leather from the scrum. The local forwards were faster on to the ball in the loose and held the opposition right through. The only point of British superiority was a little more finish and understanding among the backs. On the run of play Britain was somewhat lucky to win, but judged on football strength the visitors were superior. They crossed the Combined line twice, whereas the local men succeeded in gaining only one verdict for a try. On one occasion Callanan and Bassett appeared to touch down at the same time behind the British line. The referee, who was some distance away, was apparently unable to decide whether it was a try or a force. He got out of the difficulty by ordering a fiveyards’ scrum. Tries accounted for nine of the total of twenty-five points in the match, the rest being goals, four for Britain and two for the Combined team. Deadly Tackling. Though seven Britishers who were on the field in the first test played at Timaru, the team as a whole was not up to the standard of the combination which gained a last-minute but well deserved victory over the All Blacks* Bowcott at fly-half was not Spong, the world-beater, which made up much oi the difference. Bowcott was one of the best backs on the field, but he ex celled more in swift passing than in generalship. Bowcott’s passes came to Jennings like a shot out of a well-aimed gun. The back line functioned comparatively well and showed a certain versatility in reverse passing, but deadly tackling mowed the British backs down almost every time. Their forwards howed more generalship in taking ad vantage of opportunities for the backs, yut there again they were up against the most solid tackling encountered in any of their matches in the South Island. Strang’s Great Game. Whiting, the wing-forward from Asn burton, took charge of a good deal of the spoiling work, and did it well. He played a great game right through, and on attack and defence he had no peer. The British winging-forwards who were so prominent in careering round the sides of the scrum in the first test had nothing hke the same chances with Strang as they had with Mill. Strang was better than Poole, the British 1928 Ail Black capped p the ball without losing any time and whirled it out with good aim to Day Strangs kicking was sound and his b^th nc thJ e G a i e> and those who saw he -n firSt , test and Saturday’s match will not be surprised if the S ) hi I lfH an i te^ bUry man claims a P la <* n ba J f ' b f a^ k m A °”* of the test teams. i,ay ' / r ? m Ashburton, has many years of football behind him, yet he shows no inclination to rest on his laurels while on the field He played opposite Bowcott, whom he out-gener-alled, especially on defence Day’s sense of anticipation took him to 'and r V he ball C3me the next moment, game™ S saves wer e a feature of the

of an hour’s play that the visitors had made a low estimate of the calibre of the team w’hich they were called upon to face. In that fifteen minutes six points had been scored against them, a goal and a try, both by Strang. Scenting a possible defeat, they cracked on the pace, and thereafter the game was very willing, so much so that the referee cautioned two or three Britishers for delivering blows in the tight work. The spectators, who had also under-rated their representatives, cheered lustily when the half-time score left the local team with a lead of four points. After that their defence was pierced only once for a try.

It was evident from the first quarter