TEST FLASHES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 531, 13 August 1932, Page 10

TEST FLASHES.

The League test opened without any fireworks, and it was some ten minutes before the plai'ers settled down to steady and solid work. Cooke, the former Rugb}- Union wizard, was the main centre of interest Ho the large crowd, who were seeing this football genius for the first time under the League banner. Cooke started off with a screw kick from half-way which found the line in the English twenty-five. A few minutes later he caught Ellaby napping as the big winger was preparing for a long run along the'sideline. Cooke lowered him beautifully with the best tackle to date. It was poor tackling that gave New Zealand the first three points. Hodgson and Sullivan had List to themselves, but the dashing New Zealand winger smashed his way over in the corner after Cooke had cut through to let out to Brisbane. Artful Dodgers. Both sides were tackling high and hard, but the Englishmen soon had the measure of theip opponents. The visitors turned on some dazzlingly tricky runs, and Risman, Brogden and' Evans left the New Zealanders standing as they ducked here and dived there, catching their men on the wrong foot. They •were pastmasters at the art of eluding, and beside them the Dominion men appeared hacks. It was Ellaby who really delighted the crowd with his trick dancing. The powerful winger, who had proved lymself England's best on the 1928 tour of New Zealand, used only one hand to scoop up the ball from the ground as he raced back to save a dangerous position. Davidson was not in the picture, as Ellaby cut big gaps through the team to reach the centre of the field, where Atkinson carried on the movement to give Risman and Evans further opportunity for getting past the New Zealanders. New Zealand Ahead. New Zealand's chances appeared gone when Cooke had to leave the field injured, and the biggest cheer of ‘the match went up when he returned a few minutes later. But the New Zealanders could do little while the visitors were winning the scrums with monotonous regularity. I n spite of that the scores were evened when List took his second try in the corner and Amos converted. The last-named put New Zealand ahead with a penalty goal just after the Governor-General arrived on ! the ground. I here was a certain amount of hooting when Cooke was injured, and the j hooting spread when one or two “ incij dents were noticed. Stephenson col- ! lid e d with a big English forward, and j then dumped him hard while in possession. A moment later Stephenson suffered a veiled fistic blow. Hodgson did not seem to like Lawless tackling him in some tight work, find there was an incident on the ground that led to hooting. lhe game "was held up for a few moments while Lawless recovered. J im Amos, the only Canterbury man in the New Zealand team, had his kicking boots on with a vengeance. Two goals went to his credit in the first spell, and he was successful with two more in the early part of the second. The English forwards had the weight. Hodgson was one of the heaviest. As George Nepia was the solid last line of defence in New Zealand representative Rugby, so another Maori, Steve Watene. was called upon to save New Zealand in League. Watene was outstanding in defence, and the only man the Englishmen could not pass, lie tackled low and hard, in striking contrast to the rest of the men on the field. With Brisbane off form, and the rest of the high-tackling backs too light to stop the invaders, Watene was the hero of the side.