FOOTBALL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19208, 10 January 1925, Page 6

FOOTBALL

THE ALL BLACKS THE MATCH WiTH WALES COMMENTS ON THE PLAY Obviously, Wales have not got it in them jo beat a powerful team like these All Blacks. Their forwards are ihe best part of the side. They can tee! well, they can dribble the ball elong, and they can stand (and give) any amount of hard handling. In Johnston, too, they have found a sound fullback. He was a bit slow at times, and he was not always sure with his touch-finding. But he did a lot of clever fielding, kicking, and stopping to atone for these other failings. Then Bowe Harding made the best of the chances that came his way. Once he nearly rounded Nepia when there were only a couple of yards between the fullback and the touch-line, and on another occasion, after an attempt to kick over Steel’s head had sent the ball into the latter’s hands for the New Zealander to sprint for the line. Harding turned in his track tnd was fast enough to overhaul rhe \ll Black w nger after he had beaten lohuson. Finch on the other wing, was dlsap pointing. He was given a good chance to score early in ihe game, and had his speed been equal to its repute he must have been over. But M’Gregor came across and got him almost with case. The Welsh centres, too, were not good. Jenkins was not worth the resuscitation. ami. like Stock, was variable. Deiahtiy may have been plucky, but did not shew much discretion in the choice of men to “square up’’ ’c. Eddie Williams was fairly good. As for Wetter, one has the deepest sympathy with him. Some malign fate seems to dodge him in these big games. Just as he was crippb’d against England in the early part of the match when Wales were last at Twickenham, «o was he damaged now at Swansea. His knee went, and so did Wetter He came back at half-time, and fine *.s was the spirit that prompted his return, I think he would have been of greater service to Wales had he stayed away. For the captain was so useless tint he went into the pack—or. rather, he put his head down ;n the last row, and tried to push off his one sound leg. leaving Biddlestone to carry on behind. Quite the MOST PICTURESQUE FIGURE on ihe New Zealand side was Nepia. It was not so much his kicking, nor the better sense of position he has developed since the earlier part of the tour, which attracted attention, but it was his daring dives ami the amazing accuracy of his fielding th'' ball oft the very tees of an opponent which i reuse whole hear! e>l enthusiasm. Nepia. who might well he known as the human catapult, i- Just as audacious and as successful as Marsburg. ‘h'* never-to-be-forgotten South African fullback. After Nepia. Cooke —faultless in lo fence, dashing attack. This Auckland bov stands out as the supreme artist in a talented side. Throughout the whole game he made but one mistake, an onusual one for him. for in the movement which preceded Svenson s try he tried to get through himself when he had an unmarked man on his lett and the line hardly ten yards away. Nicholls was not quite so much :n the picture as usual, but at the same tinic he played a lull part ;n goal kicking, and in addition to landing a penalty. converted two of the four tries. I’arker. chosen to play in preference to porter, was something of a wanderer on the face of the ground. I don’t know whether it. was in iny views that Colonel Brunton had of hs duties ns a wing-forward, or whether Wetter's movements had anything to do with it. but Parker was sometimes seen as a wing-forward, sometimes a* h wing-threequarter back, and sometimes as a centre. He has all the a. tributes am! none **f the failings ol the handy man. MANY MISSED CHANCES There were just over fifty scrummages during the 80 minutes, and. cutting out the tree kick-- -six to Wab.s and five to New Zealand —which mainly came from scrummaging offences, the New Zealanders were beaten in "Cttinj; possession r»n —« occasion*. Singularly enough they were ns good as Wales' in hooking in the first half, and it was in the second, when Wales had only six worker- down, that the All Blacks lost most ground. There was one period in the second half, when Wales seemed to have tak -n up quarters permanently n the New Zealand half, when the Welshmen heeled the ball out from -even successive

scrummages. Vv ith anything like scoring backs such opport unities ought *o have served Wales well, but the chances were spoilt once by Stock trying to drop a goal, twice by M illtanis being held when frying to break through, and twice by passes being knocked on.

Still, if the New Zealand forward? had no pull in hooking, they could claim a d-stim-t advantage in the linosnut. where the height of such men as <’. Brownlie l 6ft. 3in.t. Puppies (6-24). Richardson (6-1 and M. Brownlie (6ft.l. was utilised to the full- Compared with these men Donald, with his sft. IfYn. is merely a pigmy, but. for all that, he played wonderfully well.

BOTH SIDES MIX IT LONDON, Jan. S. Wakefield has written to several papers correcting the interviews. He desires to remove the impression that he singled out Brownlie for blame. He saw no incident, therefore is unable to comment thereon. Wakefield says both sides were mixing it a bit, and it might just a» easily have been an Englishman who was sent off the field. BRITISH RUGBY TEAM COMING. LONDON. Jan. 8. It is stated on good authority that it is highly probable a British Rugby Union team will visit Australia and New Zealand in 1926. The team is almost certain to include Scotsmen.