ALL BLACKS BEATEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 229, 30 September 1935, Page 6

ALL BLACKS BEATEN

JOHN CITIZEN WORRIED EVEN THE BIRDS KNEW j SWANSEA A BETTER TEAM Even Ue birds seemed to chirp the aerr.-s yesterday—“ The All Blacks buaten, beaten, beaten . . . Some sentimental soul decorated Spriggens Park gates with a ribbon of black, which remained there until somebody of more prosiac mind hauled it. d'.wii. Wherever John Citizen went he was greeted with the sanib news. Even Airs. O’Bhannessy, who lives next dour and has never taken an interest in football in her life except to condemn it, seemed to see some fatal significance in the score. “I knew it,” she said stridently to John, as he set up watchful guard on his flourishing sweet peas. “It’s terrible. I felt it in my bones before the wireless man’s voice came.” The suburban policeman, passing by at that moment after a morning stroll to the river, was explosive. “Experimenting! That’s the whole cause of jt. Fancy playing a full-back like Gilbert at centre.” “Is he a great full-back?” John queried, carefully training the out reaching tendrils of “ Gonville Glory’’ so as to keep her well up to the top of the trellis work. “Better than Nepia,” the policeman stated with conviction. “Funny,” John said, more to him- 1 self than anybody. “He wasn’t heard of much before the trials. Now he’s ay good as Nepia.” “That’s beside the point,” said tho man in blue. “Aferedith started experimenting, and that’s the result. Caughey never was any good at centre, let alone at second five-eighths and Sadler should have been playing. A defeat’ll teach them.” “What a rotten lot the All Blacks are,” said John’s eldest son from the verandah. “They’s better take on marbles.” “Fancy them getting beaten,” supplemented Airs. John, with the same fatalistic note as Airs. O’Shannessy had sounded. “Tindi 11 must have let them down,” said Jack, from over the road, a recognised authority on Rugby in John’s street. “You’ll notice that the scoring stopped after they brought »Solomon into second five-eighths.” < “Caughey, Caughey was the trouble,” the man in blue exploded. “That’s Caughey’s place.” i ‘ Yes. but . . . And John wearily walked up to the verandah and let the pair of them argue it out. Later in the day he valked down the street. He saw his golfing friends, his bowling friends, some of the crowd he’d been with at the Tin Hat club the night before, his tennis friends, men, women, girls and boys, and they all spoke the same way. “All Blacks beaten, beaten, beaten What a pity! What a pity!” Passing the fire brigade station the boys off duly pulled wery faces. “Don’t look at me,” John said with a flash of determination. “I didn’t do it.” “What’ll happen to them in the tests?” one of the fireman asked blankly. “I’ve been fool enough to have a packet of cigarettes on every test. How am I coining off?” “Don’t ask me,” John said. “But we did ask you.” the fireman said definitely, “You remember. And you said it was a good team, just after they were selected. You remember?” “And they are a good team,” Joht replied, determined to be consistent. “But they’re beaten,” wailed the fire brigade man, “And my cigarettes ” John moved on down the Avenue. He met two city councillors, a mini- ! stcr of the gospel, a member of Par- 4 liament, a tramway conductor, a waitress from his favourite tea room, his barber, a railway official, a county engineer, two farmers and the village gossip. Every one of them had a blank look. .Everyone of them couldn’t understand it. John bethought himself of his newspaper friend, and rang him up. “Is the “Chronicle” going into mourning?” Re asked. “What over?” asked a cheerful voice over the wire. “Purely not over the closing of the Suez Canal or the blocking of the Straits of Gibraltar? Britain has a perfect right under tieaty” “Never mind Britain, treaties, canals and Gibraltars,” John bellowea into the 'phone. “Gimme the Rugby

‘“The Rugby writer speaking,” came jack the cheerful voice. “Uh,” said John, a bit taken aback H the sound of the voice. “Is that rou? 1 thought you’d be in hospital >y now. I’ve been nagged to death. <\en Airs. O’Shannessy. She doesn’t inow a football from a potato, but ihc’s been on the rampage ever sineb he wireless ga\e us the news. You’d l thought the Government had been •cturned to power. Give us a tip, ios I can stall them off. What’s the aside information, old man? Surely hey weren’t trying, or it wasn’t the jest team, or something like that. Give | is a line to go on, so’s I can give » hese told y"ii so's a bit to be going on dk vith. What s the cause of the de- v ‘‘Swansc.'i was a better team,” came he cheerful voice over thv wire. John s unsteady hand hung the reeiver on the hook. Like a man bowed lown with the infinite cares of State ibuut his brow, he slunk awav from iie telephone booth in the post oftice mt rance and made haste towards lonville. Passing by the cemetery he '■card a thrush brightly challenging he evening with his song, but someiow or other John could not dissociate he notes from the giimness of cala nity. “All Blacks were beaten,” 'itng the thrush. “Beaten, beaten, yes beaten, beaten by a better team. . . .” “Id give a quid to know if Alerelitli’s as down about it as I am,” lohn muttered to himself, but when he turned in at the gate and noticed that ‘Gonville’s Glory” was really’ responding to his care and it was summertime, somehow the cares and the worry of it. all were lightened. And the blood red sun, going down in the sea would probably rise on an AH Black combination on the other side of the globe fired by fresh enthusiasm and fresh resolves. John went fc sleep with that thought. Preserve your eggs the reliable wav. use SIIARLAND’S EGG PRESERVA TIVE. .Paste or liquid. Clean, ccoromical and keeps eggs fresh for months.