The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1905.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11725, 28 November 1905, Page 4

The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1905.

THE NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALLERS

The victory gained by the. New Zealand football team on Saturday over fifteen representing Ireland, coming", on. top of their defeat of the Scottish international combination, and their many, other triumphs, is certainly something,, which Zealanders Imay, b© pardoned for. looking upon with pride. When the tour was r first proposed the? most' Sanguine supporters of Maoriland Rugby players never dreamt that they would put up such an unbroken list of successes as they have done, in England, Scotland, and Ireland. A. glance at their record to' date shows that altogether our. boy 3 have played. 22 matches since landing in England, and have wpn the lot, having piled up 660 points against 22. Theso-figures are 4 ',y.ery significant, and prove that while they have scored at the rate of 30 points "per game, their- opponents have only aveiaged one point <£ach contest. These\ figures are remarkable, and

. emphasise the marked superiority of the New Zealanders. No doubt in the earlier matches fn tho Old Country the Maorilanders had an j.dvantage over their opponents, who lacked "the condition possessed by our lads, but by this time the players at Home must have got into their best form, and still the results are same — the New Zealanders win every time, though the margin of points has not been so large in the last few games. Of course to beat Ireland by 15 points to nil is one -of the finest achievements of the whole tour, and such a brilliant win over such a brilliant team leads us to hope that the colonials will prove successful even againsi the wonderful Welshmen, about whom w< have been told so 'much. ' Next Saturday .the third test-^-against England — is to be played, and it is confidently anticipated •/that the atteadance at Crystal Palace to witness the contest will be \an enormouE one* so great is the interest that has been aroused in Rugby^ circles by thfe fino achievements of the "All Blacks"— as our teanx is .referred to. It is quite evident, judging from the opinions published in th« Home papers, that the majority of tho icritiCß -regard it' now as 'almost* certain that the New Zealanders wilZ go through their tour without sustaining a defeat, that is providing they can sustain their form to tho end. In this connection it may be noted that a suggestion has been made in various quarters that as a kind of "Grand Finale" a match iriigljtjbe arranged between the New Zealanders and ' a fifteen representing the British Isles, to be played some time in the New Year. As it is further proposed that the', proceeds of the game might be devoted to a. deserving ob- . jeet — tho King's Hospital Fund lias boers „ -mentioned— the idea certhinly merits the - fullest consideration." ■ "Of course," says an English writer, "the consummation of such an affair is obviously not 'an easy matter, at the same time, we do not re gard the obstacles as insurmountable. It only requires that the parties concerned should decide that the " game * should ho .played "for the difficulties in the way to disappear aa if by magic. We have heard that the New Zealander view the proposal favourably, and if _a suitable date and ground can be decided Ujpon and the Union brought into line, there is no reason why we should not witness a meeting of our colonial visitants and the United Kingdom. It goes without saying Ijhat the magnetic power of such a game would be sufficient -to draw a large concourse, and though it does not follow that such a fifteen' chosen from the four countries would necessarily be stronger than one representing, say, Wales or Ireland, the match 1 would possess a charm which would render/its success a foregone conclusion."