DECISIVE HALF HOUR

Te Ao Hou, December 1961, Page 58

DECISIVE HALF HOUR The first half ended 0–0 and it was not until about 15 minutes after the interval that the first points were scored. From a scrum just inside the Maori half the ball went out to Lacaze on the left wing for France; he moved to about the Maori 25 and centre-kicked, to where Domenech, Crauste and Moncla charged; from the ensuing pack Moncla dived across and was awarded a try. Albaladejo attempted to goal, but the kick was disallowed. (The circumstances regarding this attempted conversion are still discussed today and there is no doubt that injustice is bound to occur occasionally unless a way is found to overcome the language difficulty.) This score by the Frenchmen (3–0) seemed to make the Maoris try harder. First Walsh, then Yates made a break and always there was the relentless driving by the Maori forwards. About 7 minutes before the final whistle, from a scrum 15 yards from the French line and to the left of goal, the ball came back to half-back Marshall, a long almost balloon pass to Herewini, who, finding the way blocked, stopped and threw a long pass to Walters, travelling at speed on the blind; Walters moved through a gap towards the corner play, drawing the defence as he moved; then Ransley moved up on the inside of Walters taking a reverse pass at speed and dived over for what the crowd at McLean Park thought was one of the finest tries ever. This was what the crowd had been waiting for; hats, coats, papers were thrown into the air as the people acknowledged their team's effort. With the score now 3–3, everyone settled to watch Walters attempt to convert from about 3 yards from the sideline. It seemed too much to expect from this North Auckland art