THE SPRINGBOKS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 255, 9 August 1937, Page 3

THE SPRINGBOKS

GOOD WIN AT WELLINGTON. TWENTY-NINE POINTS TO NIL. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, August 7. On a hard, dry ground, with a stiff southerly wind, the. Springboks had no trouble in disposing of Wellington by 29 points to nil, at Athletic Park today. The visitors easily outclassed the local team in every department and from the first few minutes of play the only question undecided was how big the score should be. A crowd of 30,000 watched the game. The Springboks gave a. wonderful exhibition of Rugby. The mechanical perfection of their play delighted the spectators, but threw into a’elief the deficiencies of the provincial team. Their pack was remarkable for the dogged way it followed up the ball untiringly. The forwards were constantly on the ball and Wellington was quite unable to hold them. The half-back, De Villiers, and the flv-half, Van Der Vyver, smothered all Wellington attempts to send the backs away. The back line played a brilliant game, combining lieadwork and footwork. Brand, a grand full-back, retired toward the close with a strained tendon, but the injury is not regarded as serious. In the first half of the game the Springboks, who started scoring within five minutes of the kick-off, ran up a score of 16. Wellington only twice looked like scoring; first when Griffiths made a promising opening, but the supporting forward knocked on; the second time after the interval when Ongley kicked through but Brand beat him to the ball. For a long period after halftime Wellington offered a determined resistance, but in the last 10 minutes’ play, the Springboks advanced the score a further 13 points. The Springbok forwards were much too heavy for the Wellington pack, which, several times collapsed when the front row was unable to sustain the weight of the hefty South Africans. Lambourne, the Wellington hooker, in the first half, managed to acquit himself well, on many occasions beating Lotz, but in the later phases he was not so successful. O’Halloran and Griffiths were the stars of the Wellington team. Veitch shone at intervals early in the game but was handling uncertainly and weakened noticeably 7 throughout. Vartan, the fullback, was disappointing. The scorers were: Williams (three), Hofmeyr, Watt and Van Reenen. Turner and Brand each converted two tries. Turner also kicked a penalty goal. “My team was troubled by the wind. We have seldom experienced one of such force. It made kicking definitely difficult,” said the Springbok captain, of the day, G. Brand, after the game. He added that they appreciated the firm, dry ground, the best they had so far played on. Ho was well satisfied with the team’s performance, but believed there was room for improvement. “A great game,” said the Welling captain, Griffiths. “The Springboks have a wonderful side. The forwards are superb, especially in following and backing up. The backs were clever in the use of reverse passing.” The teams marched on to the field amid tremendous acclamation from the crowd. Lord Galway shook hands with all the players. The referee was Mr L. E. Maccassey, of Dunedin.