IRELAND TO-DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18219, 1 November 1924, Page 14

IRELAND TO-DAY.

INTERNATIONAL RUGBY. In Dublin this afternoon the All Blacks will play Ireland in the first test- match or" the tour. The 1005 team bent Ireland by 1.1 points to 0. LOOKING BACK—AND AHEAD. THE ALL BLACKS' CHANCES. ' (By A. J. Harrop.) ■ v Special Representative of "The Press ) LONDON. September 22. After seeing the first three matches of tho tour, and conversing with man> members of the team and the officials accompanying them, I have come to the conclusion that England has not yet seen the All Blacks at their best. Tho chief merit of their record so far lies in the fact thflt their opponents) have not secured a point, and indeed have yen' seldom appeared likely to do so. But teams of superior attacking calibre to those .already met lvne yet to be encountered. The forwards have not been able to secure the ball in the scrums sufficient'} frequently to give our hacks enough chance, but on the one occasion when the ground was dry—at Camborne—the backs proved they oould not only benefit by what openings were made for them but also make many opportunities for themselves. The Halves Compared. After seeing Mill and Dallev in action, I cannot but think that the latter is tho better player, and I expect that lie will figure in the first International at least. Ba-deley has- not played yet, but the other five-eighths—McGregor, Cooke. Nicholls, and Paewai —are all splendid, although I think that Paewai likes n wet ground oven less than tliei others. Our three-quarter line, in which Steel has not yet appeared, is almost uniformly strong. S veil son is probably in the best form, but there is very little to choose between him_ and llobilLiard, Brown, and Lucas. >opia. has proved equal to iill the work which has como his way. The forwards have definitely lished a reputation for speed and weight, but they have yet to prove themselves as a scoring combination on a wet ground. Their loose rushes against Somerset were quite fine, but they appeared to lack just that final decisive thrust which is necessary to penetrato the resolute defence of a side like Somerset. Their work in tho tight has also been rather disappointing. All things considered, ifc is to the forwards that we must- look for improvement in the team's performances. The English Press. As far as Press criticism goes, there has been a certain amount obviously the outcome of blind prejudice, but in the main the critics have admitted that our men play a perfectly legitimate and ivery (sporting game. .Tt was & touch of genius to call Porter and Parker halve«, for the very name of wing-for-ward is like a red rag to a bull in the case of a few critics who refer to the man m this position in their own pet teams as rovers. Ono righteous individual writing before the Somerset match condemned our methods, root and branch, and then went on to say: "I did not see tho Devon and Cornwall matches. . . '* Thero will ho a lot of this type of criticism, minus the admission that the critic is writiug purely from imagination. By the time this article appears, the Irish International of November Ist will be .just ahead. It will be a stern exacting test, for Ireland is just about; at its zenith as regards Rugby. The forwards are fast and vigorous, their loose rushes being dreaded by most sides who meet them. The backs too. are of a very high standard, and will not concede anything to cur men in dash or speed. The game will give a good indication cf our chances against England.