THE ALL BLACKS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18236, 21 November 1924, Page 9

THE ALL BLACKS.

TO PLAY IN VANCOUVER. THEN EMBARK AT SAN FRANCISCO. (ABSTKAUAK AND K.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION.) LONDON, November 12. The All Blacks have definitely arr;'.nstod for two matches against a:>couver. r-rol):,I)!y on February 1-ltii and February ilist. (PBESS ASSOCIATTOS TKI.KORAM.) WELLINGTON. November 20. The New Zealand Rugby Union has i ,eu advised by Mr S. S. Dean (tram manager) that the All Blacks will kavo England for Canada on January 24th. plaving two matches at Vancouver. Thev will Mibsersvenfly join ;ho Tahiti, leaving San Francisco on February 25th for Wellington. THE CAUSE OF RUGBY. NEW ZEALANDERS "DOING MUCH GOOD." (austealian and x.z. cable association.) LONDON, November 19.

The "Star" says that it is glad to learn that the All Blacks are not concerned at the criticisms of the London match.

They are doing British liugby much good. It is not Imperial to impute deliberately foul and rough play to them simply because they havo thus far proved themselves masters. BAN ON SCOTSMEN. THE IDEA SCOUTED. (rEESS ASSOCIATION T2LSSOBAU.) WELLINGTON, November 20. Mr A. C Kitto, acting-chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, scouts the idea of imposing a baa on Scottish players visiting New Zealand as suggested by the "Evening Standard'' in a London cablegram. The matter, he says, has never been discussed here, and he does not believe the idea of punishing young Scotsmen for the action of their governing body would be entertained for one moment. PROGRESS OF THE TOUR. INTERESTING SIDELIGHTS It is pleasing to learn from British newspapers to hand by the last mail that the All Blacks have not discontinued their war cry, as was stated earlier. Tho preliminary was dispensed with in the case of one of the matches played in the West of England in very bad weather, and this, coupled with hostilo comment in some of the more sensational London papers, appears to have given riso to the incorrect statement that the war cry had been abandoned.

But it is not only the -war cry and the All Blacks' habit of keeping On playing after the opposition has gono to pieces that offends certain of tho critics. Why do they leave the field at half-time '1 asks one writer. Following a complaint about offences on tho line-out, and obstruction, his query seems to suggest that the New Zealanders retire in the interval to hatch out new plans of illegal play. It is the British Eugby fashion to remain on the field at half-time; but anyone who has had any experience at all of the game in this country knows that, matches have been won time a.nd again a3 tho result of a brisk rub-down and a little advice from the coach between spells. As a matter of fact, it has been noticeable that in several of their matches the All Blacks, not having shaped particularly well in the first half, have changed their tactics completely on tho resumption of play, and have then overwhelmed the opposition, But some Englishmen see a dark significance in this retreat to the dressing room. "A very solemn ritual" is how another critic describes the Now Zealanders' method of taking the field. And this "solemn ritual" consists in the single-file march from tho pavilion, headed by the captain carrying the ball! This, it seems, is in marked contrast to "the usual sprightly entry" of an English team. The trouble must be that the New Zealanders have reserved their sprightliness for the game itself. Quite different from this concentration on tho inero trappings of the game is the enthusiasm for Eugby which characterises the Welsh Press. It certainly suggests that, although the code in the Principality may have fallen on evil days, its underlying greatness and strength have not been impaired. There is the devotion of a patriot in these words from tho "South Wales Daily News": —If the New Zealand tourists of 1924 do nothing beyond what they did for the glorification of Eugby football at Swansea on Saturday, they will have completely justified the expense and trouble involved in their long journey to this country from "down under." Not one of the huge crowd of 40,000 Welshmen who saw Swansea go down could shake off tho feeling of surpriso and regret at the emphasis which was laid upon the contention of thoso who argue that the days of the great Eugby players of Wales have departed, but, underlying their sadness, and transcending it in all the known ways of expression, was unstinted admiration for the brilliance and skill of our Colonial friends. For the greater part of the 80 minutes during which the battle raged they depicted to that huge throng, with all the cleverness of master artists, the unparalleled glories of Eugby, clearly showing that if the game is properly handled by a band of experts, it reaches out far beyond the boundaries of any other game as u spectacle and a pastime.