THE ALL BLACKS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18416, 24 June 1925, Page 9

THE ALL BLACKS.

VICTORY IN THIRD TEST. FORWARD STRUGGLE ONMUDDY FIELD. (F\* iwm.f* — association--KALIAN' AM) N'~. CAULS ASSOCIATION.; i Keeoived Juno ~0, 0 p.m.) SYDNEY. Juno The coadii ions rn 1 i;ilt for Oio ihird Test match between Now Zealand and Now Souta Wales "wore anything but suitable for good football. lv:iin fell "iip to tho commencement ot tho mateh anil again during iho second half. Eav.'ier games had out up tho "round considerably, and in places it n regular quagmire. The g:uue, as a result, was mainly a forward one, in which the All Blacks for tho most part predominated. All worked hard, but l'inlavson, Knight and Kighton were outstanding. Donald also played well, but many times was penalised for offside play. Tho forwards kept tho ball at their toes and several times carried it right to tho New iSuuth Wales line, only to bo pulled lip for an infringement of the rules. Tho ball was very greasy, but tho backs of both teams gave somo nice exhibitions of passing. Tho All Blacks more than held their own in ihe scrums and line-outs, and kept the ball tight. New South Wales made several dangerous attacks, mainly as a result, of mishandling by the Now Zealand backs, but thev were inclined to kick too hard.

The full-backs both played at the top of their form and repeatedly relieved (lie pressure by sure handling; am) line kicking. The teams were:—

New Zealand. Full-back: J. Harris. Three-quarters: Law, G. >r. Blake, J. D. Wise. Five-eighths: T. G. Corkhill, L. Johnson. Ilalt'-back: 1). Wright. Forwards: J. Donald (wing), \McCormack, A. Kirkpatrick, B. Finlayson, L. >S. liighton, L. A. Knight, J. Walters, D. Dickson. New Soutli Wales.

Full-back: Ross. Three-quarters: C'rossnian, Kcid, Morrissey, Smith. Five-eighth: George. Half-back: finoll.

Forwards: Brackenridge, Bryant, Layeock, Fox, Shaw, Smith, Tarleto'u, Ritchie.

The attendancu was two thousand. Tho All Blacks kicked oft and commenced an attack, but offside play drove them back. Johnson had a shot at goal, which went just outsido the poits. It was a good kick considering the state of tho ball.

Faulty handling from a scrum let New South Wales away, but Law sent the ball into touch at tho twenty-live. Tho Blue backs fumbled, and Wise made a great attempt to score, but was hauled down close to tho line. Then a passing rush on the other side 6aw Lawpushed out at the corner by George. In another All Black rush Blake passed too soon. The ball went across to Crossman, who made a good run down the lino and kicked, but Harris saved. Tho All Blacks wero penalised in their own twenty-five, but Morrissey's kick at goal failed. Tho Blues continued to press, but offsido play relieved tho All Blncka. A mark by Morrissey set tho Blues attacking, but Donald marked and cased tho position. Donald then commenced a forward rush from a scrum near half-way. The ball passed through all the backs' hand? to Law, who scored in the corner. Johnson's kick failed. New Zealand .. .. .*5 New South Wales .. 0 Tho All Blacks attacked, but Blako mishandled the ball, which went out. Then Wise was pushed out in the corner. From tho ensuing line-out Now Soilth Wales forcod. Tho All Black forwards continued to exnrt pressure. Thero were several line-outs and scrtfms near tho Now South Wales line, but Boss was suro and saved repeatedly. Eeid made a gTeat individual dash down tho field and kicked. Harris had to put tho ball out in his own twenty-five. Crossman had to leave tho field, being replaced by Jamieson. The New Zealand forwards again took the ball to New South Wales territory, where scrum after, scrum kept tho forwards busy till the Blues relieved. The spell ended without farther score.

A free kick early in the second half put :Ne\r South "Wales in an attacking position, Morrissey finding the line well up, but offsido play saved tho All Blacks. New South Wales pressed hard, but Donald led a sortio which placed the Xew South Vales lino in danger. The Blue forwards camo back to the New Zealand half. The New South Wales forwards hammered away ut Xew Zealand's lino for a quarter of an hour, but tho defcnco was sound. A free kick for tho home sido gave Ross a chanco and he piloted tho ball over tho bar, equalising tho scores. New Zealand .. ..3 New South Wales .. 3 Spurred on by this rovcrso tho All Black forwards set up a strong attack on tho nines' line, Jaraiesou relicted with a lino kick, A good hack movement saw Wiso nearly over, but ho was | pulled down by Morrissey, and from tho | scramble New South Wales forced, j Offside play by tho All Blaeks agnln j saved the Blue line. Then OorkhiUl secured and passed to Wise, who dashed in when pulled down, and transferred to Walters, who plunged over. Dickson failed with tho kick, New Zealand ~ 7 , 6 New South Wales .. 3 A mark put New South Wales in a goo>l position, but tho shot at goal f;:ileil. Tho All Blacks again attacked, but tho Blues forced their way back. After some give and tako play in jnidiicld tho All Black attack was stopped by offside play. £ho Blackß fame on onco more. Fron\ a ruck \Vright sot tho backs in motion, and Wise dashed round and scoreii in a, goocl position. Johnson's kick was successful. New Zealand 11 New South Wales' 3 The final whjstlo blew a fow moments tearing ;hG auota uaaHwetL

LAST WEEK'S DEFEAT. BAC KS DISAPPOINTING. Ctbou orr. sraciAL cobresfondx-vt.) SYDNEY. June lv Wednesday's game. i:i which NoiT South Wales defeated tho All Black-, was played ou University Ova!, which was unfortunately in .. bad .-tat-. Heavy rain had softcne-i the ground, and in the circumstances the playir.- o; ;.n early match was r. -take. for t' ■ centre of it was an absolute ijnaciniro. Tho ball soon became sodden anl She ]>layers were covered i*h mud. «he;r numbers in numv eases bviiij; indistinguishable. Both team? contained a number of fresh p'ayi rs. whi!those on tho home side mere .u just;lied their selection, the same , ouid no", be said of tho visitors. In the aeseuco of Blake, who wi'.l not appear again during the tour. D. Johnson playo; centre three-quarter. As in the nr.-t match the homo tc.i:a was tlie tirst to score through, tho medium of a sweeping forward ru? s .. during which two of our backs showed ;> disinclination to go down in the mud. 3 his ended in a try, which ( rosjuu.: converted, and New South Wales wcrv five up. They did not long retain their lead, for a similar rush in which Km laysou was very prominent, ended in Dickson scoring in a good position. 1». Johnson made no mistake with tho kick at goal. For the remainder of the spell the All Blacks were in tho ascendant, although not by a great margin.

Tlio All Blacks' second s> ore iv ; .s a result, of another dash In- tho forward-; which gained fully 50 yards and enjbicii Walters to obtain a line try. Both teams were now going at top and there were few dull moment*. Following some passing by the Black backs. Elvv made a dashing run and was only stopped within a lew yards of the liue. -He was not to lie denied, however, for a few minutes later the forwards opened up a passing rush, at the close of which Walters gave him a good pass and enabled him to cross the line. Frcm then until the end of the spell the Blacks attacked strongly, but could, not pierce the defence, and the whistle blew with the score reading U to r>.

A Long Spell. As a result of an oversight no timekeeper had been appointed, and the first spell lasted for ;"7 minutes (exclusive of time of! for stoppages'*, and had your correspondent not drawn the attention of the selector to the matter it is hard to say how long the play might have lasted. The homo team, both forward and. back, played a line game throughout the second half and completely dominated the game. Tho forwards showed great, dash, and with the backs handling the greasv ball in fine stylo they gave the All Blacks 110 rest. Attack after attack ended in cither a try or a force down, and until tho last few minutes of tha game thero was only one team in it.

The Übiquitous PinUysoa. About half-way through the spell Elvv had to leave tho field, his place being taken by Matson, although the unfortunato incident had really no effect on the result. Ultimately the score reached IS to 13 in favour of the homo team, aud then in the last two minutes of the gaino a dashing forward rush started and headed throughout l»v the übiquitous Fmlavson en<lc<l in his scoring a very lino try about 10 yards from tho corner flag. D. Johnson failed with tho kick, and the homo teajn had a well-deserved win by IS points to 16.

Forwards Hampered. As in the first match tho Black forwards played well, although in the early stages two of thorn were inclined to Jiang out from the hard work. Their scrum work has improved. They were Diuch hampered in their footwork by the persistent manner in which the homo team laid on the ball, in which respect they were given almost a free Laud by tho referee. Finlayaon was again the most prominent man on the side, and was in the thick of everything. In appearance and general play - he is much like the Auckland "Boltef" Francis. Ivirkpatrick was also very conspicuous, whjlo Walters and Dickson wero often in the picture. Donald was as useful ns usual until a hard knock in the second spoil adversely affected his play. Generally speaking the whole eight worked finely and, given better support, should liave been on the winning side.

Beargnard's Faults. "With few exceptions the backs were disappointing. Harris at full-back was safe and effective, but at times ,T? S loft to try and effect the impossible. His one weakness ■was aa inclination to kick into play and follow up. On a heavy ground this was not good policy, and he failed to reach his man in time to stop the return kick. Elvy, natal he had to rotire, did good work, his taekling being very effective, but he got very few chances to attack* I). Jonason was out of place at centre, but 8* v ® a good display, and when he settkd down did much useful work. In tae j absenco of Blake he will probably play in that position in the remaining matches. Law and Lawaon, ito (peak plainly, wero outclassed, and on the displays they gave, were lucky to have caught the selectors Perhaps the importance of effected them adversely, shown was not correct. *** effective in his passing from the scrucv although he might havo doae bcU« rt> go round tho scrum and start the forwards off.