League Kiwis Win First Test

Chronicle (Levin), 31 May 1948, Page 3

League Kiwis Win First Test

Reeeived Sunday, 7 p.m. SYDNEY, May 30. Apparently outclassed and trailing bv 13 points, the New Zealand teain recovered brilliantly to defeat Australia 21 — 19 in the iirst internationai Ilugby League test to be played in Australia for 39 vears. A crowd of over 55,000, ineluding the GovernorGeneral, Mr. McKell, rose to cl\eer the victorious Iviwis us thev ran off the Hydney crieket ground after the matc-h. The tirst lialf-hour of the game showed the Iviwis in the worst possible light. The handling by tlie backs was unifonnly bad and niany times the baek line made fruitless efforts to win ground after taking the ball flat-footed. The fast-breaking forwards did their 1 >est to hold opposing movements but the New Zealand backs, with the notable exf'eptions of Wiles, Barchard and Eoriest, showed little penetrative | fiowcr. The only ray of hope lay in j the fact tliat scrum work was much lii'ue eliicient and that the New Zealand forwards were winning a much greater share of the ball than in either of their previous Australian matehes. A bad feature of tlie game lay in the munber of penalties awarded both sides chieflv for scrum infringements. Tliis may have worked out in favour of New Zealand liud not the star place-kicker, Clarke, soon demonstrated tliat he was liaving an off dav. To make matters worse for the Kiwis, Australia had discovered very accurate kickers in Graves and Frnome, thus reversing one of the few supei'iorities New Zealand had. shown in the niatch against New South Wales. In all, (fraves kicked iive and Froome two penalties against Clarke 's three. .Just I>oi'ore half-time Wiles and Barchard took the ball into enemv territor.v and Kedmoiul fouglit off' three tacklers to cross the line. Clarke converted. — Australia 3 3, New Zealaud 5. Tlie New Zealauders went into the J secoud half like a new team, breaking j up tlie Australian combination with nuiging forward play and throvving the ball about to greater eff'eet. The Australiau defence, in which Graves, 1^. Smith, O'Connell and Froome figured prominently, heid the Kiwis out while , the game seemed to increase its temjio e\ twy minute. Half-way through the I se. uatl spell, with Australia 15, New | Zealand 7, tlie Kiwis wero strainiug the i dei'euce to the utinost and giving the j Aimtra'ians a lessou in hard running j and . iackling. Thougli they averaged ; three |ioumls heavier than the Kiwi i park. the Australian forwards were uni able to eover their backs. Forrest ran j (b'wn tJie line aml seut a long jiass iutield to the forwards vvho bullocked j through and- senl McBride over. Clarke j converted. |' ' Tlie next minute Hambleton interj copted a pass and T-aced the length of .Ihe litehl tt> si'oi'e. Clarke rs conversion l \\ illi a diflicult kick from the sideline | played New Zealand in the lead. — New t Zealand 17, Australia 15. Refusing to let up, the Kiwis redoubled tlie pressure. Thougli Australia j made fruitless efforts in the closing j \tas all in tavotar of the Kiwis. Clarke and Graves kicked two penalties eaeh. In tlie lirml ffurry the New Zealauders were swarming all round the Austra- | lian line. League experts were unanimous in . opinion that New Zealand was uaj A.-

iucky not to make the seore against Australia iu the first test even higher. "New Zealand 's smashing 21 — 19 victory threw- wide open the selection for the Australian te.am in the second test, ' ' sajrs W. F. Corbett, in the Sunday Sun. "No man in the Australian team can feel certain of his future in big representative games. After looking in the first halfvas if they would be decimated, the New Zealauders trainpled all over the Australians. Th'ey scored three tries to one and were easily the better team. They laslied the Australians in open football and pounded them in the forwards. After leading at one stage 13 — 0, Australia can give no exeuse for defeat. Australia lost control of the game wheu it slackened just before half-time and the New Zealauders poured through the gaps -in the defences. Australia did not regain command. Instead of wilting as they did last week,. the New Zealandsers strengthened as the game went on. Sydney will not forget the resolute way in which the Iviwis rearranged their forces and battled baclc. ' ' An official count of the scrums was 21 — 19 in favour of New Zealand. The referee, Mr. Mc.Mahon, awarded 40 penalties during the niatch, mostly for scrum- infringements. They were equally divided.