RUSH FOR CAPETOWN

Chronicle (Levin), 19 September 1949, Page 5

RUSH FOR CAPETOWN

(N.Z.P.A.-

-Reuter.

All Blacks Ready To Enjoy Last Days Of Tour

Copyr'ight) \

Received Monday, 9 a.m. PORT ELIZABETH, Sept, 18. The playing side of their long : tour having ended, the majority of the All Blacks today joined the hectic rush to get to Capetown by the quickest means possible. With only a few days remaining before.' the departure of the whole party; in the Dominion Monarch next Friday, the boys were naturally anxious to make a bee-line for. Capetowfi for business as well as: personal reasons. The team was booked to make the final stage of the South African tour by sea from Port Elizabeth, but : more than half the players availed. themselves of offers of rides to Capetown. Though many found the early rising after their final. match rather trying, they were oh time and looking surprisingly fre'sh as the cars left before breakfast on the 500-mile road journey. If all' offers of hospitality are accepted during the final stage 6f the tour few of the team will be seen at their hotel.

Fraser To Matry South African. For one player at least the tour has meant an important event of :his life. Harry Frazer became en^. 'gaged to a South African girl and it is expected that their' marriage will take place at Capetown before the team sails. The manager, Mr. d. H. Parker, expressed appreciatioh of the way the team has worked under him. He congratulated South Afri'ca on its test achievements, thanked the South Africans for the boundless hospitality accorded the visitors and expressed ' the hope that they would be able to repay some of the many kindnesses when the Springboks next visit New Zealand. The Only Sad Moment. When the All Blacks filed into their dressing room after the fourth test, Bob Scott? said: "Sorry, chaps. I let you down." He then broke down. It was the only sad moment of the tour, hjit his team mates quickly put things in their right perspective and the crowds outside were possibly astonished to hear the defeated team singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Mr. Parker said: "We have shared in your disappointment Bob, but I have seen you give some of the greatest full-back displays of all time and we are proud of you." These words sum up not only the opinion of Scott's team mates, but also of the South African Press. Wherever he has gone, Scott has been acclaimed as one of the greatest full-backs in the world, not merely for his superb positional play, sure handling and tremen- . kious.-.touGh. kieks-j but+.^lso fortrhis skill in linking up .with his backs. (The report of the fourth test appears on page 7.)