WAKEFIELD TRINITY MATCH.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 59, 3 December 1907, Page 6

WAKEFIELD TRINITY MATCH.

A DRAWN,CAME. New Zealand r „,' „ 5 i Wakeneld TrfnW !" ,"' 5 Wakefield on Octobor"23'tho'triumpnal tour of the New Zealand team "received a set-back, -or, .rather,, acheck. Tho All Blades wcro caught napping,'tp-day.' It was the same' tale that we have heard all along the lino. Wakefield Trinity was regarded as a weak team, and this was substantiated By its position iii:-the Northern Union League competition., We.under-estimated out opponents, -who iin the estimation of their supporters', as.usual;•' played the game of their lives. The New Zealand team was another experimental one. It was Turtill, Smith, Kowo, Messenger, 11. Wynyard (fiveeight), Gleeson (half), and forwards, Mackroll, Tylor, Dunning, Byrne, Pearco, and Tyne,,., .Tho .experiment, would no doubt have turned .put a one if, tho weatlior was fine and the ground -had boon; dry,, but all the morning it rained, steadily, < and a fog hung around the rest of the day, so that 'tho ground was" •decidedly wet and heavy. A heavier, stalwart All Black team was wanted-badly. .The Wakefield Trinity team thoroughly deserved tho draw. They played a characteristic Yorkshire forward game. Their special preparation for our visit was much' in evidencq. They fought every inch of the way. The forwards sot the pace on the heavy going, from-tho start, and, unlike other homo teams' which wo have seen so far, kept it" going to the-'finish—in fact, they surprised lis.and .the.'spectators as" well by' their tenacity and display. Their full-back is a jewel of the first water. His excellent judgment and steadiness is responsible for their success..;.J .say. '.? success," for' tho result is regarded in that 'light : in ~ Northern Union circles.'' ' ■ ' ■■. " " . - ■!■'•'■ NOT UP TO FORM. '; There is. no doubt the Now Zealanders were'not'up to form. The-dash and vigour of their opponents should have boon motwith tb,? same mettle, but no!—both backs and forwards, instead of sticking to the leather when they had it under control, did the very worst thing" they could possibly do. J hoy, invariably kicked the ball right into the arms of that-stone-waller full-back. He beat our forwards with' his head, and kept them . on' tho .trot' during the' day, so that his comrades had an easy job holding the Colonials. His kicking' and fielding were superb, and if saved his forwards a lot of useless running about. Tho AYakcficld backs, other than the full-back, wore not brilliant, but were very sure'and steady. Tho state of tho ground suited thoni; Wakefield Trinity won the toss,, and decided to kick off. This they did with a man in front, so the ball was brought back, and a scrum took place at the half-way." Messenger secured, and with a fiiio kick removed play to his opponent's territory, but Gleeson, by getting offside at'a critical stage, spoiled tho advantage. Tho New Zealand forwards again rushed to within striking distance, They (secured from a scrum, Wynyard, ran well, and a passingjrush followed,'a "Black" back being pushed into touch a few yards from tho desired spot. Wakofiold then attacked for a : period. , • , ■ A 1 KICK THAT FAILED;' Ono of them marked a kick hy Gleeson, but failed to kick'a'goal from.an'ioasj; position. La very -was the means of removing play .'back.. .Ho kicked well down tho field, and- was obstructed from following it up. Messenger took tho free-kick, but failed to utiliso it. It, Wynyard marked tho kick out well. Tho Now Zealand forwards, headed by Tyler, rushed to Wakefield's goalline. - A . scrum- took place, and they secure d therefrom. Gleeson tried to get over on the blind side, but was prevented,' Then Wakefield came back to halfway, and a ljttlo later to our twonty-fivo. They looked dangerous until offsitlo play on their part enabled .the Blacks -to raiso tho , siege. ■" Byrne arid * Lavcry, ■ by.good runs, made ground. The latter got from halfway to near thoir line, .and passed to Mackroll, who',l also ran ,wall before being tackled. 'Wakefield gave' another free kick, for offside play, but Messenger could not find the posts. Smith thou fan- woll, and passed to Messenger, who tried,, to pass to Bowe. The last-named failed to accept it in a likelylooking situation. Messenger failed with his third attempt at goal from a penalty given for an opponont passing off the ground. New Zealand, again'.attacked. A CHANCE SPOILT. They secured fromsa' scrum,. Gleeson ran well, and passed to ''Tyne, and tho latter spoilt a lovely chance by passing forward a few yards from tho lino. The Wakefield forwards then rushed back magnificently, and compelled tho Blacks ,to force. Mackroll and Tyne were associated"in a passing rush which reached tho home twenty-fivo. New Zealand seen rod ; from a scrum in a good position, but the -defence could not lie beaton with the passing rush. Byrne was next .conspicuous .'liy running well, and Smith gained. ground by finding the line well in their twenty-five with a ponalty kick. New Zealand secured from the resulting scrum, and, screwing, strove to rush it

ovrr, but failed. Wakefield'came back with :i pood forward rush, which was continued on with a passing rush. Their last man to rccoive was pushed into touch near our corner. New Zealand then force*:!. The home team again became aggressive. First Turtill and then Smith staved off attacks, the latter hy a fine tackle. Tho New Zealand forwards carried play to half way. Ijavory stopped a counter-rush' cleverly, and Turtiir saved by finding the line with a good long kick. ' ' COAL AND TRY FOR THE ENGLISH" MEN. . Wakelield secure'd a free kick for an All Black obstructing, and Metcalfo landed a goal. Turtill and Smith m turn again repelled advances, and from a scrum Wakctield. secured, ajid a fine combined passing rush enabled their wing three-quarter to run over and secure a try. It was not concerted. This left tho score:— New, Zealand ... • ... .... 0 Walielielc! Trinity... ..'..[' ... 5 A few minutes later the" whistle sounded for half-time. From tho restart Now Zeakiid made tho pace warm, and a passing rush (11. Wynyard, Smith, and Messenger) looked like a score, but ended.in-a scrum near tho line. From it 11. Wynyard secjired, and dribbled well, *but could not got there. Wakelield then rushed play 1 back, and Tyne saved by a'clover mark, and Messenger cleared with a further penalty kick.- The New Zealand forwards, headed by. Byrno, swept to Wakefteld's tweuty-nvo with a grand forward rush. Smith secured, t and by running and cutting in left Lavery with a clear field, but lio could not manage to got in a good pass, so tho latter was robbed of a fino opportunity. A few minutes later, 'Wakefiekl trial somo "funny business" when putting tho ball in the scrum (a bad habit somo Northern half-backs have), and wero penalised. NO MISTAKE. Messenger made no mistake this time with the kick. Wakelield Trinity 5 1. New Zealand . ... 2 .. Wakefield then.rallied, and looked tlangoroust Passing rushes wore smothered in quick succession ' by Smith and Messenger. Loose play jbout half-way resulted,. until tho Blacks wero awarded a free-kicli, Wakefield being offside. Smith found. tho line welt down in their twent-y-fiv6, and 11. Wynyard secured from the scrum, made a dash, and dribbled over tho lino, but a forcowas tho only result. Uninteresting plrfy, punctuated by free-kicks for both sides, followed, until Byrne secured; and made a strong run. Ho passed to Smith, and the latter made a brilliant dash for tho corner, and passed in season to Rowe, who scored well out. Messenger failed with the kick I ,', and tho. scoro now. stood at 5 all, and tho serious Tiusiness of the day commenced. Both sidos seemed to adopt safety tactics, and a series of high kicks and marks resulted. Both full-backs were playing perfect games, and Turtill never mado a mistake.' Just--before- timo sounded, ho made a dash "oh his own account." Lavery- supported him well, but nothing camo of it. Tho whistle sounded a few minutes later, with Wakefield attacking, and' Smith'and Messenger , doing fine defensive work

[COMMENTS ON THE PLAY. Local are disappointed with our display to-day, but I think bur men did very well under tlio circumstances. The initial mistako was the undor-estimation of the opponents' strength on the day; Thoy may not bo high up in local competitions', but that does not give a criterion of their play, with tlio ground favouring them and their "barrackors" strenuously urging them on. They fought like demons. We aro going to tako nothing foe- granted in future, and qvory team wo meet is to be, considered a go.od one until proved otherwise.. They aro good teams: in fact, excellent ones oil tlieir own ground, and boforo their own supporters. We aro going to have somo of our hardest battles in these soft mid-week fixtures. Next Saturday another "test" will tako place. We play a strong club, Leeds, at Hoadingley. They aro like all others — going through special preparation for ' us,\ and the' result cannot be forecast. None of our games in future will be "certainties," after to-day's experience. The gate at Wakoficki to-day was ,£2'J5, and the attendance nearly COOO. Hardyman, the scorer of Broughton's' first try against us last Saturday, gave us a comparison with the original "All Black" team. Ho played for Leicester against them in 1905, boforo, joining tlio Northern Union team. Ho considers our team weaker in defonco, almost as strong ■in the forward division, hut superior in all-round "nippiness" and resource. . . • . . . '■