THE LEAGUE GAME

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2205, 18 July 1914, Page 12

THE LEAGUE GAME

- ..-. .- ——: 9~ ■ — : . fBl "TTIiEEWOOT/'l . : ■• : A generation ago New Zealand Rugby made its first.big strideWvith the visit of Stoddart's team., On Saturday last the League game made an epochal etep ■ when the Northern Union men from the Homeland ■ tiled •on to • the playing area at Newtown Park. .. .. Where England Excelled. Tho passing of the British backe was a treat to watch. . Cleanly from the scrum the greasy bail—fast and. low,' and from hand to hand—would be-driven prompt and precise; each man dashing straight ahead, and again a player, hoodwinking ■the opposition; would cut in and pass centre-lield. When passing on. the wing it was observed that each man threwthe ball in such a way that it would reach tho next at the right moment. The ball was not passed directly to. the next man, but a few foot in front of him.-thus enabling him to gather the leathor'and keep 'his stride. Tho judgment in almost every case- was faultless. "Tricks of the Trade. , ' ' ■The dodging, . side-stepping, and corkscrew miming of the. Britishers gave one an idea of tho extent to which .the finer points of'the. code have been studied. Then,, again, tho visitors displayed what is little known to local Leaguer-s—passing j with the feet. This branoh of football combination as shown by the -Englishmen is something in the nature of a h'no art. ■ A point worthy of notice is the Englishmen's methods of handling) the leather when , sorely pushed. ,It was noticeable on Saturday that on every occasion when "hard put" in their own' twenty-five, the ball, instead—as is usual here in Wellington— of going but to the forwards, i 6 went round the backs. In this they seldom failed. A Giant In League-land. The giant, of. tho match was J. W. Guerin. 'Xlus player carries roiind with him 14st. Bib. Ho was the most difficult of .the Englishmen to bring to earth. Sometimes—oftentimes—ihrco or four Blaok forwards would endeavour to bring; him ' dowji—but it took some doing.- It was quite a common thing to i.ee Guerin, when tackled, tryiug to divest. himself of a Black, who would display his acrobatio faculties somewhere in the neighbourhood of the big man's neck. There were others, too, who seemed to'tako-'sheer delight in tobogganing down Guerin's back. Whore Wellington' Shone. On the day the Wellington forwaias more than held their own. ■ Tile overwhelming advantage they had in weight for.,once availed tho Englishman hrttle. The Blacks were certainly using their heads, and this, with the deadly tackling of Nelson, Bradley, Murdoch, and J. Parker dissipated tho prospective fruits 61' many of 'the English backs' . gcod intentions. The bouquet for cleverness must be awarded to the English backs, but a tribute must, be paid to Wellington's' forwards for alertness in seizing every opportunity. As in: tlioir match with' New South Wales, tho local men showed a doggethiess which was the despair of the opposing team. Tho Black forwards fully appreciate the sermon in tho maxim—no battlo is oyor lost till it is won. In those- frequent incursions which Wellington mado to tho Britisli territory, Vet-Bran Jack Spencer was frequently in- the van. Strickland, full-back for Wellington, proved himself, full of pluck. It was only on tho'previous Saturday that ho injured his head to such an extent as to require a few stitches. About Thursday prior fo tho match those were removed. During Saturday the wound was again opened : up, but lie pluckily held to his game, and prphably made as few' mistakes as any plaj;er <m the iieldi ,