RUGBY EOOTBALL

Hokitika Guardian, 26 May 1920, Page 1

RUGBY EOOTBALL

ENGLAND V. SCOTLAND. BRILLIANT NAVY HALVES. (By F. J. Sellicks). LONDON, March 22. England 13pts. Scotland 4 Once more the greatest game of the Jlughy season proved a law unto itself. Previous form, such as it was, went by the board, and the non-favourites, without a scrap of luck to help them, showed themselves unquestionably, the stronger and the more resourceful side. Scotland did their share of pressing, and for the first 25 minutes of the second half their forwards held the upper hand, but the English defence wfts impregnable* and the .home line was never crossed. 'The tackling was soundness itself, and longer and more accurate kicking than that of 15. S. Cumberlege, E. Hammett, and W. J . A. Davies has seldom, if ever, been seen in an international game. There was a tremendous crowd at Twickenham, and the King, Prince Albert, and Prince Henry received an enthusiastic welcome. Both teams and the referee, Mr T. D. Schofield, of Bridgend, wore presented to his Majesty, and at the kick-off there was not a, vacant seat in the huge stands, nor did there appear to. be space . for a single additional spectator in any part of the great enclosure. Each side was greeted .with loud and long-continued cheering, and the Scots seemed to have quite ns many supporters as'the home fifteen. • Very early in the game \V, J. A. Davies got in the first of a long series of splendid clearing kicks, which were' destined'to spell disaster to. the Scots. E. Hammett followed suit, and B. S. Cumberlege was no whit behind. J. H. Bruce-Locldiart replied for the visitors, but the game was only five minutes old when W. J. A. Daviesi'broke through in characteristic style. Bearing to the left and drawing the Scottish defence after him it looked for a moment as if l lie would go in on his own, but there came a quick and accurate left-foot punt to his right wing and Cl 'N. Lowe, catching the ball at full speed, was over, the Scottish line in a moment. Frantic cheering greeted this early and unexpected score, which was renewed when ,1. E. Greenwood kicked a good goal and gave England a five points lead. " E. Hammett, breaking through cleverly, gave W. W. Wakefield the chance of iris life, but the R.A.F. forward, with no one in front of him and only a few yards to go, knocked on, to the uttei astonishment of everybody, himself probably included, and the Scottish line escaped. B. .S. Cumberlege put in a fine run and kick juid then clever work by W. ,J. A. Davies and E. .Myers ended •in the former throwing a wide pass to S. W, Harris, who galloped over and finished up behind the posts. The whole movement was brilliantly conceived and executed, and England led by 10 points. The visitors were far from done with, and B. S. Cumberlege had to pull out one of his very best tackles to sweep A. T. Sloan into touch not far from England’s line. The ball came out to J. H. Bruce-Lockhart, who with great sang froid dropped a pretty goal: England were soon in the visitors’ territory, again, and S. W. Harris in a determined dash for the line appeared to many to have touched the ball down before being hurled against the touch-flag, but the referee’s opinion,'which is the only one of any importance, was against him. C. N. Lowe had a clever run and kick before, half-time, which found England leading by 10 points to 4. SCOTLAND’S . STEADY PRESSURE. A spasmodic attack by England maiked the beginning of the second half, and then Scotland settled down to long and steady pressure. Their forwards, led by C. M. Usher, who, notwithstanding a severe blow on the head, played a great game during this period, got the hall with much regularity, and if their backs had been of anything like the same class they must have won the match. But neither the Scottish stand-off half nor their centres were at all formidable, and a try seemed more likely to result from the raids of the forwards than from any orthodox attack by the outsides. C. A. Kershaw and his partner and B. S. Cumberlege did great work in defence, and the latter once tackled G. B. Crole when the Scot was looking dangerous, and so did C. N. Lowe soon

afterwards Suddenly the aspect of affairs changed. From a scrum inside their own half, the Scottish forwards got the ball and’heeled. C. A. Kershaw, using his feet cleverly, dribbled away from C. S. Nimmo, and after going a few yards picked up and shot through on his own, going absolutely straight and at a great pace. It was a most sensational try, and it settled the match. The English forwards came again, and a minute or two later C. N. Lone was all but in. li. Myers showed up well, and then S. W. Harris brought down the house with another splendid piece of defence, his great pace serving him well. England were penalised twice, and the Scottish forwards made a last despairing attack, hut there was no more scoring, and England won a magnificent match by two goals and a try to a dropped goal. Every member of the side must have done his best, and if some were more conspicuous than others, it does not follow that they were doing better or more valuable work. The forwards especially had to put in all they knew, for they were opposed by a most formidable pack, cleverer than themselves in the tight and in the line-out, and always dangerous in the loose. But the English pack stuck to them all through, and were able to hold their own sufficiently to allow their brilliant backs to win the match. J. E. Greenwood led them on in great style, and lor him the closing match of his football career was a well-earned personal triumph. "W. yy "Wakefield, F. W. Hellish, and the two Gloucester men often caught the eye, hut one and all must have worked tremendously hard.

ENGLAND’S STRONG- POINT.

The Scottish critics owned to considerable respect for C. A. Kershaw and W. J. A. Davies before the game, a sentiment which must have been considerably strengthened during the match. Both were at the very top of their form, and neither made a mistake of any consequence. C. A. Kershaw’s try was one of the most extraordinary ever scored by a scrum half in an international match, and will become a classic. As for TV. J. A. Davies, England’s mascot, he laid more to uo with winning the game than any other individual. He usually lias, though some people have been a long time finding it out. His judgment was splendid, be hardly ever did what lie was expected to do, and yet it always seemed the right thing. Both the tries in the first half came from his clover work, and his'defence was faultless. More than once he tackled two men in the same movement, an,d no finer exhibition of relief kicking has ever been seen.

The much-discussed centres came through the match with considerable distinction. They were certainly the best pair England has had this season. E. Hammett’s kicking was particularly useful. He justified the confidence of the selectors. C. N. Lowe was as useful, as ever. He got his usual try, and saw to it that G. B. Crole did not. S. W. Hi mis had a great match, and is entirely to be congratulated. Plis success gave many people much pleasure. So did the,faultless display* of B. S. Cumberlege, whose catching and kicking approached perfection, while his tack, ling was first-class.He had no small share in his side’s victory.