ALL BLACKS.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 June 1924, Page 1

ALL BLACKS.

THE COMING SYDNEY TEST. The All Hindis of 11(21 will he severely tested before they leave for England. This week the team, with the exception of Steele. Rohillianl, Paewai. Q. Donald and Munro, will leave for Sydney to meet New South Wales in three test pi uies. New Zealand will he able to put its Lest liltee'a in the held in Sydney, and it will need the best, for the imposition will he strone indeed. Thirty-two New South Wales players are in i mini lit' for the clash with the All Plucks. They are:—Nothlin--;. Tony Foote, Crossmao. N. C. Smith, ('. Y. \\ alk'-r. Stanley. I.otidoit. Wogan. G. (. Walker; Shecmin. Atkin. Alexander: A. S. 11. Walker, George,no ; Blackwood. Kaysmith. Thompson. Frey. Davis. Windeyer: Taylor, liotitier. Hnskios, lloldsworlh. Fox. McKay, Dottg-hi-s: Thorn. Fllioit. Twohev. Greatnr-

<’>t these tiurteen visited New Zealand last year, and several others, such as Walker. Homier, nod (r.issmim, would have heen here had the;, been available.

Cm- -nian has delighted tin' Sydney crowd' lliis season, as Raymond did two years ago. h; his hrilliant siortng li’.oii the wing position. A. S. H. Wal-l-er, who wiil .-eilaiidy lie the half-hack, is also at tin- top of his form, and the New South Wales people s.iy he is the spline that mis t heir clockwork in million. Assuredly lie and Crossnian should make the hack division vastly superior ior to that which crumpled up befoiio the New Zealanders last year. Hut the obvious cause of the Australians’ ilea feats was I lie weakness of their forwards. Eight of those forwards are in training again this year, and altlmiljih we know little of the calibre i f the new men, it is safe to :is- 11 Inv that a majority of the eight will b" elmseu again. If so. they will he nut-weighted b; the New Zealand pack, which i- undonhledly belter than any one of the three clm-eii last year. One fa-tor must no! he forgotten—tin- 'trie! refereeing in New South Wales. Some of the New Zealand forwards will he taught a hard les-oii. Hid essentially the matches in Sydney will lor its in New Zealand he a la-1 uf the New Zealand hacks. Tim opposition will he si rone -perhaps as strong as any they will meet in England. Will the New Zealand hacks rise superior to ii?

THE TW KNTY-NI NT

RECORD OF IDO-3 A 1.1.-BLACKS. TV ILL IT HE BEATEN 't One side of the All Blacks English tour is approaching absurdity, lliis is the absurd faith in the team manifested hy men who have very indistinct memories of the standard of play in If(13. or who arrogantly rate the strength of the English opposition at a very low figure. The general belie! that th“ team will cc|iml or even excel t!ie remarkable record ol the men of twenty years ago is the outcome ef sheer ignoruaee, Imtli of New Zealand football a- it wits then and English football as it is to-day. More, it springs |roni a national conceit which is dhiectiniiaMe as if could he, and from a failure to realise the mo.-l emuluni) fii< t- of the Ratio tour. WITIIDFI I’RK IF DICE.

I i rr i ol sill iff Ur* -iiy. >;iy *% u mil it in “Tin* Xr\v Zealand 1 iuifs ’, with

mit entering into llie enmpa rat ive merit." nl tin- leani" ill all. I lull dy and large we lielieve the 1!'21 team In do tie.- "irnuger. We <ln tliis on several grounds. Tile I'.i'Jl team lias 'J!< players as againsl t lie IS'tl.*) team's Mere, the I'.'Jl team iiulndes ninie hut medicailv til m- n. while the li'lCi team sailed w ith Mime w III) s'nndil lmver have hit Xew Zealand, and who were ii-e----h"s Inr li e purposes nl liintlnill. Ihe li"i nl "passengers" was heavy that the hill-den lll''the lour fell up ine or ten forwards—and forwards nl a pack considered to he weak when the team left lh" Dmiiiniuii. This ran scarcely happen again. ‘ Til K I.FCK OF THF. CA.MK.

lint against this nllsel the laet that Knglish fool hall in I'd"') and l''.ngli"li In thall in l!)-l, l*y all the laws of prngl’ess, shield he two distinct thing o . Xew Zealand liughv slill'ered ti set liaek during the war: *n did Knglish 11 ugl *y. Ilui the game in Knghind has since heeli collsiderahly reililnl ied hv the mining over nl the great plldih: si-hmils from Snivel'. In-day ii should lie stronger than ever helorc, ii it t> not it will he remarkahle. .Next il must he horn in mind tin" the winter of I'd"', was an exceptional one. Our All I'laeks played fourteen matches before they si ruck a wet day. then they had two. then, in sin cession. In the whole lour there were hut a •ample of matches played in ram. though the Knglish test was set a heavy ground and the Xew Zealander" met Scotland on a held that was frozen. WIKI. IT CO.MK AG AI X ? That sort ol link might not descend upon a team again in a hundred years. To play thirty matches under lavotirahle conditions— ponder on it .' t'ndcninhly the chosen team of 1 0'J 1 will win matches. Kmlcniahly it will win them hy Mg scores. Hut he who prophesies that our twenty-nine will do anything like heating the record of their prcderi"si>r>, and does it with no greater knowledge of the opposition than we possess out here must he a Mind fool indeed.