ALL BLACKS.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 September 1924, Page 4

ALL BLACKS.

11. Narrow win ox wet day. id IUSIIIAMAN AND N.Z. CAiII.II ASSOCIATION 11“ m LONDON, t.iepl. 20. in ’I lie Ail Blacks to-day played their H- third maieh against Eiiinersct at \Yesn| tn. Ihe game was only won by the s. narrow margin i.l 11 Joints to nil. Tl.e New Zealand team was iiiiiijios,n ed rf tin- Inllow illg : N'-'Jiia, Rohilh hard, Lucas. Kvenson. C coke. I’aewai, ie .Mill. Barker. Minim. Irvine, M. lirownr- lie, Harvey. Ricliar.lsoii, ( iijijdes and h White. y ITiliii tiimitely lor the visitn.s, lino 11 weather did not hold cut, and heavy rain fell, leaving j.in.ls of water about -. the ground and making the turf slushy and slip| cry. On the other hand there was no wind to interfere with the play. r The All Blacks at once oj'.cncd uji an II aUai'l;. hut a wild pass by .Mill gave o .Soniei'sct some relic!. Still the eonns tv tv. i in were for. ed down twice in the first live minutes. fsomei.sot. t In.waver, j,roved to have a well-halaiic- - ed side and they jilayed ;t winger njit posit;- Barker. ’llieir forwards set no . a resolute defence both in the s. rums i and their loose dribbling. Their wink - was most elfeitive. The New Zealand. . er.s made titanic efforts to break ; through their stubborn opponents, hut all that they succeeded in doing was i to lotve Kismcisel eight times in the : first half. The handling by the All - Blacks was ineffective, and their kicking was wild, and too long. Xenia was prominent at times by his resolute defence. when the game swayed into the Xew Zealand i|ua,rte:s. .‘•’-'eii.son retired hurt before the interval, hut resumed later on. Half time arrived with no score, and for a long v.ltile alter resuming, the countrymen, playing above themselves, held the continued All IJlai k lushes in check, notwithstanding tin- wet state of the ground, which, of ioiir.se lots a tendency to level play. The game was chock!nil of incidents', and it i.s held to he a vivid illustration of the general improvement in the play of English Rugby clubs. At hist, however, the persistency of the All Blacks was rewarded. They were determined to : score, and they kept going, with the result that Cooke got in a short kick along the ground, and following it nj> headlong, he scored in a good position. '1 he slippery hall was too much for [■ Xopia, and lie failed badly with his kick. Again the Blacks hurled themselves down the ground, and the dofencc gave way once more. Mill got possession of the hall and he flew acrossj the line, close to the posts. Again Xopia failed with ail easy hick, and so the ilia tell ended. All Blacks o Somerset n *

The game was a most gruc-lling one from beginning to end. Ina.bility to take the wet hall with certainty- robbed the visitors of their host- mode of attack, hut a failure to run straight, a want of variety in attack, and more resolute methods of stopping rushes, were largely responsible for the Xew

Zealand's failure to take full advantage of their opportunities. Cooke and Xepia were conspicuous throughout. It linn to he admitted, however, that Somerset showed form that was quite unexpected, and. on the day they were considered to he almost on a ear with T'uiglandV best side. They used the side line continuously, ami that licked to save them from a more severe defeat, 'the ’New Zealanders have nt yet reached form such as they showed in the later matches in Australia. 'I heir greatestdelect was uncertainty and the fumbling of passes. Partly, this is attiiil utable. ia> doubt, to the greasy ball. The authorities consider that the Welsh clubs are likely to give them .still harder games, and to check their unbeaten record. There was tremendous enthusiasm at the linish. the crowd bring greatly pleased at the lino defell o pul up .by the Kngiishmeu. There were Id. Gib) spectators, but the ground was totally inadequate to a commodate them, players were often thrown on to the people in c ho-e ] toxiniity to the playing area. Hue result of the comparatively small euros jut up by the All Blacks is that increasing interest is heuig taken in the tour everywhere. D.-uite minor injuries, all the team arc in smm] rendition. At a dinner following 10-day's match, air lb mm (President of the Bugby I'nion'i strongly depreciated tic ecmtinr.nl eoni-j-.arisons h, tween tin' ] r. ■ - ;:t team aid that of I:!!!-*>. He con-idried il unfair to this young team who would yot justify themselves. By invitation, visits will be made to Slieddar on Sunday. Taunton <m Tuesday and the Bristol tcba.'-co factories on Wednesday, and the 1 team will reaeli fllouK'.ster on Thursday. IM'ISPI.T Of ,MAT( iIKS. Defeat ed I )evon. II lot). Defeated Oornwoll, Hi) t<> 0. Defeated Some:set, G to 0.