WITH THE "ALL-BLACKS," 1907-8.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 66

WITH THE "ALL-BLACKS," 1907-8.

I Br A. H. Baskervill*.

THE MATCH AT SWINTON.. NEW ZEALANDERS SHINE IN THE ■ MUD. fixe Daily Despatch, of December 5, says concerning thie match : — While the -"All Blacks" are thoroughly enjoying., their tour "in this country^ " and appreciate .the' English, people, and. their hospitality, they will sail ,for home ;w^th_ a 'very poor opinion; of the climate. ' Certainly j in this respect -they have " been treated very i badly. They started well enough, -but of late they. have, had a few trying experiences^ j ? v-At Oldham ' it rained, hailed, ''and' snowed all through T the isecorid half, at Runcorn' it simply teemed-- down, -'and yesterday so j heavy .was the storm at Swinton that the very unusual spectacle was seen/of a. Rugbymatch 'having . to. .be stopped for a short time .owing to. the severity .of the elements. It was a mixture of he.il and rain, and the men ran off the field trying, to cover. their -faces and heads from 'the* pitiless; stinging downpour. • The ground was heavy enough to start with, but before the game was over it was a veritable mud" pi&teh. The New Zealanders, however, seemed to enjoy it. They went a rare pace from start to finish, and, - what is more, finished up, much fresher and stronger than their opponents, who were very tired eA the end. There was no question of any lack of training in yesterday's match, for the 'colonial* were the fitter of the two. The victory, too, 1 was all" the more creditable because the" winners were without the two Wynyards, Todd, Wright, and Byrne. , Seldom have I seen the,- " An Blacks forwards to more advantage. packed "fetter and got possession from the sorura--mage twice out of every, three times, while in * jhe loose there was no comparison between the two set*. The New Zealanders "used- ." thjeir~ . feet t we 11 ,,-, And „ their strong rushes were 'one' of the- features of the match. ' > , ' M » ~lfc w*s noi a day. for. accurate back work,but still -■flilT*, winning^ backs handled tHe 1 hall well,-"'* 'and -Wrigley/^ "Messenger, and Itowe were often prominent'wita'mdividualdashes for the Kelly -played ,d r much' better. garoe~ the. JerJummage,. butf -possibly he was .not co much. hampered < by - instructrons.-' r \He dropped -the -iilly kicking" which was tiuch a faaiuxe at . Jluricorn, and. gave chances,; to -his -backs, while he made" 'one or two ,fine dribbles. '. . ' ' At 'full /back Turtill was. as safe as ever, even' if .r. r his kicking was, 'not -'&o - usual, "and Smith did several" clever things, Wt the best' three-quarter on. the field. was^ Messenger. • In. addition, to his general" smart play he was in, bis best place-kicking 'faumonr. -Ec- had five" chances— one in -front 'of "the goal and -the -other four^from thejeegion of .the 1 touch-line. Yet he' was .successful ""on, four', occasions, three of the kicks" being, really brilliant ones. • i • Shinto -i.'- was really beaten by a bigger »;&rgin that, the 'score would seem to suggest; and,, with the exception 'of about . 10 minutes while- the "Air Blacks" were • facing the storm, they were outclassed* -Certainly, for a portion .of .the second half "the Swinton ' forwards were seen to more advantage, and showed what they could do, but' they were overweighted. For another thing, Swinton have ' never shown, any liking for heavy going. Beaten forward, and not too well served at half, the Swinton - backs were not Riven chances. Valentine and Wallwork Dlayed well, and the lotmer wa» «trong in defence. The redeeming .feature of the side was lowdbc. 4vno *as seen to great advantage »t fv 1 * ■ oa"k. - He fielded the ball well, was ■susciivate :n: n his * catching, and strong in kicKing,' while' he often extricated himself cleverly from " difficult ' situations. The' -miserable weather -spoiled the- gate, but' 'still* there were about 5000 present, and the receipts were over* £200. ' - ,„ It looked as -if Swinton would be the jfirst to score,' for when Kelly .waß off-side Wallwork had a chance" "from a fairly' easy position, . but ' he was wide? with his' kick. After that the"*" All Blacks" had .much the tetter of. the- play.- Turtill was once neariv through, being pushed into touch: Johnston was " responsible' for- * fine dribble ; . and Messenger was all"" but over when he was pulled down.- Five minutes, however, had barely gone by when from & penalty. Messenger kicked a delightful goaJl. • Keeping up the attack, first Wrigley and then Messenger made fine dashes, but both did not quite succeed.' Rowe, however, was more successful, and .the' Australian concerted. He was limping, however, a good deal, and was off the field for a time, j Pearce coming out of the scrummage and r taking his place. Messenger signalised Jus 1 return by kicking another, fine goal, while just )>efore the interval he marked and landed ' another, _ but f he goal -was disal; lowed for off-side; Swinton started the second half 9 points ifl arrears, and for a. time 'they fairly bustled the colonials. Several times they were nearly over, and Wallwork eventually dropped a goal. After the however. for 1 the storm previously referred to, the "All Blacks" took up the running again, and Messenger kicked another goal. The closing stages saw "the "All Blacks" completely masters of the situation, and rfc was remaiikable they did not score several times. -Once I thought they should have been given a try for obstruction; Btit "it was difficult to see what really happened in the gloom. The result was a victory for the Blacks" b'v 11" points to 2, and it was one -that was. thoroughly earned by a superior team. NEW ZEALAND v. LANCASHIRE. LONDON, January 18. Lancashire scored a goal and six tries and New Zealand two goals. There was a small attendance. The passing of the Lancashire outsides largely accounted for the soar*.