ALL BLACKS MAKE THEIR DEBUT.

Shannon News, 16 September 1924, Page 3

ALL BLACKS MAKE THEIR DEBUT.

GREAT WELCOME FROM 16.000. GOOD CONDITIONS—RAGGED RUGBY. NEW ZEALAND DEFEAT DEVONSHIRE 11 —0. I (Received LONDON, September 13. The All Blacks opened their tour I to-day with a match against Devon I on the Rectory ground at Devonport. j The New Zealanders had a tremendI ous reception from a crowd number- ] ing sixteen thousand, which packed j.the ground to its utmost capacity. ‘ The turf was in. an excellent state \ and all the conditions were favourable to a first class^game. No Score for Half-an-liour. Devon won the toss. The All Blacks immediately opened up the attack, but the form displayed on both sides was very ragged. This was to some extent the result of over-keennees by the players which led them into mistakes. The Devon men made a surprisingly fine stand and to the general surprise held their adversaries in the scrummages. They really made tremendous efforts against such redoubtable opponents, but in actual truth there was little finesse or method on either side. Half an hour of hard rough play passed before the first score came, during which the All Blacks were mostly in the county men’s quarters. Svenson Scores First Try. Some fine passing then put Svenson over, but it was close to the corner and Nepia failed with the kick at goal. —New Zealand 3—o. Shortly after Hanley almost potted a goal for Devon. Cooke Scores From Passing Rush. The inside New Zealand backs then got to work and a bout_cif good passing from the scrum eventually gave Cooke an opening and he went over. This time Nepia succeeded with his kick. New Zealand B—o.8 —0. Devon Shake Things Up. This reverse did not discourage the home side, but seemed to harden them up and the All Blacks were forced down twice in rapid succession. New Zealand B—o at Interval. The first spell then ended with the score unchanged. The New Zealanders had underestimated the strength of the forward opposition and after the interval they showed increasing cohesion and cleverer play. Svenson, following up his own kick, passed inward to Brown and the Taranaki representative dashed across the line. Nepia ' did not convert. New Zealand 11—0. There was no further score. Rough Play. The forwards more or less took charge of the game, and continual scrum and loose scrambles seemed to induce rough play on both sides. The passing of the New Zealanders was not up to their usual standard, although they were generally successful in gaining possession of the ball from the scrum. Plenty of Ball—-No Scores. Frequent knocks-on spoiled the New Zealanders’ movements and prevented them bringing their passing bouts to a successful issue. Good Defence Keeps Devon Chit. Devon players had their turn now ahd twice came near, to scoring, but the defence held good, and sure collaring stopped their bursts. Hie Old Rules. Frequent use of the side line by the Devon backs appreciably slowed the game down and prevented the visitors from giving a spectacular exhibition. All Blacks Over-rated, The general consensus of opinion is that the New Zealand team is considerably. over-rated! Cooke and Svenson to-day were the best of the backs and Richardson and M. Brownlie the best forwards. The New Zealanders had the advantage in weight but their play was not convincing. Colonials present were surprised at the fine showing made by Devon but regarded the All Blacks’ form as hardly an index of the future.