ALL BLACK LINE STILL UNCROSSED

Shannon News, 23 September 1924, Page 3

ALL BLACK LINE STILL UNCROSSED

SOMERSET BEATEN BY. SIX TO NIL. GREAT DEFENCE BY ENGLISHMEN. NO SCORE IN FIRST SPELL. LONDON/ Sept 20. The All Blacks',third match, against Somerset at Weston-Super-Mare was only won by the narrow margin of 6 points to nil. A great defence was put up by the Englishmen'. There were 12,000 spectators, but the ground was totally Inadequate to accommodate them, and the players were often thrown on to the people in close proximity to the playing area. One result of the comparatively small scores put up by the All Blacks is that increasing interest is being taken in the tour everywhere. Despite minor injuries, the whole of the New Zealand team is now in sound condition. , Wearers of the Silver Pern. Full-back, G. Neph~; three-quarterß, A. C. C. Robilliard, F. W. Lucas, S. K. Svenson; live-eighths, A. E. Cooke (2), L. Paewai (1); half, J. Mill; winger, J. H. Parker; back-row, L. F. Cupples, A. White; supports, M. Brownlie, J. Richardson (Captain); lock, I. H. Harvey; hookers, H. G. Munro, W. R. Irvine. Ground Conditions Tricky.

Unfortunately for t/he visitors, the fine weather did not hold, and heavy rain fell, leaving pools of water about the ground, and making the turf slushy and slippery. On the other there was no wind to interfere witlh the play. TheVA.ll Blacks at once opened up the attack, but a wild pass, by Mill gave Somerset relief. Still the county forced down twice in the first five minutes. Somerset proved to have a well-balanced side, and placed . a winger opposite Parker. Their forwards set up a resolute defence. Both in the scrums and the loose dribbling their work was mcst effective. Eight Forces—But no New Zealand ( Score. The New Zealanders made titanic \ efforts to break through their stub- , born opponents' defence, but all they succeeded in doing to was make Someset force eight times in the first, half. The. handling by the Black backs was ineffective, and their kick-- ■ ing was wild and too long. Nepia was prominent ail times by his resolute de- ' fence, when the game swayed into New Zealand quarters. Svenson rer tired-hurt before the interval, but resumed later on before . half time, , which arrived with no score. New Zealand ........ 0 . Somerset .......... 0 Fight to a Finish. For "a long time afetr resuming, the county men, playing above themselves,, held continued All Black rushes in check, notwithstanding the wet state. of the ground, which, .of course, had a tendency to level up/the play. The game was chock-fiill of incident and is hold to be a vivid illustration \ of the general improvement in tfhe play of English Rugby clubs. Cooke Gets:to Work. ' At last, however, the persistency of the Air Blacks was rewarded, v They were determined to score, and , kept going, with the result that Cooke got in a short kick along the ground, and following it up headlong-, he scored

in a good position. The slippery ball was too much.for Ncpia, and he failed badly with the kick. New Zealand . ........... 3 Somerset l'i.'. 0 aiill Flies Across. Again *he All Blacks hurled themselves down the field, and the defence gave Once more. Mill got possession and flew across the line close to the posts, but for the second time Nepia failed with an easy kick, and the match ended— New Zealand .......... 6 Somerset ' 0 New Zealand Backs Fail. The game was a most gruelling one from beginning to end. ; The inability to take the wet ball with certainty robbed the victors of their best mode of \ attack, but their failure .to run straight, want of variety in attack, and more resolute methods 'of stopping rushes were largely responsible for the New Zealanders' failure to take full advantage of their opportunities. Cooke and Nepia were conspicuous throughout "This Somerset of Ours." It has to be admitted, however, that Somerset showed quite unexpected form. On the day, they were considered to be almost on a par with England's best side. They used the touch line continuously, and that helped to save them from a more severe defeat. ~.. >.,*.■ ',.. There was tremendous . enthusiasm at the finish of the match, the crowd being greatly pleased at the fine defence put up by the Englishmen. Comparison with New South Wales Form. The New Zealanders have not yet reached the form they showed' in their later matches in Australia. Their greatest defect was uncertainty and fumbling of passes, partly attributable no doubt to the greasy ball. Harder Games in Wales.

Football authorities consider. Welsh clubs are likely to give the All Blacks'still harder games and check their unbeaten record. 1005 Form Must be Ignored. At the dinner following the match Mr WV S. Bonne, president of the Somerset Rugby Union, strongly deprecated, the continual comparisons between the, present New Zealand team and that of 1905. He considered it unfair to this young 1924 team, which would yet justify itself. By invitation,, visits will be made to Cheddar on Sunday, Taunton on Tuesday, tflie Bristol tobacco factories on Wednesday, and the team will reach Gloucester on Thursday. Down In Somerset. THE ALL BLACKS, SPRINGBOKS AND WAUJABIES. The 1905 All Blacks defeated Somerset by, 23 points to nil. H. J. Mynott (2), C. E. Seeling (2) and W. J. •Wallace were the try getters. Wal- . lace potted a goal and converted two of the tries. ' ' Somerset's record against the other Colonial teams that toured the United Kingdom were: — 1906: —v. South Africa, lost o—l 4. 1908:—v. Australia, lost o—B. 1912: —v. South Africa (first match of tour) lost 3 —24. Somerset v. Devon. As the All Blacks have had two such ding-dong goes against the above South-Western counties in their first trio of matches; it may be as well to

.consider their meeting in the 19231924 English County . championship Somerset-and Gloucestershire both defeated Devon, and Somerset went through the south-western division undefeated. As the All Blacks have met Somerset and are meeti'ag Gloucestershire oh Thursday; the following notes about last season's Devon-Som-erset game may be read with interest: Defeating Devon at Wellington by a goal and two tries to a penalty goal and a try, Somerset obtained. its third victory in fhe South-Western Division of the county championship,' and, in so doing, earned the right, as representatives of that group, to meet Kent in the semi-final round of the competition. Somerset owed its success against Devon mainly to their forwards, who, on a field in bad condition at the start a"nd reduced to a deplorable state as the game progressed, scrummaged skilfully, and accomplished some great work in the loose. They had to fight very hard for victory. Quick promptly equalised a try Polybank had obtained'tor Devon, and Gaisford converted a try which' crowned a splendid run by W. J. Gibbs a penalty goal for Devon. With a lead of only two points, Somerset, although pressing hard on change of ends, had to o-est content until shoruy before the finish, when Vowles crossed the Devon line and Somerset won 11—6.

Somerset Not County Champions Last .. Year..

The fact that Somerset, after defeating Devon 11—6 and Gloucestershire 9—3, both in home territory, was subsequently beaten decisively by Kent-—the score was 23 points to nil — suggests that, unless there has been a big change in the strength of the counties, the All Blacks have harder matches outside the south-western counties. Kent, after defeating Somerset, met Cumberland in the final of the county championship. Cumberland won by 14 points to 3. The All Blacks meet Cumberland on October 25th.—-their last game before the first test, v. Ireland on November Ist.

Somerset Win In 1922-1923. Somerset won the English County Championship two seasons ago. The following was their record that BritISO. SCO. SO 1 *!" ——- SOUTH-WESTERN DIVISION. (Qualifying ■Rou'ad.) V, Devon won 14 —0. V. Cornwall won 24—7. V. Gloucestershire won 10—8. SOUTH OF ENGLAND. (Semi-Final.) V. Kent, won 12—5. ALL ENGLAND. (Final.) V. Leicestershire, won B—6.8 —6. First Britisher To Cross liine. It was the seventh match of the All Blacks of 1905 before any British player scored a try, P. Clarkson right wing-threequarter, getting across in the Durham match in which N.Z. led 6—3 only at half-time. (The final score was 16—3). The "Athletic News" waxed facetious over the great event:—"There is o*ae crumb of comfort for the Nocrth of England teams which have met the All Blacks, A Durham man, one Clarkson to wit — crossed the New Zealander's line for the first time, and there is already talk of putting up a tablet in Durham Cathedral to his honour." As the 1924 All Blacks have scored their third successive bloodless victory tio doubt there will be an agitation for decoration of the first home counties' try-getter with that mos«, convenient honour the "order of the British Empire."