NEW ZEALAND DEFEATS ENGLAND.

Shannon News, 6 January 1925, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND DEFEATS ENGLAND.

CYRIL BROWNLIE ORDERED OFF. j REMARKABLE VICTORY AGAINST ODDS. LONDON, Jan. B. In anticipation of the long-expocted meeting between the All Blacks and England’s international representatives, there were unprecedented scenes at the Twickenham ground. Queues were formed early m the morning and thousands were alreadv waiting for admission when the &ires were opened at 11 o’clack, while an hour before the start every inch of unreserved space was occupied. Notwithstanding gloomy prophecies ry English experts as to the result,, the crowd was heartened by England s magnificent response at Melbourne to the Australian record test cricket score which, it was hoped, might be an omen of equally good fortune in the football arena, and the spectators were in extraordinarily high spirits. The conditions for the match were very much better than anticipated. The day was dull, but the rain held off, and the ground, sodden by previous rain, dried rapidly, though it was still on the heavy side. Both teams received a rousing welcome, and cheers were renewed in tremendous volume when , the Prince of Wales appeared, accompanied by Prince George. The Prime Minister (Mr Stanley'Baldwin) was also present and officially received the two teams on the ground.

They lined out as under: — NEW ZEALAND. (All Black.) Full-back, G. Nepia. Three-quarters: J. Steel, A. E. Cooke, K. S. Svenson. Five-eighths, M. F. Nicholls, N. P. McGregor. . Half-back: J. Mill. Wing-forward: J. H. Parker. Forwards, W. R. Irvine, Q. Donald, R. R. Masters, C. Brownlie, M. Brownlie, A. White, and J. Richardson (captain). ENGLAND. (All White.) Full-back, J. Brough. Three-quarters, R. H. HamiltonWickes, V. G. Davies, L. J. Corbett, J. C. Gibb 3. Half-backs, H. J. Kittermaster and A. T. Young.

, Forwards, A. F. Blakiston, G. S. Conway, R. Edwards. R. J. Hillard, A. T. Voyce, R. Cove-Smith, J. S. Tucker, ,and W. W. Wakefield (captain) (Voyce replaced, H. L. Price.) Referee. —Mr A. E. Freethey (Neath, Wales). England Against the Wind. There was a record attendance of 50,000, when England, having lost the toss, kicked off against a fresh breeze, which blew diagonally across the ground. The kick went out of touch, and England, following up with a rush, Young all but got across. Cooke relieved the pressure with a magnificent kick that landed over the side line, far up the ground. Glorious Chance Goes Begging. The Englishmen were, however, playing with extraordinary dash, and shifted the game to mid-field. There Davies broke through with a brilliant spurt and ran right to the New Zealand full-back, accompanied by two unmarked colleagues. It was a golden chance, but, unfortunately for England, it was bungled, and Nepia saved the situation.

All Blacks Temporarily Eclipsed. At this stage, the Home side were playing like men Inspired. Their backs passed brilliantly, and the forwards dribbled and heeled out magnificently. The All Blacks for a time were quite outplayed, and only the magnificent defence (Cooke particularly was a tower of strength) kept their opponents out. Gibbs, a home three-quarter, twice completely outpaced Steel and was only pulled down just on the line. “Rough-House” Commences. A desperate fight raged among the forwards, England striving with might and main to break through, and New Zealand as strenuously defending. Unfortunately the vigour occasionally degenerated into heat, and following one warm encounter, Cyril Brownlie was ordered off. This was only seven minutes after the start, and consequently New Zealand had to play the most important match of the whole tour with only fourteen men to fifteen-—a very serious handicap indeed against an international side. England Scores First.

Parker went into the pack to replace Brownlie, and this, of course, had an unsettling effect on his colleagues, and probably not a little to do with the fact that soon after England was able to draw first blood. The home forwards kept up a vigorous attack, wheeled the scrum in mid-field, atnd then charged down in a body, with the ball at toe. They went clean across the line, and Cove-Smith raced Nepia for the ball, the British skipper on the South African tour winning. This score came after twenty minutes of the most exciting and at times sensational football, and evoked a perfect frenzy of cheering from the enth (siastic onlookers. Brough, England’s full-back, failed to improve the score. England St New Zealand .... 0 Svenson to Rescue Again.

Spurred by this reverse, the All Blacks brightened up, and forced the Englishmen back and back, till they were pinned in their own territory. Then their formidable passing machine set to work. Richardson started it and the ball going successively through the hands of M. Brownlie, Mill,. Nlcholls, McGregor, and Cooke, the last-named handed it to Svenson, who crossed the line well out. Nepia made a splendid attempt at goal, but failed to find the bar. England 3 New Zealand .... 3 A Typical Steel Try New Zealand continuing to attack, there was some loose play from which Mill whipped up the ball on the blind side to Steel. By main strength,

using his well-known fending power, the West Coaster bumped across at the corner. The crowd in the vicinity yelled loudly that he had been pushed into touch, but the referee ruled otherwise and awarded a try. Nicholls made a magnificent kick, but it was not successful.

New Zealand .... 0 England 8 Very soon after this England were penalised for off-side play in front of their own goal, which gave Nichoils an opportunity to add a fine goal, making the score — New Zealand " England • • 8 All Whites Penalised Nine Times. The New Zealanders had shown a wonderful recovery of form, notwithstanding the loss of C. Brownlie. The English forwards were over-vigorous, or over-anxious, and were penalised nine limes in the first half, but there was no further Score in the spell: New Zealand ' ® England . 8 . SECOND HALF 8 ALL. On resuming, England found material help from the breeze, which waS' now in their favour, .but it made little difference to their opponents, who kept up the pressure for a long time ahd maintained the ascendancy. After a long spell of give and take play near England’s line, which no exertion on their part could clear, M. Brownlie forced his way over at the corner and this time Nicholls converted the try. with what is considered the best goal of the tour. New Zealand .... 14 England 8 Svenson Adds tlo his Prestige. For a time England seemed to have lost their dash and were out of the picture. The ball was rarely away from their territory, and in no great time White swung a long pass to Svenson. The Wellington crack took it unfalteringly and dived across, at the corner. Nicholls failed to .reprove the score. New Zealand .... 17 England ........ 3 * Gibbs Outpaces Them All.

Play went on at a tremendous pace and McGregor just missed getting across, after a dodgy run in his well-known style. Cooke, on the eve of scoring lost a great chance by accidentally knocking the ball on. Gibbs, who was the fastest man on the field, here came into the limelight again. Twice he electrified the crowd by wonderful running and short punting, but he was beaten by the bounce of the ball.

England Rises to the Occasion. The fluctuating fortunes of a magnificent game kept the crowd on tenterhooks of expectation. Undeterred by the heavy score against them, the Englishmen seemed to get their second wind, and made a great, but not complete recovery. Spurred on by a continuous roar of cheering, they started an overwhelming rush which ended dangerously near the New Zealand line. A scrum took place, and several All Blacks, being palpably*offside, a penalty was given against them, from which Corbett (centre three-quarter) dropped a very fine goal. New Zealand .... England ti ® Nepia’s Gallant Defence. England kept up their onslaught, and Nepia was frequently called on to defend. Kicking with superb judgment and length, he staved off a number of dangerous situations. Just on time, however, England’s plucky play was rewarded by a further score. Hamilton-Wickes secured the ball from a patch of loose play, and after a sensational run reached Nepia, with Kittermaster, fly-half, in attendance. The latter took the pass safely and scored under the posts amid the wildest excitement. Conway had no difficulty in converting. New Zealand .... 17 England 11

The whistle went soon after; 1 with England still making strenuous endeavours to run up scores. It was a fitting conclusion to a game which will go down as. one of the most memorable in Rugby history. In the New Zealand Picture. There was no doubt the All Blacks’ forwards were materially affected by C. Brownlie’s departure, but they rose to the occasion in truly magnificent fashion and gave probably their finest exposition of the tour against the most formidable opponents they have had to meet. Richardson (captain), White, and M. Brownlie were always conspicuous. The backs were shaky at the beginning, but when they got into their Stride, they thrived the spectaors by brilliant handling and running. Cooke, except for two mistakes, played a masterly game both in attack and defence, combining with Nicholls in a dazzling fashion. The latter was brilliant in initiating passing movements, besides exhibiting wonderful accuracy in finding touch throughout. Svenson, who scored two of the four tries, was consistently good. Nepia gave practically a faultless exhibition, and was specially applauded by the crowd in acknowledgment of his wonderful record in playing in every match of the tour. Mill, at half-back, was both skilful and sound.

England’s Tactical Error. The tackling on both sides was deadly. English backs committed the fatal mistake in the closing stages, which has been so often commented on in other matches, of kicking into touch far too often, and thus wasting valuable time with a long score against. Both sides lasted out a 1 most strenuous game wonderfully well. Richardson informed the Press Association that it was the fastest game of the whole tom*. v