N.S.W. RUGBY TOUR OPENED.

Shannon News, 25 August 1925, Page 3

N.S.W. RUGBY TOUR OPENED.

COMBINATION DEFEATED AT PALMERSTON. NOTES ON THE PLAY.

By defeating a strong combined team on Saturday by iiO points to 8. New South Wales opened their tour I in an auspicious manner at Palmerston before a crowd of about 6000 specJ tator§.' j Tlie visitors owe their victory chiefly to a clever and speedy set of backs who were quick to seize any opportunity that came their way. Reid in particular demonstrated that' he is a. three-quarter of the highest order and penetrated the de fence on numerous occasions in brilliant fashion. He was easily the best back on the ground. Law ton also played a very hue j game botli on attack and defence and I in addition converted all the four I tries scored by the Blues.

In fact, had the combined team had I a reliable place kicker among their ranks the scores would have been I much closer. Thorn and Blackwood were the outstanding forwards on the visitors', side, while Jacob, Porter, Sly and McLean, were the pick of the home lor wards. New South Wales carried, most of the scrums; and packing quickly with .their 3—2—3 formation they usually left one of our hookers in mid-air. Snell, the tourists' half-back, fed his hacks in a workmanlike manner, but nevertheless, he should have been penalised moire frequently for picking out' of the scrums. Brophy, until he was compelled to retire with an injury to the leg, was playing a spectacular game and was very conspicuous on defence. In the first spell the combined hack

line did not work at all smoothly, Johnston, the Wellington five-eighth, being the cause of the trouble. This player on receiving the ball would invariably kick, with the result that his outside men were starved. In the second spell he sent the ball on to Wilson and a big improvement was instantly frioticeable, although Brophy was missed. \ Wilson, our local centre three-quar- I ter, had his first try-out in big foot-.!

ball, and fully justified the confidence placed ia him. He took his passes well and sent on at the right moment after running his wings nicely into position. "Hickey with several brilliant runs, roused the crowd to their toes. This player has an effective sidestep that makes him a very elusive man to tackle, and should have been given more of the ball but the movements of the combined team all seemed to swing the other way. He kept Crossman very, quiet. Jacob played a very solid game and with MoLean, was very useful on the line-outs, lie certainly showed his mates how to tackle and at one stage was the only combined player to put his man down properly. Incidentally, he must have left his kick trig boot home in Levin. Moynihan and Tuna, although not so prominent as usual, got through a lot of work, in the tight stuff, but like the. rest of our pack, could not maintain the pane set by their opponents. The opening try of the match resulted from heady play by Jacob. Gaining possession in the loose, he v galloped down Hie right wing and after drawing the defence well pass-

ed nicely infield to give Brophy a clear run over. Jacob landed a great goal. Almost immediately after Moynihan initiated a great rush that raised the crowd to enthusiasm. Sending out from the ruck he let Brophy away and the ball passed through the hands of Johnston, Wilson to Hickey, who sidestepped his way down the left wing and when, blocked he passed infield to Porterj who sent on to Johnston who was just hauled down on the line. The Blue forwards retaliated with a great loose rush, but Walters picking up smartly dummied his way through and sent Hickey away on another rare dash. - Porter, showing fine judgment, was ready for the reverse pass and was decided unlucky in not getting over. The visiting pack were breaking away quickly and their loose rushes were good to" watch. From a five yards' scrum Snell passed to Law ton, who quickly whipped the leather out to Reid, who cut through the defence in characteristic fashion to score a pretty try. Porter and T. Smith were called aside and cautioned for fighting in the ruck at this stage. The visiting backs continued to keep the game open and fast in the second spell and twice in quick succession Reid sent Morrisey over with a man to spare. Walters was in an unhappy position, for Reid constantly shot through the defence like lightning and the Wellington full back was called upon to face about three opponents on each occasion. The Green forwards tired badly from now on and it was left to their backs to make a dying effort. Porter, playing as an extra five-eighth, started a rush by sending well out to Law, who had replaced Brophy. H. Wilson was the next to handle and cutting in nicely between Morissey and Smith, this player sent Bailey streaking over for a spectacular try. Reid, Bailey and H. Wilson were again prominent shortly afterwards some in and out passing just finishing as Reid was tackled on line. Summed up, New South Wales owe their victory to their speed in the loose, their forwards showing rare dash and backed up by a backline of quick resourceful insidemen. Morrisey gave a great exhibition of line-kicking usually gaining 50 or 60 yards from each attempt. On the other hand the Combined Team's line kicking, more often than not, lacked judgment and did nothing more than give the forwards a lot of useless running to do. It was quite evident that the Com bined Team should have had a few days together before the match for there were moments when a little

combination would have meant a soore. Full details of the play appear on I page 4.