WEST TRANSVAAL BEATEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 386, 21 June 1928, Page 1

WEST TRANSVAAL BEATEN

NINETEEN POINTS TO EIGHT

LUCAS SHINES AMONG BACKS

MOST SPECTACULAR DISPLAY SO FAR

(United JP.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Special to Press Association.) Reed. 10.30 a.m. POTCHEFSTROOM, Wednesday. rE All Blacks, giving a brilliant exhibition of back play, beat Western Transvaal by five tries (two converted) to one converted try and a penalty goal, at Potehefstroom to-day. A record crowd for Potehefstroom, of 3,500 spectators attended the match.

The game was played on a loose dirt ground. There was a slight wind. The New Zealand team was: Lilburne Rushbrook Sheen Lucas Strang Nicholls Kilby Stewart Snow C. Brownlie M. Brownlie Alley Finlayson Hadley Hore Play opened tamely, with a series of scrums in midfield, ending in forward melees. Sheen and Lucas opened up the play,

combining prettily in some in-and-out passing, which ended in Lucas centring. A scrum followed, from which Kilby shot the ball out to Nicholls, but the movement ended in Rushbrook being pushed out at the corner. Good play by the Transvaal forwards carried play to the New Zealand twenty-five. Penetrating runs by Stewart and Rushbrook saw the latter again thrust out at the corner. SPECTACULAR TRIES The New Zealond backs were being fed from the scrums by Kilby, and they got going in spectacular lightning attacks, the whirlwind tactics of both backs and forwards leading the Transvaal men a merry dance. Twenty minutes after the start, Kilby secured the ball from a scrum, and it travelled along the line to Lucas, who beat his man, and scored a spectacular try at the corner. Strang’s kick missed by inches. New Zealand ....•=••••• 3 West Transvaal O Lilburne then thrilled the crowd by facing up, beating half a dozen men, and sending Sheen away. Sheen was collared and a scrum followed. The ball travelled out again to Sheen, who cut in and sent it to the forwards, who were racing up. Hore dived over, but Nicholls missed the kick at goal. New Zealand ..•••••• 6 West Transvaal 0 FINE COMBINATION Again, with a fine combined movement, the forwards swept down on the Transvaal line. Kilby, attempting to cut through, dropped the ball, but M. Brownlie picked it up, and scored. Strang took the kick, but missed. New Zealand 9 West Transvaal 0 One dangerous gallop by Transvaal forwards came before half-time, but Strang raced in and forced. Getting two-to-one possession from

On resuming, a scrum resulted from the kick-off. The ball went along the line to Lucas, who, with a delightful corkscrew run, covered a lot of ground, and then sent infield. M. Brownlie, Finlayson, and Stewart handled it in turn, and finally Alley side-stepped the fullback and scored under the posts, Nicholls converting. New Zealand .. .. .. ..14 West Transvaal 0 The New Zealand backs continued to throw the ball about In the open In a telling way, time after time getting within inches of scoring. Another fine movement from halfway saw Stewart join In a back movement, fend off two men, and run behind the posts. The crowd cheered the New Zealand effort, but the line umpire had has flag hoisted at halfway, and the try was disallowed. The Transvaal forwards now came with a fine rally. The All Blacks were penalised for a scrum infringement, and De Wet kicked a good goal. Again the Transvaal, with Berman and Marais in the lead, made things lively; but nothing could stop the All Blacks. In a forward counter-attack they swept downfiold and the ball went out in the twenty-five. FINEST PLAY OF DAY After this came the finest movement of the day. From a line-out, Nicholls gave Strang a pass, and he handed it to Sheen. The attack then swung the other way, M. Brownlie sending the ball to his brother. Stewart, Sheen and Lucas handled it one after the other, and enabled the last-named, with a lightning burst, to run round behind the posts. Nicholls converted. Just on the call of time the Western Transvaal backs combined in a pretty movement, which caught the New Zealand defence napping. Heese ran over at the corner and De Wet converted with an excellent kick. FINAL New Zealand 19 Western Transvaal 8