RUGBY AND LEAGUE TESTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1009, 27 June 1930, Page 9

RUGBY AND LEAGUE TESTS

THE suggestion that Xetv Zealand’s defeat in the first Test at Dunedin trill act as a healthy tonic may appear consoling j but actually it has flung the All Black selectors back on a “safety first” policy. Had New Zealand won the first match, it could j have afforded to experiment with some of the vounger men i Xow. it cannot afford to take any risks at all. 'Xew^Zealand must face the position philosophically. The best consolation is ! that the All Black team looks to be stronger than it was in the | flrst Jest. Provided the defence of the backs does not crumple j up. New Zealand has an excellent chance of evening up the score at Christchurch next week. Hie Xew Zealand League team leaves for Australia today and plays its first match, against Xew South Wales, at Svdnev next week.. Everyone wishes the team well, but there As an uneasy feeling in expert quarters that the side is not as strong as it might be. Much will depend on how it adapts itself to fast Australian conditions, and on the training and general fitness of 1 he pla> ers to stand up to hard games and strenuous travelling. C ode rivalry disappears when a team goes overseas wearing the Fernleaf, except perhaps among the dyed-in-the-wool fanatics on both sides, and all sportsmen will wish the Xew Zealand team success in Australia.