IT’S UP TO THE ALL BLACKS NOW!

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1015, 4 July 1930, Page 9

IT’S UP TO THE ALL BLACKS NOW!

Why New Zealand MUST Win —Selectors have Plumped Heavily for the Old Hands —Attack the First Consideration.

AT Christchurch tomorrow, it is not so much a case of “can tiie All Blacks will?” as it is that “the AM Blaeks MUST win!” It is vitally essential that the All Blacks should win, otherwise Xew Zealand will be placet] in a position she has never before experienced—that of being unable to win a majority ol’ tests against a touring British side. Had Xew Zealand won the first Test, tie All Black selectors could have made experij ments. They could have given some of the younger players their chance, as was done in 1908. when the Old Guard romped homo with the first Test at Dunedin. But today it is different. Messrs. Ted McKenzie and Co. are quite obviously of the opinion that they cannot afford to take risks now. They leaned heavily on the ageing members of the 1924 All Blacks in Dunedin. And even after that defeat, they have brought two others of the famous band, Xicholls and Stewart, back to the fray again. An analysis of the Xew Zealand team which will play Britain tomorrow shows that experience has overwhelmed youth. Only three members of the team —Corner, Oliver, and Hart —had not represented Xew Zealand prior to this season. Of the remaining 12 veterans, six were in England in 1924, and one of them represented Maoriland as far back as 1921. Past history of Xew Zealand football shows that a dominating characteristic of Xew Zealand teams is the ability to rise to r a great occasion. They have it in common with the Austra-

lian cricketers, and they showed they still possessed it in South Africa two years ago. ’That ability will be wanted tomorrow. A further analysis of the New Zealand team leads to the conclusion that on the forwards will fall the brunt of the game. The backs are a combination of speed, cleverness, and ripe experience. They look weak on defence. The rearguard has obviously been moulded

with attack as its first consideration. The British fliers will be met at their own game, and it remains to be proved that they are as good on defence as they are on attack. If the attacking theory is to be brought to its logical conclusion, the backs must be assured of their full share of the ball. The first essential is for the All Black forwards to go out on to the field at Lancaster Park tomorrow with the fixed determination to get on top from the whistle, and never let up. To use a homely football phrase, the All

Black forwards must “get stuck into it from the word ‘go.’ " Stewart’s selection will strengthen the pack. He is the best forward in Xew Zealand .this year. Whatever his shortcomings on defence, Mark Xicholls will bring to tiie backs a sage experience and a knowledge of positional play which has proved its worth before today. Had the second Test team not been selected so soon after the first match in Dunedin, Strang might have been behind the New Zealand pack tomorrow. But Corner has been given tbo job. It is his big chance to make good. All Auckland wishes him well. After the match in Dunedin, the All Blacks should be in better shape tomorrow. Dunedin was Britain’s high tide. Already injuries are starting to take their toll, as they inevitably must in any touring team. The British have developed into a magnificent combination, bettor indeed than anyone could have thought. Before they loft England, many of the English critics in the Homeland were most lukewarm about their prospects in the Antipodes. F. .T. Sellicks and other wellknown writers said they were anything but Britain’s best. Be that as it may, we can only go by results. They speak for themselves. On top <>f that is the remarkable tribute of Mr. W. J. Stead, the vice-captain of the 1905 All Blacks, who says they are the finest side that has been in Now Zealand for 30 years. High praise that! Higher still, when we remember that Stead captained New Zealand against Bedell-Sievwriglit’s and Harding’s British teams, and was also in close touch with the Springbok tour. Cliff Porter and his men have no easy task ahead of them at Lancaster Park tomorrow. They are meeting a great team at the top of its form. Porter, who ranks with the late Dave Gallalier as an inspiring leader and a white man, will need to get every ounce out of his men.