ARRIVAL IN LONDON. A CHAT WITH THE TEAM.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 315, 10 November 1888, Page 3

ARRIVAL IN LONDON. A CHAT WITH THE TEAM.

Loxdox, September 28. The Cuzco.wibh the New Zealand Football team on board, 'was nob expected at Ptyraouth till to-day, but the old boat, favoured with fair weather, made an exceptionally fast passage, and turned up afc^jj Plymouth on Wednesday morning. 1 had intended boarding the vessel ai'Gravesend, and interviewing lVarbrick and Company on the way up to the Docks, but the early hour at which the Cuzco was due^there made this impossible, so I resolved bo wait and run them to ground at home at Richmond in the afternoon. The Greyhound Hotel, Richmond, which Mr Scotb has A selected£as suitable quarters for the team^during their stay in London, is a comfortable, middle - class hotel of sporting tendencies, conveniently adjacent bo the river and the grounds of the Surrey Football Club. I found the New Zealanders, though they had not been there very many hourd, settled down quite sedately, in fact, a quieter, better- bred party of juvenile giants I never met Moet young fellows landing after a long voyage grow hilarious", not to say rowdy, but these model footballers were as sober and matter-of-fact as if setting foot in the " ould country " for the first-time were an every-day occurence. Joe Warbrick himself seemed a trifle surprised at the tranquil staidness of his European and half-caste brethren (Maoris, as you know, are habitually phlegmatic), but attributed it to the fact that they were all voraciously hungry, having eaten nothing since early morning. After dinner the youngsters will probably cheer up. The effect of the voyage has, of course, been to make the team all round a trifle " Boft." Several complained of a feeling of stiffness about the legs. A few hours' practice and a spell or two on the river should, however, work wonders. The Surrey Club have placed boats at the disposal of the New Zealanders, and there is also a tan track, which will be of considerable use to them when getting " lit "

The first, match is fixed for Wednesday next, October 3rd, which is rather earlier than Warbrick wished. He has not, however, asked for a postponement. The Surrey Football Club will be the team's opponents. Whilst I was thore one of the biggest and heaviest men 1 ever saw came to pay his respects to Warbrick. The Now Zealanders are not proe'isoly mannikins, but beside this brobdingnagian their best man looked small. Mr Arnold, I beliovo his name is, was an old friend of "Warbrick's, and much interested in the success of the colonials. He told us that meeting one of Iho Surroy footballers the previous day ho had taken a "rise" out of him by introduc ing himself as " Warbrick, captain of the Maori footballers.'" Naturally, tho Surrey mau surveyed this second edition of Goliath before him with dismay. " Are there, %) he asked, tentatively, "many men as big as you in the team ?" " I bolicve." responded Arnold, solemnly, " there are two smaller fellows amongst us ; yes, certainly two !" At which the Surrej' sport collapsed totally. Mr Seatt has not fixed up tho details of the tour yet, but I fancy tho team's second match will bo at Northampton. As Mr Warbrick very kindly asked me to stay to dinner, I did so in Uio hopo of getting to know individual members better. One ot the pleasantest youngsters is undoubtedly McCaus'lund, who will make plenty of friends wheiever the ternn goe<. The Warbricks are undoubtedly thorough men of the (N.?.. ) world ;' but where all are such good fellows 1 havo no busine.^s to be invidious and particularise. Dinner parsed oft" vory quietly. We were all too hungry to talk much. Aftciwardf-, however, when the paity broke up into groups our visitois seemed to be beginning lo enjoy theipsehes. Several strolled out to inspect "tho lassies of ' Richmond Hill," and this quest was not in \ain, for we presently mot two ot the team returning in a great state of excitement to announce that one of the Maoris had attracted the attention and secured thecompany of ' 'an astonishingly fine woman." The voyage home seems to have been calm and uneventful to a degree. '• You could," said Warbrick, " have rowed an outrigger all the way." The Bay of Biscay belied its reputation, and the Red Sea did not strike them as specially hot. The team are all in excellent health save (of course) Joe Warbrick, whose broken leg will not permit of his playing till December, and another young fellow who still sufler.s somewhat fiom' the effects of an illness caught in Melbourne.