FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 57, 29 August 1911, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

> TARANAKI'S BIG WIN. j WELLINGTON'S HI-CORD SURPRISE. I (Daily News Special.) "I will lie very surprised and disappointed if yon don't win by a margin of ten or twelve points," said Dr. A. K. Newman, one of the luminaries of the Wellington football world, to a Wellington player just before lie took the field on Saturday. He. like most of Wellington's supporters, had taken as a guide the results of the games played by Taranaki against the Wellington Country team and the Maori team and Wellington's showing against the same fifteens. How unreliable the results were as an indication of the merits of the Taranaki and Wellington teams is now a matter of history. Wellington "walked all over" the Maoris towards the finish of the mutch, is trim, but the Maori team they met was a vastly different one to that which made such a good showing against the men from Butter-land. Taranaki, without its crack backs—Stohr, Cameron and Mynott—would probably have fared as badly against Wellington as the Maoris did, and this is what happened to the Maoris before they reached Uie Empire City—they had lost their three best backs. Taranaki's supporters were quietly confident. They knew that everything was in favor of their men —the ground was dry and fast, and every member of the team in good fettle and great heart. Probably no Tarnnaki team with the exception, perhaps, of the team that upended the Britishers—was in a fitter condition, and it is certain no team that has represented Taranaki contained no many youthful members. The game was reallv won before the ball was kicked oil. ' • "THE REASON WHY."

"The mason why \vi' Won (liis ;ift.frnoon." said Mr. Jus. McLcod. the. manager of the team,, at the dinner after the game, "was that every man was well trained. He knew he was going on a hard tour, and therefore trained in anticipation. And he has looked after himself during the week he has heen away." There was another factor he could have mentioned, and that was the good generalship of Mvnott, whose skilful handling of his team, especially in the face of his opponents' attacking manoeuvres —which, with perhaps two or three exceptions, he turned into a counter stroke —will long he rememhered by spectators. . '. :' .

;STOHR.;S DISPLAY OF KICKING was a revelation. Before his first essay ! the barrackers laughed. The plaice "Wasnot far from the out-of-bounee line, near half-way. "He hasn't a hope!" was heard on all hut the-ball sailed truly, and first blood was drawn, to be succeeded by an equally good kick a few. minutes later." Before the day'was out he added three more goals. .He had/ight shots in all, and live goals is a wonderfully-good average. The 'other three were splendid kicks. One, indeed, was considered to.be the longest seen in Wellington. The free kick was secured on the half-way- line, and Stohr took it back about t-gn yards... The ball sailed beautifully, hut landed just "under the bar. He fully deserved the great applause that greeted his effort. • Another was diverted from its course bya. sudden gust of wind. Tin? other shot was a yard or- two wide,; It.wits a wonderful performance. -., . _ .- r 'VERY .ATTRACTIVE:.GAME. - From the Taranaki point of view the game was very attractive-Xhrce of the four tries were the outcome of pretty concerted..work (jn. the.part of the respective backs. The Taranaki rAirgnard ■were at their best, and should have, got ill at least three more tries, but when victory was assured they appeared to act carelessly, and failed *to add the tinishiiig stroke.' to thViv' ev.lii'l ion-. .\Vel-' lii)L,'lon were seldom dangerous. They.

pjaf.i'd, w'thout 'V.i'v'l,'! up!?;;' i.He old black 'brigade wiiii weii; "iii-wt vanquished till tin* no-side whistle sounded. Asked as to tlic reason of their comparatively poor showing, a prominent, union" 'ofTieial replied,: "Our men wore hopelessly outclassed in every department of the game. We.were ojit-gen-enilled and ont-play.ed by .11 . superior combination. \\ c had (he strongest, team we eould muster, We, missed j.{q)icrtsi but. his inclusion eouhf hot have materially :;!tered the . result." .."'' A SPLKN'DID I'ACIv..-••

T]ie work of the Taranaki Tor-wards' \Vji,s surprising. As they walked cm to the, field they looked.a muchlbigger set than their opponents. TheiV colofed'jer-) sevs as against the sombre dwarfing black; of the Wellington tetwn ~..*Bnld' ma he them appear heavier, bnt'■though

the weights were not given it'would not lie incorrect to say that the Yellows were. | tin; best part of a stone heavier all round in the forwards. In the first ! scrum Taranaki got the dmll cleanly, but ' in the next pack .Wellington, were vie- I toriotis. During the' remainder of the game Taranaki almost invariably got possession. This was particularly noticeable when Taranaki were in their own twenty-five. Time after time, when on the defence, the pivot'held the oval and his fellows wheeled round and came through the Wellington vanguard in a solid phalanx, pushing everything before them and reaching safe territory. In the open they were perfectly irrc-M.-.tible/' Wellington; however, more

than held their own on the line-out, getting the ball out to their backs and opening up things generally, but the advantage was of no particular service to them, as the Black hacks could not get going. The line kicking was unusually good on the part of both sides. The short punt of Mynott & Co. gained ground repeatedly. Hill's kicking was meritorious. .Some were afraid of his being able in lind the line accurately, but, with a few exceptions, he did capitally in this rospnf. ' ' ROME SNAPSHOTS.

Smith was unable to proceed south with the team, and returned to Stratford last evci.ing. Hill will he unable to go across to flrcymouth. lint will take part in the (Southland and Dunedin matches. ''Don't mind you beating them, but I do object to you murdering my comv trymen!" —This was the-text of a congratulatory wire received by the manager of the Taranaki team after the match from a New Plymouthite, an erstwhile resident of the Windty City. Here's another: "Butter now 2s Cd per 11). in Taranaki. .Oil shares booming!" Wellington will forget all about Saturday's trounching if Taranaki downs Auckland. "Beat Auckland," they said, "and that will recompense us for our loss." When the scores were received in Christehureh, wires were despatched asking ,; if a mistake had not been made | in telegraphing." A Dunedin message asked if I here had not been a transposition in Ihe. names. When the figlircs were ported in the city the crowds I could scarcely believe their eyes. No I ni |„ ; ii. i,.:„.i(.wi S i,(.li |i debacle. !:.M, ;'..'TK OV TIIIC CROWD. When Taranaki had piled on IS points | nboul a (piarter of the spectators began \ to move off the field. They had had I enough. This is what a correspondent in yesterday's Dominion has to say ' about the crowd's conduct:—As an eye-

i.u.m-:,.-i of Liu- round drubbing given by s the "cow-country" provincial represen-1 5 tativcs to Wellington province on Sat- ! J uvdiiy last, before a good attendance of I apparent sports. I think one of the worst displays of had taste one could weft imagine was shown. There was only one real outburst; of enthusiasm—that was when Wellington's ''best chosen" managed to score "3." At all other times the atmosphere was most funereal. As to the bad taste of it, the match was over, bar shouting, from 3.15 to 5 o'clock, but by 20 minutes to live the grandstand was almost cleared by the ! Wellington team's admirers slinking away, and a similar exodus took place from all around the field. Had Wellington province been in the ascendant the onlookers would have stayed till the last, and cheered themselves hoarse. Now, Taranaki, on their opponents' own field, completely outclassed and outmanoeuvred them—figures speak for themselves—23 to 3. And only that a few of their "milk-and-butter" friends followed Taranaki down, there would have been 'nobody to cheer and throw up their hats. No doubt this 23 to 3 drubbing will cause the North Island selectors to look at Wellington through true-value spectacles. The. stamina developed by "milk" will have to be taken into consideration. "Cow" has been a good friend to Taranaki, notwithstanding the member for Lyttelton's assertion that she is the cause of dullness and sleepiness in schoolchildren. Saturday's representatives were the better specimens of manhood, and very much awake. ( PIIKSS VIEWS. Says Saturday's Wellington Post: — H would 'be a pity to repeat in detail what Taranaki did to Wellington to-day at the, Athletic Park, and -with nearly 8000 patriots looking on, too. The amber ami blacks.did not merely defeat Wellington's chosen, 'but simply galloped .oyer and through them. It is a long time, wince we have seen such a. team of- backs, or such a superb kick as, Jack iStohr, who would- surely be ejected, for-Parliament if he stood and the election was to-morrow. Taranaki owes fourteen of. the twenty-three points scorpd..to, lii,s, w.ojiderful boot on that right. ,l«g of his. He placed goals from half-way or thereabouts with splendid, facility and accuracy, and his record .in to-day's match—full of brilliant phases .as it was—-will be remembcred Jong. atypr ~the astonishing victory itself has been forgotten. The writer 1 has seijn some of the finest place-kicks i in Melbourne,,, where, the men specialise, but he remembers none that could give Stohr any points. The Taranaki threequarter tykes but a short run, but his . j propelling muscles are abnormal. Once there -was a. cry ou the Athletic Park,

"fiivp it. .to Dnfty," but the Aucklamler ,failci|j..that (lay.- To-day it was ' '•(>ivei it. to ■ >Stohr," ami as a result 1 HtohiV mime be.-shouted longest in Kew Plymouth to-night, wlicn the news v of ..Wellington's , \yaterloo trickles f Stohr. But Tara- 1 nakiis .tracks.: Don Cameron, Mctcc^d, that subtle Napoleon lichiml it :l all.'.,Myuott—bns the Taranaki district.ever had abetter lot? Let the (roods,.'the-rßaileya, ■ Stohr pore, and others testify.' ". Brown, scrum halt, sparkled all day. Cameron and McLeod played.dating football, and if any did Wore service t,p. I his..s ; idc than Mynott it was done,.yi | tijp.u,t,anyone seeing it. The Wellington, \'m'kk> ..even without Fred Roberts most people were satisfied .vyijtji.,. ! "sivij. you three, six points in, if yon like," and so on, was the cry, but fliere : was, a-strange silence whci t he visitors^le\!,.at ..half-time by twelve to 'three—an<l tlial'oh their merits. The' Wellington backs played second fiddle all dtiy,,,and, with the backs gone, •Wellington's ' chance' faded palpably. The forwards were; more equally matched, lint here again.'the Taranaki pack was superior on the (lay except, pcrhps. on the line-nut, 1 tackling (if the winners was According to"'tile'best principles, and, hard [on. Hlie 'forwards especially making nn misi::ii':e-' The ground was in ideal 'condition'/ and ''both" teams, too. The crowd''was' : n'6t demonstrative because U was"diim'bfo'uiide'd'at the way the ; visitors wcre :: Vurimng. over the blacks. They cheered ..Stohr's, tremendous kicking, and'he well deserved it. Mvnott's clever ' ihrertkaways. too, 'roused * them, and also' ITic'way Brqwn set his backs galloping. l ' Taken all through, it was a ! red letter'-'diiV for taranaki. Their backs, that string-pjilFing 'wizard, Mynott, thafc'plck-lrjy ofCaiherori when Dalv dropp«(-"l(is grand, fielding, fine dashes. -sWitppV "p'ssing', superb linekicking' fon i linth , 'sldes'](',"an'd' Cnok's fleet try—these will' help 'to keep the memory of a memorable' match verdant. ■Says ' Saturday's : 'Dominion:—Outplayed, out-manheuvircd, and walked over—that''wa.<T Wellington's portion on •Saturday;'lt ivas the hugest father of a beating that'they 'hate had from Taramiki. arid. tliougti'they did not altogether > "take it- lying •down," thev had to take | it all the same. :: One of the features of I the match;'as wilt be.' seen,'was Stohr's unerring''hoot Whenever'it came to gorilkieking. He has'shot'over lots of "good oik-s"- in his time, but, on Saturday, he seemed to-'be right at the top of'his form.

The perfect order, and the •chridittoiW'-frPliPrrilly' were all tht>t could be desired."'' -'Sotiietlung over six thousand. gathered to, .witness the match—the lii's't big representative game of the season—and the general opinion appeared 'to lie that Wellington would' wiii. 'The' game had' not progressed very !far. however, ibefore the local men were ''up against it," and this was established -beyond all <loul>t before the first half ended... At that stage Taranaki had' ftl credit of 12 points as against the visitors 1 'continued to pile up their score until the'total was 23 points to 3. It was indeed a heavy beating. The Wellington .forwards played a good losing game, and stuck to their doughty opponents until the end, but the local backs were hopelessly outclassed,

.... It was almost, humorous to sec the visitors counter the feeble efforts of the Wellington rearguard in attack. Almost every time that the local men essayed a passing run it was turned to credit by McLeod, Jfynott, Cameron, and Co., who simply played all over the Wellington back's, 'the performances of the visitors will 'be long remembered, and even the most biassed supporters of the local team' rnust admit its brilliance. It was had to watch Wellington going to the .wall, but it was magnificent football for the spectators, even though most of them had come to see Wellington win. As mentioned, a feature of the game, was the place-kicking of Stohr, who put up a remarkable.'performance of kicking i four penalty goals and converting a try —fourteen points out of a total' of 23. Better place-kicking has not been seen on the Athletic Park than the exliibi-

tion given on Saturday by the Taranaki man. The livening Post says: Taranaki football lias long held a proud position in the Rugby world of Xcw Zealand, and many fine teams from the butter province have been seen in action in Wellington, but it is doubtful it llic yellow and blacks have ever made a better display than the one they gave to-day. After their poor displays against the Maoris and their two solitary tries against the country representatives—- / teams which Wellington defeated with V ridiculous ease—the general opinion in

the city during the week was that Tara-1 naki would find the Wellington team \ far too clever. A great surprise, how- 1 'ever, was in store, as throughout the J game the local men were out-generalled \ and outplayed. They were mastered in the serums, in the loose, and i* the tight, Wellington having :i slight advantage on the line-out. The yellows secured from practically every serum, and when the hall did hang tbeve would be a heave, and away would go the whole pack with the ball at foe. As taeklers. too. thev stood out, and >litchinson and Co. bud few opportunities of showing their side-stepping abilities. Tt was generally expected that the last twenty minutes would find the visitors out, but they finished, if anything, itrongcr than Wellington. With the. forwards playing so finely it was only in keeping that the backs would rise to the occasion, and at times thev roused the crowd to a wild pitch of excitement with their clever passing and tricky tactics. No matter in what position the team was the attack was the first principle of the backs. Time and again a dangerous Wellington forward rush would be stopped near the line, but instead of kicking to touch the backs invariably raced away to get into position to deliver a telling blow, blocked on one side, the way Mynott would swing what looked like a chance-to-luck-pass to the open side, but there was always someone there, and an attack that had commenced on the blind would develop suddenly in the open, and the spectators would l>e treated to as pretty passing as it was possible to imagine. One can say without fear of contradiction that as an all-round combination, the Taranaki backs were the best interprovincial set seen on the Athletic" Park for many years. They were both brilliant and solid. Coming to individual players, the whole Taranaki pack can he taken holus-bolus, ami given unstinted praise. To a man they justified themselves. Cain and Osborne made an excellent pair of hookers, and in addition to his ■ hooking übiiltic* Cain played one of -the best forward games on the ground. He was always among the leaders in the | loose rushes, and he also handled the hall splendidly. Smith, of Stratford, held the pack well and lasted much better than he was expected to. Whittington, Dewar, Young, and Hawkins completed a great lot of grafters ,and if they do not by any chance lose form the southern teams can look forward to particularly hot times. At wing-for-ward Colman played with all his old time dash and it was hard lines for his ! Ride that he was disabled while tackling Cooke. Taylor, who took his place, is a splendid winger, and he early gave Kvcnson a lasts of his .qualitv with a swinging tackle. For several years past ilyuoit hns ' been written oil' ns a veteran, but on his form to-day New Zealand Rugby could well do with many more such veterans, and Mynott celebrated his thirty-seventh birthday 'this rear, bull with the exception of being' ;i Iriile 1 slower, he worthily upheld the reputation he gained with the All Blacks. His J generalship was noticeable all day. Stohr will long be remembered in Wellington, for no finer place-kick has been seen here for years. There was a ; ripple of merriment among the crowd j when he first essayed at goal from the ' half-way line. The ball soared high and ( fell over the dead-ball line—a magnificent goal. The crowd appeared to realise then what the local men were up against. .MeLeod. the miggety five-eighth. J!obcrts. Brown, Cameron, and Hill all play- 1 cd splendidly. Hill only had to tackle j one man all day, but Cook was too close to the line, and it was no fault of the Taranaki full-back's that Wellington's only try was registered.