FOOTBALL
FINAL FOR KING'S CUP, NEW ZEALAND'S VICTORY OVER ENGLAND,. New Zealand hay won the Intcr-Ser-vices Tournament. In a game at Twickenham yesterday (says the Times of April 17), before about 10,000 people, who included the Prince of Wales and Mr. Massey, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the "All Blacks" XV beat the Mother Country .by a penalty goal and two tries (9 points) to a penalty goal (3. points). This is.' the second occasion on which these two representative sides have met. On April' 5, at Inverleith, New Zealand won a very tough game by a narrow margin, but on the following Wednesday, at Bradford, were themselves defeated by the Australian' team. Thus, New Zealand and the Mother Country, having each lost one game, had to play each other again for two reasons. The King had presented a cup for the winners.' of the Inter-Services Competition, and it had been arranged also that the winners should meet an international Trench team next Saturday.
The majority of the spectators yesterday were soldiers, most of them New Zealand soldiers, and they followed the game with such enthusiasm that the big stands rocked with their cheers. And the' New' Zealand team deserved their enthusiasm, for when, at half-time, they seemed certain to be beaten, they pulled themselves together, and eventually won the game by sheer hard work and determination. They are a team of splendid physique, and every man of them in tip-top training. Their forwards are magnificent in the sheer riot of the loose scrummage, a little clumsy with their feet, but clever with their hands. Behind the scrummage the team has weak spots in attack, but every man knows how to tackle, and does it with his: whole heart and strength. The weakness in attack is at half and five-eights:, but this is balanced by the fact that their wing three-quarters, P. Storey and W. F. Ford, are players of genius. But the great strength -is forward, and no team taking part in the competition except Australia lias been able to hold them there.
New Zealand thoroughly deserved to win. Youth, hard training, and hard scrummaging rather than exceeding skill have won them their position at the head of the Services competition, In skill they «lo not compare with the famous "All Blacks" team which revolutionised Rugby football in this country a dozen years ago. Some of their forwards am really great players, including Bellies, Wils.on, Har.ell, ami Kissick. Bellies is the best of them in tlfe scrummage. and Wilson in the open. Singe, the wing-forward—really better described a scrummage half-back—is the finest spoiler of open play who has beqji s.cen on a football field. .Although Pillman manfully tried to check him, he smothered practically every attempt of the British half-backs to open up the play from, tlifihase Of-the' scrummage. And he was equally good at offensive play, not only in diving for the line, but in swinging the ball clear to his backs from the toes of the opposing forwards:. Of Ford something has heen said before, and the other wing, Storey, falls little behind him in football quality. Of the British side it must be said that thf were beaten by the better side on Hie day's play. As indicated, they were overwhelmed at forward. The British forwards could not stay the pace; they lacked the necessary youth.
This ends the Services competition, with New Zealand at the head and the Mother Country second. It was an admirably conceived scries, which will do much to popularise the great game in this country. And no thinking man can deny the. value, of healthy rivalry in sport between the centre and wings. l of the Empire. The sides in yesterday's match were:— Mother Country: Major B. S. Camber-, lege, back; Lieut. ,1. N. Dickson, Capt. W.J. Cullen, Lieut. P. C. Pickles, and Major A. T. Sloan, three-quarter backs; Lieut. C. Lewis: and Capt. J. A. Pvm. half-backs-; Lieut.-Colonel L. G. Brown. Capt. C. M. Usher, Capt. the Rev. W. T. Havard, Capt. R. A. Gallic, Major H, B. Moore, Major P. H. Lawless, Capt. C. H. Pillman, and C.S.M. .Tones, forwards.
New Zealand: J. O'Brien, back; P. Storey, J. Stohr, and J. Ford, threequarter backs; J. Rvan and W. Fca, fiveeights; C. Brown, half-back; M. Cain, E. Hassell, J. MolTatt, ,T, Kissick. A. Wilson, K. Bellist, A. West, and A. Singe, wingforwards.
So well did their forwards play yesterday that never once during the'whole game did the home three-quarter backs set the ball from a direct heel-out from the scrummage. The home forwards were beaten from the very start by their rivals, and overwhelmed before the finish. It was a rare, old-fashioned game, which might well have been played before the four three-quarter backs", or the five-eights systems were dreamt "of. 1 The wind directed the play. It was blowing directly down the ground, and in the first half New Zealand had the advantage of it. The team went off with a fine burst, as if they would win the match out of hand. O'Brien, at fullback, and Stohr, at centre three-quarter, punting high into touch on several occasions, kept the play near the home lines. Twice relief came through admir- | able play by Cullen and Sloan. Eacli of them, picking up iji the loose, Lore through the New Zealand defence, and were only brought down in the Xew Zealand twenty-five. Once the game was transferred the length of the ground by a bad mull by Cumberlege, anil from this time onward Cumberlege was always.' very uncertain in his plav. But he made amends by kicking a penalty goal, taken fairly wide out against a strong wind, and gave the home countriesthe lead, undeserved on the play, twenty minutes from the start. From thence to half-time the game was in the home half, and was spoilt by the very many penalties given to each team for "feet up" and "off side." The referee, Mr. Carver, was very strict, and rightly so in so important' a game. As New Zealand was playing with the strong wind, these penalties were exceptionally dangerous for the home side, •and, from one of several he took, Stohr ylanded a .joal. This brought the scores: -level, and they remained so until half.time. But it was only by the most strenuous work of the British team that the New Zealanders were kept out. Several times thiir burly forwards, especially Sifige, the wing- forward, hyrled themselves for the lino in the loots, and '"five-yard" scrummages? were too frequent for British comfort. As they held their own playing against the wind in the first half, it was generally anticipated tlmt the home side would win. The home backs so far had been given no real chance, and in tliem of the team laj. Su^
unfortunately, their chance never came. They were henceforward occupied with desperate defence. The Britiih forwards had had such a gruelling in the first half that they failed utterly to stay the course. New Zealand played just the right game in the circumstances. They rushed, sometimes with the ball at their feet, more often with the ball in their hands. Gradually they wore down the British forwards, and the longer the game went on the greater their superiority. Now and then the ball would clear enough for Lewis, Cullen, or Pickles to find touch midway, but either from line-out or succeeding scrummage, the New Zealand forwards would rush back. Twice during the half Lewis picked up' in the loose tind got his line moving at top speed, and in these movements Cullen, Pickles, and Sloan did excellent work. But the New Zealand backs tackled well, and neither of the two movements! led to a score. Relief to New Zealand on these occasions was brought by Ford, the right wing three-quarters. Ford is a discovery of the present season, and, although youthful, is a finished player, He never misses his passes, and is very clever at intercepting. He was at the'very top of his form yesterday, and scored one of the two trie 9 in the second half by taking his pass and outpacing every one else towards a corner flag. ' The other try way scored by Singe, the wing forward. A mistake by Lewis led vp i» it. Lewis, penned in near his own goal posts, threw blindly, and PickJes just saved a score by falling' on the ball. From the succeeding scrummage Singe picked up the ball as it calne out from the side of the scrummage,' made a siv-feet dive for the line, arid just got there. • It was just such a try as the New Zealanders often score. There' has never been such a' side quite as' dangerous near the line. The forwards have the knack of picking up quickly in tiro loose scrum, of handling, not passing in the usual sense of the term, to one another, and going over the line in a body. It is a system which has never been developed in this country, and it payß.
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Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1919, Page 9
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1,509FOOTBALL Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1919, Page 9
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