SPRINGBOKS WIN.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1921, Page 5

SPRINGBOKS WIN.

i DEFEAT OF WELLINGTON. EIGHT POINTS TO THREE. TWO TRIES TO PENALTY. By Tal*ffrapli.—Press Association. Wellington, July 23. The Springboks beat the Wellington representatives here to-day by 8 pointy to 3. Great interest was taken in the game and the. attendance was estimated at upward.? of 30,000, including visitors from surrounding districts. There were 7000 persona on the grounds at 11 o’clock. There wa-s warm sunshine, but lw?fore the game started a heavy shower fell. A fa'irly strong south wind wa«? blowing and the ground was in excellent condition, though slightly moist on the surface, and the atmosphere was cold. The general impressicn wa« that the local team would prove superior in the technical points of the game and would be successful on that account, Mr. E. McKenzie (Wairarapa) refereed, and the teams were:—-

Springboks—Full back, De Villiers; three-quarters, Van Heerden, Meyer, Clarkson, Zeller; halves, J. P. Mlchau, Tindall; forward's, Kruger. Michau, Mel-‘ lish, H. Morkel. Mostert, Sehplta;, Pienaar. OUivier. Welliiigton---Fuil back. Siddella; three-quarters. Aitken. Murkham, Ryan; five-eighths, M. Nicholle, Roberts; half, H. Nicholls; forward's, King Jwing), Hughes, Stanffen, Moffitt, Rruee, Preece, Parker, S. Shearer. THE FIRST SPELL. Wellington won the loss and took advantage of the wind, and the Springboks started proceedings. Wellington buKinie aggressive within five minutes of the start and the Springbok!? forced down a kick by Ryan. Wellington were the first to open up play and a pasaing rush by the Nicholls brothers, Roberts, Markham and AR'kcn raised the enthusiasm of the crowd. When repeated Aitken reached the cornel, where lie wae thrqwn out. Hie Wellington forwards were ree-ponarble for a rush that was full of ginger, and a strenuous struggle c-n the Springboks’ line respited in a clearance. But Wellington were soon attacking again and tricky work by IL Nicholls and Roberts hemmed the Springboks down, the defence being solid. The visitors did not display knowledge of the finer poinu of the game, but their efforts were full of vim, though their superior weight in the forward division did not appear to much advantage.

From a scrum in the territory J. Michau act his backs in motion, the passing being indifferent and comparatively little ground was gained. At times, when the ball was kicked, the wind would prevent progress being made. The visitors infringed the rulw?, and after a while were penalised, M. Nicholls missing a goal by a small margin on two occasions. As play progressed the excitement became apparent. Presently H. Nicholls dashed round the serum with the ball and aiidc-steppevl Tindall, but was held up near the anc by Zeller. Wellington wag. having the beat of the play, and amongst the backs attacks were indulged in frequently, the deadly tackling of the visitors preventing ecores on several occasions. During an interestdng rush 'by the Wellington backs Tindall Intercepted a p.-ms and dashed away. When cornered he handed the ball to Meyer, who knocked on. but the incident was not seen by the referee, and play, was removed well away from the danger zone. The respite was momentary, but the footwork oj the Wellington forwards changed the venue and gave promine of a score, when J. Michau got clean away. De ended a flervicea>ble sprint by passing to Van Heerden, and the visitors' flier set sail

for the opposite goaf Aitken brought him down, buf the visitors’ playing with approved combination, gave Wellington a warm five minutes.

Half-an-hour liad gone, by when H. Morkel and Zeller were associated in a passing movement which carried play ,into Wellington territory for the second | time since the game started. Zeller 1 punted across field, when Clarkson sccw’ed. He was collared, but, securing the ball again, he passed to H. Morkel, who kicked over the line, and a race bel tween M. Nicholls and Clarkson over the line resulted in Clarkson being given the verdict. De Villiers failed with the , kick. Springboks 3

Wellington nil • The try was well deserved, and the visitors were heartily cheered on their success. So far the exhibition had been qne that demanded the closest attention; the ball wae seldom out of play and the meritbriouu efforts made by each team were exhilarating. There was no lack of vim .and a, clean exposition of Rugby was witnessed. Wellington got the ball on most occasions from the serums, but the backs could not break through the defence, despite rep sated at tacks, through over-eagerness. The Springboks were offside frequently ioud many penalties were .awarded k adjust them, and from one of them King .lOtod the ball over the bar. f pringboks 3 ellington 3 'Wellington had much the beat of the TT-c spell. At times the play on eAch ale almost amounted to brilliancy, alviiougli the efforts were short and sharp, and might be termed splashes, Contrary to expectations the Springboks often diverted from, the orthodox method of play they displayed in previous matches, and it was pleasing to see the way the ball was thrown about. Instead of go ing along a chain of backs and crowding the wings the ball was often thrown well across the field. The backs invariably ran straight, showing that already they have taken to heart the advantage to be gained thereby. Their tackling, in all but a few instances, was really good, and less hand-to-hand passing was indulged in. Wellington, with a little more pronounced vim at the culmination of an attack, would possibly have registered one or two tries, but as a team there was much merit in their play, and from a spectacular point of view it was good. The fielding of the I ball by the backs was not quite as clean as that of the opposition, but they i showed more resourcefulness. There was abundant evidence that the team , was in excellent trim and the work accomplished by the forwards exceeded expectations. The first spell ended:— Springboks 3 Wellington 3 THE SECOND SPELL. At the commencement of the second half of the game play was stodgy for | awhile, being mainly" confined to the

forwards. Short and snappy passing bouts by the Springboks altered the complexion of things, and from the initial attack by Wellington play gradually worked up ground. The plaudits of the spectators were frequent. When the local forwards, by concerted action, broke fl-way from a scrum at midfield, a mighty cheer arose. Roberts improved the position by a well-judged kick,' and De VilUers was smothered, but when the issue resolved itself into a tussle of strength the Springboks won out from their goal-line. Working in unison the visitors’ vanguard charged ahead with a burst of speed. J. Michau picked the ball up and .sent Van Heerden away, but the deadly tackling of the Wellington backs stopped his career early. The passing movements were pretty to watch. One started by M. Nicholls went through the hands of most of the Wellington backs and when Aitken reached striking distance Van Heerden brought him down. Notwithstanding that the wind was in the Springboks’ favor Wellington did practically all the attacking for the first twenty minutes. Van Heerden’*? pace enabled him to save a dangerous forward rush. Aitken was conspicuous in concentrating play to the visitors’ territory, where Zeller brought off a beautiful save. A high kick was misfielded by Siddells, who had played a sound game, and the home team was in trouble. They were forced down once, apd. during a rain squall the visitors made a splendid effort. J. Michau made a sensational run, but he struck the cor tier flag when crossing the line. Faulty handling lost the Springboks a certain try, but shortly afterwards from a scrum at the Wellington end of the. field J. Michau secured, gave the “dummy” to Roberts and scored behind the goal. De Villers added the major points with the kick. Springboks? 8 Wellington 3 From this to the end of the game the visitors showed to the best advantage. De Villiers made two excellent attempt.to kick a goal from free kicks, but there were no further scores. It was freely acknowledged that the Springboks deserved their victory. There was a slight measure of merit in their favor, the score fairly indicating the general capacity of the respective teams.