THE THIRD TEST.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1921, Page 4

THE THIRD TEST.

SATURDAY’S BIG MATCH.

REMARKABLE INTEREST.

B> releEraph —Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The great demi' id for seating accommodation at the letst match on Saturday indicates that interest in the event is likely to exceed all previous experiences. The seats in the stand have all been taken up, likewise those on the temporary stands and on chairs, while tickets for seats on forms are now exhausted. All arrangements are well in hand and were finally discussed at tonight’s meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union management committee. Apart from the big match three cur-tain-raisers have been arranged—: schoolboys match, Auckland and Victoria University teams, and King Country and Wellington B representatives. Both teams are in training, the New Zealanders at Day's Bay and the Springboks at Island Bay. A pressman was informed that the teams will not bt available until Saturday morning. ALL BLACKS IN TRAINING. DIET AND DISCIPLINE. Training operations are now in full swing at the All Blacks’ quarters at the Accommodation House, Day’s Bay. The men looked much improved in physique when they took the field at Athletic Park on Saturday for a practice game. They were bronzed by the sun, and reminded some folks of the appearance of the recruits of the early days of the war, when the beneficial effects of diet, discipline and training became apparent to their v relatives, Mr. “Dorrie” Leslie has settled down now to the detail work of training his charges. He has with him two sterling workers in Messrs. Hogan and Taylor, the masseurs. Two of the selectors—Messrs. A. J. Griffiths (Wellington) and Donald Stewart (Otago)—are also in residence at Day’s Bay, and the third —Mr. Geroge Nichoiaon (Auckland) —was expected to join the party yesterday. PROGRAMME OF OPERATIONS. The men rise early, and go through physical exercises, have a swim in the bay, and are rubbed down and massaged before breakfast. The forenoon is spent in football training, with particular regard to combined work, scrummaging and tactics generally. The boys are massaged again before lunch. In the afternoon there is a variety of outdoor work, comprising walking, cricket, field games—in fact, anything that will keep the men engaged in the open, the chief aim of the trainer being to secure pliability and elasticity of the muscles. Already there have been two cricket matches between representatives of the North and South Island among the trainees. Honors so far in the cricket field rest with the South Island, who have won one match and drawn one. THE TRAINING QUARTERS. The training quarters of the All Black? ere entirely self-contained, and ideally suited for the purpose. The training quarters are in a small outside pavilion, and are fitted with excellent hot water service, showers, and baths. There are three slabs for massage in the immediate vicinity of the parade ground. The housing quarters are in a two-storey building, a little distance away, round 'the bay. The trainees have the whole of the building to themselves. It is light and airy, and faces the harbor. Many of the boys are sleeping.on the verandahs; the only fault a southern international could find with the sleeping quarters was that the beds were too aoft; they should have hard, soldiers’ beds, to perfect their physique, he told a Times representative. There is a generol refectory, or diningroom. The best of food is provided, and served on plain, homely lines, and served without scant. Grills, eggs, vegetables, milk puddings and fruit form the staple articles of fare. AN OPTIMISTIC PARTY. Optimism is the watchword of the camp. From Trainer “Dorrie” Leslie down to the youngest of his charges, there is a feeling of perfect harmony and esprit de corps. One left the camp with the conviction that everything was being done to ensure that the All Blacks chosen to meet the Springboks on Saturday next will have all the advantages of simple living and physical training to help them retain the coveted “ashes” of rugby in the Dominion.