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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 2 (May 1, 1935)

Leading Hotels — A Reliable Travellers Guide

page 50

Leading Hotels
A Reliable Travellers Guide

page 51
Mr. J. W. Davidson (Commissioner of Railways, Queensland) at The Hermitage, Mt. Cook. From right: Mr. and Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Lissiner, R. Wedderspoon and L. Whisker.

Mr. J. W. Davidson (Commissioner of Railways, Queensland) at The Hermitage, Mt. Cook.
From right: Mr. and Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Lissiner, R. Wedderspoon and L. Whisker.

being left to check them by a collapsing wall of defence. Then Meyer snatches the ball, kicks and the leather beats the New Zealand backs. The Springboks drive down and are on the line. As the shattered defence reassembles, a bunch of green jerseys go over the line. One of them has the ball, but he has been seized and wrenched over on his back. The referee arrives and points to the twenty-five line. A force-down. There is a yell from the crowd as Van Rooyen, who has led so many attacks, violently expostulates with the referee.

As they resume it is seen that the All Blacks have bowed to fate. They cannot hold that mighty pack with seven men, so Belliss, the wing forward, is lending his weight in the rear of the scrum. The Springbok's three-quarters, so long unable to get the ball in combined movements, show their speed. Zeller and Michau, the half, begin quick raids which are ended only when the Natal player is hurled bodily into touch. It is an individualist battle again, with quick kicking through openings, or short, rapid runs making the ground that is gained. But this time it is evident that the All Blacks are playing better and with greater cohesion. Their defence is not so good as that of their rivals save when Ifwerson and Kingston are at hand. But their forwards are still going as hard as ever and that in spite of repeated repulses. West, McLean and Moffitt take the ball to the African twenty-five and this half, it proves, is to be as much in favour of the home team as the opening spell went to the visitors. Royal Morkel is off-side now, but Nicholls joins the list of kickers who cannot get the ball to rise. The New Zealand forwards burst through again, Gerhard Morkel saves and McLean, Richardson and Moffitt see another rush come to nothing. Kingston plays prettily in stemming the South African kicks out, but misplaced faith in the backs spoils another chance when Roberts sails round the blind side and slips as he endeavours to open the play. Fea picks up and hands the ball to Steel, but the winger cannot take the pass and Mellish ends the attack where it began. It has been a hot fifteen minutes with the All Blacks forwards working like demons, and now comes relief from an unexpected quarter; the referee is knocked out. The South Africans sprawl around in gratitude at the check, and when play begins again Zeller is trapped and the home forwards are on the line like a thunderbolt. Ifwerson snaps the ball and dives headlong at a wall of green, but the human barrier is sound and it needs to be. For the first time the defence sees signs of weakness by its backs. Steel and Roberts check efforts to break clear and then Nicholls finds touch close in. There is a rapid clearance from the line-out and Nicholls, with Steel waiting for a pass, cuts into the middle of the defenders and loses a possible score. It is an escape and Zeller clears, but the hard-won ground is re-conquered by an All Black forward rush and under a penalty kick the pack comes down fast, catching Morkel again, but losing the chance when McLean excitedly kicks too far. Van Heerden makes the next mistake; he misses badly as the All Black line charges upon him, but the ball bounces luckily and shoots off at an angle away from the attacking force. The escape is brief; McLean starts another rush and Zeller stops it in the last yard. The Springboks are tiring now in these conditions. They show their weakness in the line-out for an All Black is unmarked and quickly Siddells throws the ball to him. He has only to seize it and plunge over the line—and it slips through his fingers. Morkel has to force to save the day after Van Rooyen has made a foolhardy effort to run the ball back down the field. Suddenly the whole struggle goes flat and stale. Both teams are tired, and just as the bell clangs the ball pitches into touch almost at halfway.