27: A potential problem solved in backline
Northumberland proved vital to the success of the Invincibles tour, not because it represented a specific triumph, but because it solved a critical problem that had emerged in the backline – the lack of consistency at centre.
It was during the 27-4 win that the possibility of overcoming the problem was realised.
George Nepia said one of the side's best performers, if not the best, was Neil McGregor at first five-eighths. His control in wet conditions, especially in the second half, showed the potential that might be achieved if he became the starter in the role while Mark Nicholls played second five-eighths and Bert Cooke at centre.
An English cartoon of the 1924-25 All Blacks five-eighths pairing of Mark Nicholls and Neil McGregor.
McGregor said there was a reason for the transformation during the game. The ball used in the first half of the game was older than usual, covered in scratches and in the rain, it became difficult to handle. Only one try was scored before halftime to Gus Hart.
The second half saw a different ball used, and with the surface water eased from the ground, the newer ball was much easier to throw about.
Many tries, especially in the first half, were thrown away by faulty handling and knocking-on. This was a very hard match to report, for there were so many mistakes on account of the greasy nature of the ball.[1]
The All Blacks were a changed side in the second half with McGregor able to get the backline moving. Ron Barr said some brilliant passing movements resulted while, in attempting to play similarly, Northumberland were upset easily by the New Zealand defence.
After half-time the All Blacks played much better football, the forwards dominating the game and the backs putting more 'ginger' into it. Although we won by 27 points to 4, the game did not reach the standard of the average senior New Zealand club game. The one redeeming feature of the play was the manner in which our backs tackled and went down to the rushes of the opposing side.[2]
Scorers: Northumberland 4 (H.C. Catcheside dropped goal) New Zealand 27 (Gus Hart, Jimmy Mill 2, Handley Brown, Jock Richardson, Jack Steel tries; Mill 2 con, Richardson con). HT: 0-3
One description of the ground for the game with Cambridge University was that it was 'execrable'; others were more inclined to say it was a 'quagmire'. Neil McGregor, who thrived in the conditions and continued to grow his importance to the side, said it was the worst ground they had struck so far, with mud up to their ankles.
The game was the first for two months for wing Alan Robilliard, but Porter, Maurice Brownlie, Bert Cooke, 'Snowy' Svenson, Ian Harvey, and Ron Stewart were not considered. Cambridge had beaten Leicester 39-0 in the weeks ahead of the game, and their side included Wales international Rowe Harding and England halfback A.T. Young.
A.J. Harrop had missed their eight previous games and was eager to see how they might have improved but said the weather made comparisons impractical.[3]
The Cambridge men fought every inch determinedly, and the comparatively light backs threw themselves at the tall New Zealand forwards with an abandon which soon had the crowd in an extraordinary state of excitement. If the Cambridge tackling was fierce, that of the All Blacks was positively deadly. Every man accounted for his man in perfect style.[4]
No score had been registered by halftime, despite the All Blacks hammering the Cambridge line. Parker went close to scoring three times and there was a plethora of five-yard scrums. After halftime, it was halfback Jimmy Mill who scored the only try of the game, beating three men to score under the bar.
McGregor had the perfect view of Mill's try.
The try was a great run by Mill. He received from a scrum near the 25 and, running from the scrum, [he] dummied two or three opponents, who thought he was going to pass to his five-eighths, and scored between the posts.[5]
It came after a long pass by Cambridge's Young, deep in his territory, was not held. The All Blacks pack swooped onto it quickly, and it was from that opportunity that Mill could make a swerving run, taking advantage of home players who were caught out of position.
Yet, McGregor also impressed Harrop. Time and again, he went down in the face of dribbling rushes. He emerged each time with his face as black with mud as his jersey, and no sooner did he wipe it off than he faced a second instalment.
'Son' White was the best forward on the day – he revels in the mud. Cambridge played a great game in the forwards – we could hold them in the tight, but where they did beat us was at the dribbling game. Time and time again, their forwards came away in dribbling rushes which the backs found very hard to stop.[6]
There was praise among the home press for the effort of the Cambridge side.
Considering the physique of the New Zealanders it was little short of wonderful...the Cambridge pack was a homogeneous whole; it worked as a solid phalanx...They did not seem to tire. They packed well, and in the tight scrummages they beat their opponents more often than not for possession of the ball. They had a slight advantage in the line-out. But the thing they did best of all was the dribbling rush.[7]
Among the Cambridge backs, Sir T.G. Devitt and Harding looked to have scoring chances only to be dragged down before crossing the line. Nepia, McGregor and Mark Nicholls had outstanding defensive games.
Arthur Carman said the 'magnificent dribbling' of the Cambridge forwards was one of the finest exhibitions of forward play he could ever hope to see, while the wonderful defence of the New Zealand backs countered it. It was one of the tour's great games, with White outstanding and Richardson and Bull Irvine joining him as the best of the forwards.
Cambridge was the only side on the tour to hold the All Blacks to one try. Again, the capacity of the All Blacks to absorb the pressure was recognised.
…where New Zealand have defeated, and will defeat, the majority of their rivals is in speed, tackling, and an almost uncanny aptitude to cover the man with the ball. Wherever the ball goes, there one sees not one or two, but three of four members of the same side. And the peculiar thing is that no man ever appears out of position when a new movement is started.[8]
NEXT ISSUE: Player Profile – Andrew 'Son' White
[1] Neil McGregor, Southland Times, 7 January 1925
[2] H.E. 'Ginger' Nicholls, NZ Free Lance, 31 December 1924
[3] A.J. Harrop, The Press, 27 December 1924
[4] ibid
[5] Neil McGregor, Southland Times, 7 January 1925
[6] ibid
[7] Col. Philip Trevor, Daily Telegraph, 13 November 1924
[8] Touch Judge, Sporting Life, 13 November 1924