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INTERNATIONAL: MATCH.

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INTERNATIONAL: MATCH. SCOTLAND V WALES AT SWANSEA. VICTORY FOR WALES. BY "OLD STAGER," On Saturday for the 16th time representatives •>f amittetir teams frorn Scotland a,nd Wales opposed each other in Rugby footbaU, the match )eing decided at Swansea. In the aeries of snatches in the International tournament this was 5hesecond ot the season, Wales on January 6th At Gloucester decisively beating England and ocouand was now making a trial of her strength. On the Welsh side the playevs with two exceptions "vere those who upheld the honour of the Piinci- oanty so well against the Saxons, and tlie -fcau^es made were for improvement in the side as a whole. The unfortunate accident to Sellings pronght in George Dobson, who was first reserve forward for the English game, and the timely return of Gwyn Nicholis from his Australian :oar added much to the confidence of the back division, particularly after his fine play of Satur- day last, when he showed that he has lost nothing 'in speed or resource, and that his increased weight amlie3 him even more difficult to etop than here- tofore The We'.3h side was not a "rent one, and wa3 not expected to rise to the high level of 'ieams in several recent years. Bat that every mau was a trier," and that they would combine with success was beyond doubt. The strength of the Scotsmen was centred in their forward section, and as the morning promised a wet a^te5* noon it was considered that the conditions would ')e eminently favourable to the style of play it which they excel, while a wet ground and greasy ball would minimise the efficiency of the vYelsh strong point—heeling out by the forwards, nd rapid passing and speed amongst the backs. However, soon after noon the prolonged rain :eased, and thanks to the sandy bottom of bt. Helen's field the surface water soon dried up. v,c Gpto within a few minutes of the advsctisecl iime for atiLrting-3 o'clock appearances m- iicatcd that after all it would be dry overhead, jut much to the dismay of the record gate for -r Swansea which had assembled, a heavy shower >f hail again fell. The shower was too severe to last long, ana gave way to bright sunshine while the time for the itart was ten minute3 off. The teams were piiofcogEapiiecl ID trout ot tho rrrand stand and special cheers were raised for Nicbolls and Bancroft as they crossed the field. A very stiff breeze was blowing from the direc- tion of the Mumbles, and it was evident that which ever Ride won the toss and had the choice of ends would secure no inconsiderable advantage, if this factor did not determine the issue of the match. Comparison of thB players plainly showed thatWales were certainly not,as is 1 generally the case, lighter forward. Thomas, of Swansea, was the smallest man on the Welsh side, but there were several Scotchmen not a pound heavier than he, while, except Willie McEwan and Morrison, the Scottish captain, jhe visiting pack was only of average weight. The teams were constituted as follows :— WELSH XV. Back- W. J. Bancroft. Swarsaea. Three-quarter Backs- W. Llewellyn, Llvynyyia. E. G. Nuholls, Cardiff. G. Davies, Swansea. W. Trew, Swansea. Half-backs- Louis A. Phillips, Newport. G. Llewellyn Lloyd, Newport. kot,Nards- A. Bryce, Aberavon. G. ifoofcs, Newport. F. Millar, Monntain Ash. K. Thomas, Swansea. J. I. Hodges, Newport. J. Blake, Cardiff. W H. Williams, Pontymister. G. Dobson, Cardiff. SCOTTISH XV. Back— H. Rottenbnrg, Cambridge University. Three-quarter Backs— A. B. Timms, Edinburgh University. W. H. Morrison. Edinburgh Academicals. T. L. Scott, Langholm. J. E. Crabbie, Oxford University. Half-backs— H. Fasjon, Cambridge University. J. I. Gillespie, Edinburgh Academicals. Forwards- Mark Morrison, Royal High SchooL W. MaEwan, Edinburgh Academicals. e D. R. B. Siveright. Cambridge University. F. W. Henderson, London Scottish. J. A. Thomson, West of Scotland. J. M. Dyke, London Scottish. G. C. Keir, Durbam. T. M. Scott, Hawick. The pla.yers took up their positions in accor- dance with the following plan PLAN OF THE HELD. WALES*. SCOTLAND. THE GAME. When the Scotchmen came on the field" God Save the Queen was being played by tbs band, and the chorus was taken up with fervour by the vast crowd, which had just heard the rumoured loss of Warren's guns. The Welshmen were led on the field by Bancrofta. few minutes later to the strains of the Men of Harlech Fate was against the Welshmen for losing the toss, they had to kick off agamat the sun and a very stiff wind It was quite dry overhead when Bancroft kicked off.the ball going very close to the Scotchmen's right touch-line, where Y' Crabhie failed to talxe it, and was prevented from making a second attempt by fast following « I? U II Williams The first scrummage up by rat|ier ntiickly, but tha ball did was broken np rather qu cKV, phil]!pa SSdSbJfi Nicholls, wjo^ged T,^ very cleverly and PunI?d ^v\ h f04ards .hoved yards thereby. The Wela*ntI00U the gCrQm. their opponents ore the ban, »fferwards ,0 find jh. bjj| auK! ,Hhler.LSed.5a George Davies who was splencudley Uddod,, and presumably for holding on to m0 s^ott npnalised. The ball was placed for lorn facotc, who camb very near to placing a goal. Bancroft touched dGwn, and Orabbio kicked out, safely screwing the ball into touch. Then the Welsh forwards wheeled the scrummage in splendid stvle but Crabbie running into the centre made ..♦•mark and stopped a rush oy so doing. ExTcily ten minutes of the play had gone by and WaleS bad been practically on their own side of tha fie'd After Bancroft had nearly let his side down bv missing with a flying" tact, a second penalty was "iven lo Scotland, and tney had hard lines m onl" gaining a minor from a capital kick. The Welsh forwards were beginning to feel their -i, and after a general rAsh they got bL U,y b«W very cleanlv to Phillips, who passed to Lloyd, and th. half-back Bhowed grand resource by slippin„ Gillespie and Fasson, aud travelling up to Crab- bie, when Siveright checked his pass to the left wine This firat example of brilliancy by a back won loud cheers from the crowd, and had an encouraging effect upon the Welshmen. The forwards heeled out twice, bnt the tackling of the centres, particularly of Timms was wonderfully good, the Australian ice catching George Davies with the ball in his ossession, although the Swansea three-quarter Morrison's man. Then there occurred su"h r«:nt back play as has seldom been witnessed in the annals of Welsh club matches. From eV6n « a little on the Welsh side of the halfway nZCtrl* had the ball heeled to him, and while the IhiUp half-backs were watching him, two opp ..g3jon that he would endeavour |;o under the P he threw directly to Llojd. break pa^ Was successful, for Lloyd The man,p -w the Swansea three-quarter, with passing to J-J' hig Qwn wing) passed to afeintto trav whQ 'thro!V t0 Nicholls, and tho George Uavie*. tha,t magnificent swerve, for Oardifhan nw<* o Llewellyn the ball just Which he is tn3' The fleet Llwynypiau with on tho halfway • r11 0pp0=,iti0n, and made a splendid effo" 0ft had the wind to com tend ^rand Itj. missed its mark ouly by an ^ith, and his el'oi' the crowci being deceived 3.»oh or two, the buiK j been 'piaced. ^ito believing that a whole compiexion of point bad altere ■ wjjQ were pressing, was now « for the ne3Ct ten they continued » and Kerr were play f'^utes. Dykes, McEwan, Bryce, rtcdfje?, well in the Scottish pack ^yaies. it Blake were doing even _raCtically confined a ding-douf; battle, a^a P centiin^ their forwards, the Scots close, and the efforts in keeping the at their yeluhmen beating their opp fence fQar?cieristic rushing game. and the homo •vas faHjnf, upon the Scottish bttCKS, mac(o no 3tward8, evidently acting under or time- "itempt t0 ope/np the P1^ aitcv ^hat was the first back movement „nc[idlv, ■"ryca had gone through a scrummage SP conld ••nd tackled Crabbie before the Oxonia Ket rid of the ball. Phillips passed out to Jt ftud Trew, missing George Davies, had pass ?icholls. Llewellyn iust failed to take the tran-. from the Cardiffian, or a second tty w°u been a certainty, inasmuch as Scott was 0 01 his position on the opposite wing. Wales exacted a minor, and then the Scottish forwards, f*H>ed by quick panting by their b&cbs, got mto >wing, and with ft series of rashes trans- ferred the venue to the Welsh 25. Wales now had several narrow escapes. Pontymister Williams once saved from a for- ward rush, and George Dv¡eö tackled Morrison when he had but a couple of yards to travel. Welcome relief was afforded by the sp.endid kicking of Phillips,which landed the ball over the touch-line exactly at halfway. Wales were netting towards the Scotch 25, when they were repelled by kicks made from marks by Scot con the left wing, Thomson in the pacK. and Crabbie on the extreme right. Loose rushing took the ball over the Scotch 25 line, and after some nassing George Davie- got possession and finding Trew covered made an abortive drop for goal. Play for the next five^minutes continued fast?but lacked arty couspicuous merit, all play- ing a hard game, but none excelling. The venua remained on the Scotch side of the field, and George Davies lost a beautiful opening made by Lloyd and Nichollo by knocking on the ball when he could have pat Trew in with case. The Scottish backs all kicked well, and their forwards following up very speedily play I was transferred to the Welsh 25 line. Here Trew tried to field the ball, and missed it, and then Scotland were very lucky in getting a try as the result of unscientific piay. When the forwards had broken through one of them kicked hard, and the all went close up to the line. Bancroft was evidently waiting to taks the run out of the oncoming forwards; but missed the ball, and Dykes following up fell on it and scored. Scott tried the shot for goal, a.nd did not miss the mark by very much. A couple of minutes after this equal- ising of the score a long kick gave Scottaud their fifth minor.' Willie McEwan made his mark from the kick out, but nomaterial advantage accrued. The Weldbmen had got to neutral ground wheu they had the misfortune to lose Williams, of Pontymister, who had received a kick on tbs back of the head. It was plain that he was quite groggy," and he bad to be led off the ground. From the scrummage formed by the seven forwards Wales got out the ball and Nicholls, fielding in marvellous fashion, was off with his customary difficult-to-stop gallop. He dodged Timms and brushed off Morrison with consummate skill; and then when Tom Scott was coming for him Nicholls showing grand resource put in a kick and avoided the toucii line, and running up put Llewellyn on side. The Llwyny- pian adopted identical tactic*, and kicked over the line, and Nicholls outrunning Rottenbnrg go.ined a fine try, whtch however Bancroft just failed to convert. Half-time was almost imme- diately announced, Wales leading by 6 points to 3, and having had much more of the play than the score represented. Half-time Score- G. T. M. I WALES 0 2 1 SCOTLAND 0 1 5 As Wales now had the wind and the leading points in their favour, and seeing that they had also not been worsted in play up-to-date, and adding to this the fact that Buller Williams was now in the pack sheer bad luck alone could pre- vent the Welshmen from winning. Following the kick-off two scrummages took placc on the Welsh side of the centre, from the second of which Lloyd got the ball away, and passing over the head of the Swansea three-quarters, gave to Gwyn Nicholls, who took the ball at top speed, and ran well into the Scottish half before he was pulled down. Wales commenced to press hard. Their forwards seemed to get the ball as they liked, a want of cohesion among the Scot- tish backs now being very pronounced. Lloyd started a fine passing movement. From Phillips the ball went through the hands of Llewellyn, Nicholls, and George, Davies to Trew. The Swansea left centre had been a little undecided whether he would not hirmelf trv to break through and so Trew was stopped by Scott before he couid get well under weigh. Bryce aud Jure Blake now put in good work, Blake openiug out play by smart fielding in the loose. A scrummage was being held in front of the visitors' goal- moatb, when the halves were penalised for nIl- fair interference with Llovd. Bancroft tried for goal, but though the angle was considerably easier than from any of his previous efforts, he failed to put in as good a kick and gained a second minor. Wales had been going very strong since the restart, and it was somewhat of a sur- prise when Gillespie, Dyke, and Kerr carried the ball down between them almost to the home 25, where Nicholls saved. Good forward play re- moved the scene of operations to Scotland's 25, where George Dobson picked up cleverly in the loose and started a round of passing. Lloyd, Phillips, Trew, and George Davies in turn had possession, but little ground was gained until the ball was given to Nicholls, who ran round Timms and then passed to Llewellyn. Rottenbnrg accounted for Llewellyn and Timms held on to Nicholls so effectively as to prevent a, repass. The Welsh passing was now simply demoralising the Scotchmen, who, however, maintained a good defence, thongh their side Waa represented by 15 units, there being absolutely no sembitnce of combination. Another lovely chance was lost by the Welsh left wing, George Davies and Trew both showing hesitation at the psychological moment. A try seemed a certainty for Trew when Jere Blaka nassed out to Nicholls, who threw to George Davies, but the Swansea left wing was tackled a yard off scoring when the frantic cheers of the SDectators showed the impression that a try had been made. Exactly a quarter of an hoar haul elapsed aitica the interval and Wales were continuing to press, bat the v/orst of kick was against them. Once more Nicholls had Timms and Morrison clinging to his legs aud shoulders after hs had passed to Llewellyn, and once again a repass-a it was bound to end in scoring—was unfairly prevented. Yet another chance was given to the Swansea players on the loft wing, aud this time, i designing a repass for George Davies, the bail was thrown directly into the hands of Crabbie, was found touch with a screw kick. Jere Blake ag^in started the backs, and it looked any price this time oil Llewellyn or Nicholls scoring, for Nicholls broke cleanly round the opposing centre and Llewellyn beat Scott, only however to be swung into touch by 1-tottenburg. Following play well in Scotland's 25 was somewhat desultory, until" Buller Williams and Miller col- lated Rott jnburg on his line. A second or two aftrrwards the ball came out, Lloyd passing wide to Davies. Nicholls, between Davies and his witig, er.Ited for a pass, but he was chsr^ed by Hottenburg and Morrison when inches off the goal-line, over which he made a gallant effort tCl force his way. The attack from half-time had been far more severe than it was at, any stuga of the English motoki last year, Ittld it was marvel- lous how the Welshmen had been kept from scoring. At length one of the forwards again Dlayed the by sta.rting his backs, and after a, passing bout, in which most of them had participated, Llewellyn IIgain got possession from Nicholls, who had run light up to Scott, and scored a. clinking try, Bancroft's third elf jrt being unsuccessfol. No relief was afforded by tho Scotchmen's drop-ont, and Boots and Bryce almost got a try by quick following Up. the ball going dead. Bancroft now showed really fine workmanship, and from kicks tho minors were eoualised-five each. This continuous attack kept the crowd at fever pitch,but the tension was broken when Dykes, who was head and shoulders the beet forward on the Scottish side, again made a magnificent break away. Nicholls tried to stop the London'Scotchman and just failed. Bancroft fielded with safety, and convulsed the crowd by trifling with the Scottish forwards. Following up a clever kick by tho Swansea veteran full-back, Bob Thomas, with Hodges and Boots close up, prevented Rotten- bnrg replying at halfway, and then after a series of rushes Buller Williams scored what wos destined to remain the fourth try. The drop-out was again followed by attacks on the Scottish position, and the sixth minor fol- .owed. Nicholls, and his partner, Llewellyn, once nrore beat their men, bnt Llewellyn eluding Rottenbnrg was dashed into touch by Scott. The seventh minor came from a placo kick by Bancroft, who had had a 3hy for goal as the result or a mark made by Hodges. Time was now approaching, and Wales were pressing hotly as ever, scrummage after scrummage taking place within a few yards of the line. Good passing gave Nicholls the ball, and he made a fiue run, but George Davies, to whom he passed in the nick of time, failed to take advantage of his opening. In the final minute Trew missed a pass, which, if taken, would certainly have added another try No side was then announced, and Wales had won with a greater ease than the 12 points to 3 would indicate, several of their minors being the merest shade short of scores. ,Pinal :Score- vt. T. M. ) WALES 0 4 6 SCOTLAND 0 1 5 NOTES ON THE GAME. (BY OLD STAGER.") Such a spectacular treat as the game afforded has not been witne-ssed m International contests since 1893, when Wales won the triple crown. It was in that year that the Welshmen converted the conservative Scots to the value of the fouc three-quarter system, when in the memorable match at Edinburgh to-day's winners beat Scot- land pointless by a, goal gnd throe tries. Tlv.it engagement stands in relief as being the one in which the Welsh passing was seen to signal advantage in International encoun- ters, the three-quarters of that day being Arthur Gould and his brother Bert, Norman Biggs, a.nd McCutcheon, all men who could field the ball when on the run. We had to wsit a. long time before we conld show a repetition of that skill in attack which has won for our ctnbs the foremost place in the annals of Rugby football. Generally speaking, we have suffered from failure in physique on the Dart of our forwards. The first occasion on which our scrummagers were able to more than hold their own was at Newport a couple of seasons since, but that day our backs were playing at a decided disadvantage, for the conditions were an bad as possible for displaying excellence in the passing art. Last year at Swansea we had favonr- able circumstances, but were opposed by an un- usually weak side to-day our forwards were met by a good pack, and the Welshmen proved them- selves the cleverer in essentially Welsh tactics, while they were not decisively beaten in any phase of forward play. The result was tba^ the Welsh scrummagers wvre able to feed their backs, thus affording every possible chance for their characteristic mode of attack, while at the samt time the home forwards at no point of the game allowed themsehes to be mere feeders of the backs. The match was prettier than that against Eng- land, either last or this 6eason, a-id it was not so only because of the vast superiority of the Welsh backs. There has never been so much passing as Was indulged in to-day in any International match in the long series, but thsrehas been mnch moro effective transferring amongst the three- 11arter in manv contests. Tiie really gratifying feature from tbe point of nf Welsh footballers, was tha marked itn- V1CWoTrent ia the Welsh forwards. Not only did P1' dn all that was required of them in the way ,iine the ball, but to them is due the great olJieUing through ail stereotyped method credit of brwtanj t o £ b fcy in opening qrdck gelding in the open. di Aftcr^h« WOlk contribnted y eVeF7 member of the pack, it is extremely unlikely, as it would be certainly unjust, to make any change should the eipht players mantiain their form up to the date of the friiti match. Though each individual exhibited more than the usual amount o £ excellence on occasions, two de- serve special commendation for their energy and skill in the front rank. The foremost players foiward were Bryce and Blake. The Abernvoij Con- stable did not quite eqa.l his magnificent display at Gloucester, while Blake-tsligbtiy improved upon hi- on that day. The Scottish forwards were a little faster as a body in open rushes, but they lacked ia cohesion in the tight sciuramages, and it was frequently apparent that their ideas did not harmonise in the loose ru<;b,n. Drib- bling of the high order, such for instance as was evidenced when Macmillau led the pack in 1393, was entirely absent, and those who had half- heartedly supported Scotland uucing the week and had been convinced of victory for the Northerners on the knowledge that the ground was heavy through assumed superiority in drib- bling, were doomed to great disappointment. In fact the solitary try scored by Scotland was in,!io",w&y due to any pariicalftr mgriton the part of the forwards, inasmuch as Bancroft's failure to field was almost inexcusable, for he was given plenty of opportunity to score through the faiiare of the Scotch forwaids to keep close, to the ball, one of the pack having kicked it at least 20 yards away from bis fellows Dykes however, deserves ail the praise he will receive for taking advantage of Bancroft's remissness, for the London Scot was immeasurably the best forward on the visitors' side, fatrlv towering above such famous men as McEwan and Morrison. The Welshmen held the ascendency from the kick-off till no-side. Still, while it appears captious to complain, no good purpoae would be served in awarding praise indiscriminately to all. As a matter of fact, the left wing was weak, neither George Davies nor Trew playing up to their reputation, or, indeed playing a whit better than they did at Gloucester, despite the fact that there Davies was injured and Trew had far fewer opportunities in attack. Nicholls's value to his side was incalculable, his defence being perfect. It was ao fault of his that double the number of t,ries were not scored, for be made openings j galore, and on no single occasion did he fail to take his pass. This is all the more meritorious considering that he was under the disadvantage of playing against a mall of known strength in defence, and one who had had opportunities of knowing his play to a nicety while on the Aust-a lian tour. It was, however, Llewellyn who came most into public notice, and as in the last couple of English matches the Llwynypian was in grand form. True he made a couple of mistakes, but his dash, speed, and coolness irresistibly appealed to the crowd. He and Nicholls were opposed to the strongest defensive wing, and Scott'a pace was often useful. More scoring must have taken place on the right wing had Nicholls and Llewellyn not been fouled and so prevented from taking re- passes. At half-back Lloyd and Phillips both sustained the high opinion formed of them in tha match versus England. In all phases of play the Newport couple ex- celled, and while the defence of both was sound, Lloyd's cleverness in resource and his dodging ability was squalled by the splendid fielding and screw-kicking to touch put in by Phillips. The Welsh captain at full-back was solely responsible for the try gained by Scotland, but outside this blemish no one could be other than thoroughly satisfied with his performance. He had no rnshes such as he had a Gloucester to contend with, for the half-backs and Nicholls checked the Scotch forwards time after time As to Scotchmen,Dykes and Kerr struck me as being the pick of the basket forward. Both were tireie-M, while Morrison and McEwan, who bear mote famous reputations, frequently lost their heads and lacked the fire which is characteristic of their play. Of the halves, Gillespie from onr points of view was the better, but neither he nor Fasson, or, indeed, anyone of the Scotch backs, did anything approaching real brilliance. Hottenbnrg was not a failure, but ho did not play within streets of bis splendid form of last year. Timms did a lot of playing on top of Nicholls, who, however, generally beat him, often doing so cheaply. Of the wings in the first half Crabbie fully justified his selec- tion, but Scott came most into prominence in the closing stages his defence being superb. Morrison was not a great success, bat he and Timms ssemed too slow to cope with the Welsh centres. Wales thoroughly deserved to win by at least double the number of points. It is a, rema.rk- able fact, so far as International matches are concerned, that once only in the second half did the Scotchmen get into the Welsh 25, and then their 2tfty was but for a minute. The winning team did a good bit better than they were expected to do, but their opponents moat cer- tainly failed to justify the confidence which had been reposed in them. The visiting forwards as a whole were not equal to the men who met us last year at Inverleith, and the backs contained no one who gave indication of ever reaching the eminence as such men as Gedge, Campbell, or Neilson, not to speak of MaCiag and Don Wanchope of the long ago. Ireland will certainly have to put out 15 players of much superior stamp to those who came to Cardiff la3t year to prevent Wales from making this a second in- vincible year.

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INTERVIEWS.

---ANTECEDENTS OF THE SCOTTISH…

ASSOCIATION.

--HOCKEY.

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----..--ISATURDAY'S MATCHES

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---ANTECEDENTS OF THE SCOTTISH…