"RUGBY FOOTBALL"
"RACING CLUB DE FRANCE AT NEWPORT"
"(FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT)"
"The Racing Club de France played the first match of their brief tour in this country at Newport, yesterday, when they were beaten by one dropped goal and one try (7 points) to nothing. All the scoring took place in the second half of the match."
"It was a disappointing game and, perhaps, on the run of play, the French team did not deserve to be seven points to the bad at the finish. Few of the 5,000 spectators, for instance, were convinced that N. Macpherson, the Newport captain, touched down the try with which he was credited. Harold Davies's dropped goal, to, although a really clever one, was not sufficient consolation to Newport for their defeat by six points to five in Paris last season. Altogether, it was not quite clear whether France had or had not made much progress in the development of their players since their international side lost at Cardiff last season. The Frenchmen certainly showed qualities in which, hitherto, they had ben lacking. They have advanced tremendously in loose footwork, and the judgement and cleverness of their forwards reminded one of the Colonial touring sides 10 or more years ago. Sometimes, they swept down the field in an irresistable manner that astonished the Newport defenders. The French half-backs, too, were both quick and astute. They were particularly clever at anticipating the moves of their opponents. As for the three-quarter backs, they at least gave the Welsh players an invaluable lesson in low tackling. On the other hand, they rarely attempted to develop an attack by means of passing, which fact, however, probably was accounted for by the heavy state of the ground and the greasy ball. The remarkable speed of Bordes and Lobies thus was rarely tested in attack, although it was useful enough to the Racing Club when they were on the defensive. The Racing Club failed chiefly on account of the rashness and lack of restraint for which French teams are noted. They worked hard to reach a scoring position and then lost their heads, became wild, and threw away obvious chances. In addition, some of their tackling was over-vigorous, and they were apt to stand offside and obstruct, offences which the referee unfortunately treated very leniently. Several players were injured in the second half. Margeridon, one of the French forwards, had to retire. Waite, one of the Newport forwards, also had to leave the field, but this was at the orders of the referee."
"From the spectacular point of view, the match was disappointing, but it certainly indicated that Wales will have a difficult task when they cross the Channel for the match at Paris on March 23 [FoNR Editor: the result was France 3 v 11 Wales]. It was only the resolute defence, however, of either side that prevented further scoring. Magnanon was brilliant at back for the Racing Club. The players who did best for Newport were Hammett, Davies, Edwards, Whitfield, and Macpherson."
"Early in the day the Mayor of Newport and the Corporation accorded a civic welcome to the visiting team."
"The teams were:-"
"NEWPORT.- F. Baker, back; W. Jones, Harold Davies, E. D. G. Hammett, and T. E. Vaughan, three-quarter-backs; S. Manship and J. Wetter, half-backs; N. Macpherson, J. Whitfield, T. Jones, R. Edwards, W. Radford, C. W. Jones, J. V. Waite, and S. Skuse, forwards.
"RACING CLUB DE FRANCE.- C. Magnanon, back; J. Duran, R. Desmonlins, R. Bordes, and J. Lobies, three-quarter-backs; M. Reichel and P. Margeridon, half-backs; A. Loury, R. Leron, Lasegnet, F. Berrens, A. Raynard, H. de Jouvencel, J. Desplans, and V. Dulac, forwards."
"REFEREE.- Captain A. S. Burge"