THE SCRUM PROBLEM.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 239, 9 October 1928, Page 8

THE SCRUM PROBLEM.

VARYING INTERPRETATIQNS.

Mr. G. E. Beamish, who accompanied! the team as New Zealand Press Association correspondent, informed a "Star" reporter that the Sputh African interpretation of "hooking" in the scrums Was the greatest difficulty the All Blacks had to contend with. According to South African interpretation the outside hooker of the New Zealand scrum was rendered powerless to assist in hooking the ball because he was debarred from using his inside foot. He had to stand and let the ball go past, and before it got within range of the All Blacks' inside hopker it was hogked by the opposition. Inyari? ably the ball was hooked down the passage between the South African "loose head" and their middle man. The New Zealand players maintained, in fact, that the South Africans trespassed their own rule by persisting in hooking the ball befqre it gpt past the New Zealand outside hooker,

Still, as the South African referees allowed it, the New {Jealanders had to devise a counter-move. The adoption of the wing-forward as a "loose head," or third man who packed down in the front row «n whatever side the bail was put in, assisted the All Black?' capability tp get tho ball. But it was not til} the end of the tour, when the ♦'loese head" had learned how to pack and push as part of the scrum, that the difficulty was really mastered. In the final Test the All Blacks got the ball almost when they wanted it—whieh was the secret of their great win in that match.

A Sock-like Scrum.

"Who will ever forget that rock-like All Black scrum?" added Mr. Beamish. ''The Springboks were routed just as the All Blacks were in the first Test at Durban, Tho New Zealand sprum in the last Test was almost a 3-3-2 scrum, although the traditional formation was not altered. The two hookers still packed on either side of the middle man in the Springbok front row, but every t}me a Bcruin was formed Stewart went down as a, loose head, mostly on the blind side. He was not the loose head in the sense that the All Blacks used it in the second Test at Johannesburg. IJe was there to do his hard pushing with the rest of them. And he did it. He did not break as he had done when playipg the loose head game in previous matches. Theoretically, jje not part of the scrum. Yet, in the way be packed, he was actually a front row man. It Was in that solid packing and by playipg |S}tew&?t ifi the manner in which he yf as played that we Wpre able to beat the Springboks at their own game. That solid scrummaging was the deciding factor in tho match-''