Rugby

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 29, 24 August 1949, Page 5

Rugby

BAY OF PLENTY WERE NOT ABLE TO COPE. WITH FAST, & FINISHED,. AUSTRALIANS

■ i' ■ <By '‘“Kai' ti tiro”) Although disappointed I was still a little'pleased when i walkedfrom the rugby field at Whakatane on Saturday after seeing the Bay of Plenty go down to the pacey Auscatlke' pf obvious slump of the Bay in'- the second spell . and yet pleased at tfieir/ encouraging start of thq first half and also for' the bright entertaining football exhibited by th#' Australians.

it"was-a:-grand 'day and the crowded ground made a fine setting for this match. For their part the Australians fitted well into the picture. They cannot be said to be a great side yet but they are showing signs of developing into a powerful combination, ; ;altjtpugh thby do not show the strength of the 1946 Wallabies. Their forward play showed the lessons learnt from the Maoris. Hard rucking, compact scrummaging and strong powerful forwards. Against any New Zealand team on a fine day these Australian forwards are going to be hard to stop and it Will have to be a fit pack that can hold them. Springbok Scrum

It was interesting to note the adopted Springbok style of packing the scrum. It was certainly successful and the ball did come out at a tremendous speed. The side rowforward packed at a very wide angle and assisted with the hooking, as well as giving a greater protection to the half back. After Cawsey put the ball in he had to move back very quickly to pick it up as it was hooked at a speed that is reminiscent of the old 2—3—2 scrum. The ball literally shot out of the scrum from between the. lock and the breakaway. Often it came out so fast that several members of the crowd were under the impression that it had not been hooked.

I was pleased to see the ball being hooked in that manner but I understand that there is some uncertainty in rugby quarters whether that style of scrummaging is to be allowed in this country. Some officials consider the method illegal. The Australian backs were not so impressive. Although fast and showing fine handling they played very orthodox movements, sending the ball out continually to the wings. Had the Bay backs tackled more solidly and with the intent of bringing their man to the ground the score might not have been so high. Against major New Zealand backs the Australians are going to have a difficult time. These orthodox movements are easy to counter but the unexpected moves, which most New Zealanders are encouraged to play, are not so easy to meet. But their speed and sure passing are something New Zealand teams might try following. Could Not Last Pace Although playing good football in the first spell Bay of Plenty could not last the pace. Both backs and forwards were unable to ' follow their opponents. It was fortunate for the Bay that they had Welch at 'fullback. This is a player who must surely be unlucky if he does not reach All Black trials this year. His kicking and positional play could not be faulted and it was not his fault that he was not backed up more often. His line kicking alone repeatedly drove the Australians back 60 yards o>r more. Among the other Bay backs Goldsmith attracted at times but he was too slow and, like his outside men, failed to handle cleanly. Generally the backs failed to take the opportunities offered them and when it did seem a likely movement was imminent faulty handling caused a breakdown. The tackling could have been much more sure and harder but here the home players appeared unwilling to get to close quarters with the Australians. The forwards held their own well in the first spell but they were not fit enough to see the game out at the Australians’ pace. This must show that players in this Union are not training hard enough for big game football. As a result they lack the knowledge and extra effort to finish off movements.

One essential Bay of Plenty lacks is the a>rt of cover defence. The Wallabies gave a splendid performance of this but when one looked about for it in the other team it was not there. Actually the trouble may be deeper. It may be due to lack of expert coaching but it is obvious that something is lacking in Bay football. This was well borne out on Saturday when Bay of Plenty met a finished team. They just could not cope. Weight Not Age

It is time the Bay of Plenty Union woke to the fact that it will never raise the standard of junior

rugby in the Bay as lqrfg as.;-i| has an,.. age limit as limit. The Bay has representative games -this:' season and‘in either case they have been soundly •’beaten. The fault cannot be entirely the. players, in both “matches were- beaten by age and experience. V; / : : “ „ / V •! 20n Saturday the ..team i -played Poverty Bay juniors fahd;’here was a fine example ■ of age and experience beating youth and enthusiasm'. In Poverty Bay the junior grade, competition has only a weight limit. Players of ,gny age can play as long as they are within the prescribed, weight regulations. In the Bay of Plenty they have th be under 21 as well as in the weight limit. What the reason is for having the age limit has never -beenquite clear to me but it has : surely • barred many players.from the game.' Old players and players....t9p. v . light for senior football have .been kept out. .

Rugby is weak enough in the Bay as it is, without this happening and now that it has been shown what a handicap it is against outside teams some consideration should be given to dropping the age limit restriction for junior football, throughout the Bay of Plenty.

THAMES RUGBY TEAM HAS CONVINCING WIN OVER WHAKATANE D.H.S. The touring Thames High School &ugby team continued its winning way when it followed up Saturday’s 51—3 victory over Te Awamutu College with a win yesterday of 32—3 against the local High School team. In the early stages the Thames boys though always dangerous showed signs of their long bus trip, but soon settled down to give a fine display of fast open play. The Whakatane team played determinedly against their experienced opponents but were all guilty of very weak tackling—an unusual thing in secondary school football. Local boys who stood out were the three forwards Pryor, Kirk and Breward.

The scorer of the Whakatane try was the strong running winger, Niki. Thames High School in addition to being champion junior team in the Thames competition has defeated Sacred Heart 25—3, Hamilton Tech 48—0, Hamilton High B—o, Te Awamutu 51—3, Whakatane 32—3. AUSSIE TEAM FOR GISBORNE MATCH The Australian team to play Poverty Bay and East Coast at Gisborne today will be chosen from the following players:— Fullback, E. Broad or J. Solomon; three-quarters, A. Ware, T. Allen, C. Davis; five-eighths, J. Blomley, N. Emery; halfback, C. Burke; front row, F. McCarthy, S. Cottrell, J. Baxter; middle row, C. Windon, N. Shehadie, R. Mossop, D. Brockhoff; back row, R. Cornforth. RANGITAIKI TEAM FOR .■ SHIELD MATCH Following are the Rsmgitaiki Rugby Sub-Union’s representatives to play Rotorua in a Hurinui-Apanui Shield match on Saturday:— Fullback: T. Davis. Three-quarters: G. Burt, N. Raureti, L. Newdick. Five-eighths: N. Shuster, K. Sullivan. Half back: L. Raureti CYice-Cap-tain). Back row: A. Black. Side row: W. Moses, B. Pryor. Locks: M. Jenson, W. Anderson. Front row: K. Woods (Capt), S. EdWards, P. Falwasser. Emergency backs: S. Savage, B. Mexted, J. Marks. Forwards: A. Caverhill, J. Conn, E. Mulligan.