All Blacks Keeping To N.Z. Style

Chronicle (Levin), 15 June 1949, Page 5

All Blacks Keeping To N.Z. Style

(Erom the X.Z.P.A. correspondent witl: the All Blacks.) •; Received Tuesday, 7 p.m: EAST LO'XDON, June 14. Tltough the All Blacks have been outhooked in the first four matches, nc radicai changes have been made in scrummaging methods at praotices. Ad efforts are still direeted at attainihg a compact and mobile scrum and the ordinary Hew Zealand techniq.ue ot applylng weight is still being followed. The only aspect of scrummaging which is being given the utmost consideration is the need for the hooker to advance his feet as near as possible to the side ! from which the hall is being put in. This is a regular procedure- with South African hookers.who often just trap tne ball and the side front row and siae flank forwards then help in hooking it. In view of Phristian 's good pert'ormance mgainst Louw, Eastern Province, who is the likelv South African Test hooker, it is reasonable to assume tJo t wlien batley returns the All Blacks iuay do much better. batley 's methods approxiniate tliose of tlie South Afiicans and if the pack develops tlie c ,mpactness necessary for efficient scnimmagingy the whole coinplexion cf t'"1 tour may cliange. o The critical point of tlie imi therefore lftcely to he reached wl en Catley returns. If the All Blacks then still fail to win a fair share of the ball, their scrummaging methods may have to undergo an alteration. Despite tlie mamier in whi i li e team has been outhooked, theii b^ck:: have revealed much greater thtu«t on attack than their o[)ponents. In lie lirst four matches tlie All Blacks won 57 scrums to 102 but this loss of poc.sCa- mu" was alniost cancelled out by tlie forwards winning 105 lineouts to (i2. Erom all sources, tlie All Blacks liave had 1 .i.S passing ruslies of which 2(i reaclieo tlie wings and IS went to the centres. Their opponeuts had 08 passing rushes of which nine went to the wings and nine to the centres. This was a creditable perfonnauco for a side running itself into fonn against provincial fifwhich have^alreudv played a numof repreesntative matches. Of tiie All Blacks nine tries to date, live have been engineered exclusively by tlie backs and two others were the result of forwards supporting tlie backs. Opposing teains liave scorea only oue try by tlie backs penet ratiug the defence. The penalties in four games liave been 2M for Xew Zealand and J.'! for their opponeuts. It is not yet certain whether Allen or Elvidge will play against Border. Both. had a workout^with the team yesterday but Allen is not moving as freely as he would like. Elvidge has recovered from an injury in the lirst matcli lmt lias a sore annle. Oudsell lias a heavv cohl and tlie team at the moinent is very depleted in centre backs. The team practiced yesterday from "4 p.m. to 5.40 p.m. when tlie weather was much cooler than at any previons stage of the tour.