EFFORT TO SIFT CAUSES FOR FORM FAILURE

Chronicle (Levin), 20 June 1949, Page 5

EFFORT TO SIFT CAUSES FOR FORM FAILURE

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I u mSci Mona-ay, y.io d.iii. M&y > iMfcW HjaickS had ■h'gkrt^td-lieart team ' talk '"of1 kjbjje feSbft fo sift the'causes bf'theih faiiure .to strike propbr form. ilij a , '■ : . ,"We..are just not getting enbugh of '-the ball. We are not getting it fast enough and our forwards ar,e not fit," sai:d-, the, manager, Mr. J. H. 'ParkeA ' ' Austerity In Entertainment. The first move taken in the drivte to give a nety look to the team is to intensify the practices. Mr. Parker has also sliced heavily the entertainment programme. The players are right behind Mr. Parker in the latest austerity move to see if this will a'chieve resultk J The team is starting to appfe-

ciate the similar difficulty the 1928 side had in getting'ht, but the concensus of opinion ambng South African rugby writers is that the present team is not playing up to the-standard of the 1928 team in the forwards, though niost of them concede that the present backs appear to be a more thrustful attacking unit. Flay Lackfed A Pattern. Mr. Leslie Cox, the nbted South African sports writer, in the Natal Sunday -Pdst, says of Saturday's game: "The All Blacks lackfed the definite pattern and design of their predecessofs, both the military side of 1919 and the New Zealand team of 1928. Then we saw determined thrusts down the centre, with fastrunning forwards coming in for a double punch behind the backs. Thus, if any check occurred, the attack woUld still move on with new vigour. "Against Natal yesterday the All Black backs fough£ a lone battle. Elvidge, Allen and Black backed up but no forwards were aeross. The intensive backing-up of former teams has not yet been developed by this side. Must Be Given Chance. Mr. Phil Nel, captain of the 1937 Springboks in New Zealand, said: "This is the first occasion I have seen the preseht side. At the moment the forwards lack the polish to give the backs the best use of the ball. They must be given a chance tb settle down. This settling dowh process is not a simple matter for a touring side, and some people are inclined to write off the All Blacks on too few matches. "I think this si *e can be moulded into a fine combinatiom Certainly the backs look capable and I was pleased to see the ball going out to :tbi& wings' mnch more than was ^Hb|-caisa:whfen we toured New Zeaiknd:in:1937{'' V The All Blacks- wbn six scrums to -11 in ,tlie first spell and 10 lineouts Jq feiglift : >In -the sfecond "they w'ori '*13 scriims to 14 and 14 lineouts to !2- u; - . ' ,