PROBLEMS OF ALL BLACKS

Chronicle (Levin), 30 June 1949, Page 5

PROBLEMS OF ALL BLACKS

Olawle Ixing, Speeial X.Z.P.A.

(From

Roprescntstive.) j JOHAXXESBURG, June 29. . Only three games remain till the first ! Test and now that the All Blacks have a clear picture of their opponents' methods, it is high dime tlie.v evolved adequ'ate connte.r measures. It appears certain that the hackline for the first Test will he SaVage, Kearney. Allon, Klvi'dge, JTenderson, Moates and Scott. The paclc is much more difticult to sort out hecause of some most inconsistent form. At the moment Simpson and; Skinner are the hcst vf'ront row. supportS for Catley. Ilarvey and Willocks have had interruptions to their train'ing and Frazer and-lMcHugh are playing liettor football tliough the former ])air are u fine lock comhination. After twi great games,. Grant has slumped and j kfcXah and^th'owlev appear the hest side row forwards. .Tohnstone has heeu . more effective in the back row than Thornton who has played only three games to dfijte. * It appea^r eertain Jthat the virtual Test side vafl be fielded in two mat'-hes after the .Grange Free State gamo and tlr m are jlikely to be pointed to the ' mpositiojrgibf the first Test side. Tn an analysis of the All P.lacks' play, eonsideration has to be given tu the style fftt' Rugby to whi'di thev arel opposed. (jhhrstly, the All RhwWhave heeled the"l)all slowly and the service from the nalves has not been as ipii'-k as their .opponents. • Seeondlv, Smiih African teams use a loose forward in j a comparaljle manner with Ihe old Xew Zealand wing forward. This idavev

stands well.toward. midfield in linrouN and unless the ball is "])lacod on tioground, he rushes up. fast on the fiveeighths wfjjen the All Blacks take the ball eleanly and drop it to the hn'f. Thirdly, whereas in Xew . . Zealand all the forwards usually take part if a ruck follows a.lineout, their opjuments have at least two.mep scouting rou?id the ruek: Tf the All piacks. look li;ke breaking througlf, the oppoinints.alwavs .-.ffV'to coll|ipse fhe iar;k '.!jmV3h'itnaau a scriini. To combat t'he activities'of'the opposing loose forward "in lineouts, the All Blacks have" adopted the policv now of always putting the ball 011 the ground. T11 the earlv stages of the tour the referoes rarely allowed the rueks to last very long and speeial representations were made to the referees. However, the South African forwards immediatelv adopted the eounter, once the rueks were allowed to last longer, of pulling the man down with the ball' 0(11 d falling 011 top of lnm, thus eoiupelling the referee to whistle for ' a scrum, and as statistics have shown, scrums are much to the advantage of the home teams.