Fatal Weakness Of All Blacks

Chronicle (Levin), 1 October 1949, Page 5

Fatal Weakness Of All Blacks

Eeceived Friday, 8.50 p.m. LONDON, Sept. 30. The fatal weakness of New Zealand's Rugby team in South Africa was the slow passage of the ball from the serum to the inside backs, says the South Afriean correspondent of the Manchester ' Guardian, reviewing the All Blaek tour. • He pays high tribute to the New Zea- ■ land forwards who, he says, after a poor start succeeded so well in niastering the South Afriean scrummaging techuique that they beat the Springboks at their own game in three of the tests, and in the whole series gained a hooking advantage of 88 to 72. Had it been possible for New Zealand to exploit this advantage the All Biacks would have ended the season in a "triumph, for it was widely acknowledged that their ccmtres, Elvidge and Goddard, and one of their three- , quarters, Henderson, were superior on J the attack to the South Africans. j The South Afriean method of leaving ' a funnel in the side of the scrum from | which the forwards expelled the ball to the backs proved most efficient. The New Zealand method of heeling the ball to the back row of the scrum was slow by comparison and the delay was accentuated by the scrum half giving fiat-footed passes to his standolf. 1 New Zealand's other weakness was : iu place-kicking. Whereas Geffin accomplished the great feat of scoring ten penaltv goals from fifteen kicks and secured 32 out of the 47 points reeorded bv the Springboks in the tests, the New Zealand fullbaek, Scott, who other wise wai the star of the team, was unaceountably unsuccessful in his ! place-kicking. Apparently the New Zealanders had no one to take this over j from him. The Springboks ^ proved the more adaptable of the two teams and showed the great er improyament as the series progressed. Nevertheless the statistics : scareely did justice to the merits of the • All Biacks, for. a result of two all in the test matehes might have been a fairer index to the capabilities of the two sides.