OTAGO CRITIC OF SELECTOR’S VIEW OF N.Z. FORWARDS

Grey River Argus, 6 October 1948, Page 7

OTAGO CRITIC OF SELECTOR’S VIEW OF N.Z. FORWARDS

DUNEDIN, Oct. 5. Mr A. McDonald’s opinion that "the Otago rucking specialists.would learn to vary and expand then pla„ so that they could play their part m experienced Duned m ag a questionable ’ direction to the players ff are to. tackle the Springboks In th ?Se?rwa C s°TeSal agreement with if SdtS nrAhrlo a very even and sound comb?na?io°n a »rt f eless It «a S orjEaNhTfet aim Of New Zealand forwards must be the achievement of top efficiency m SC V‘ U Th? Springboks put thej faith first in' stcrvmmaging.’’ said Mt se\ecCavanagh iunr., South Islana seiec tor and Otago selector and coaclr “Their first objective is the ball. Tb e correctness of tnen svstem does not require emphasis if tbei 1 ' forwards are winning the the whole team can maintain pres sure until the wav opens up for tl ba M? Cavanagh* reaffirmed that the

who tactics of the Ota<m team in tha past two seasons had been based on that cardinal rule of winning posession and keeping possession. “If the forwards are to concentrate also on open play, their energies must be divided.” he said. “The question is: Which is better—that they should race about after their onnonets have won the ball trying to win it back, or that they they should make it their first duty to get the ball and lei. their opponents do the chasing about after it?” /Leaving Otago’s performances out of it altogether, he . said, obviously (he first emphasis against the Springboks must be on scrummaging. . Ibat was the basis of the whole game and it was more logical and more important that every forward in the New Zealand team should make scrummaging his prime duty. “You can’t have it both ’ways, unless vou have supermen forwards, he said. ‘‘There is a limit to their energies and it is of the gieatesc im nortance that their vim should be directed wholly where it can be ot most use .The trend towards open football by forwards in New Zealand in recent years cannot be justified b> the results, and continuance of it, especially Id ’South Africa, could bo dis astrous.”

Six West Coast candidates took part in the recent theoretical examinations conducted by the New Zealand Rugby Referees’ Association. Two Hokitika referees, Messrs A., V. O’Brien and F. Parks were successful.