BATTLE OF RUGBY STYLES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 89, 1 May 1937, Page 14

BATTLE OF RUGBY STYLES

SPRINGBOKS AND AUSSIE'S WHAT CYRIL TOWERS SAYS IMPORTANCE OF THE SCRUM As South Africa will launch its Rugby might against Australia before coming on to New Zealahd * It is interesting to note the present trend of thought over the Tasman. Weakness In five-elghths U the worry of the moment. "Australia v. South Africa will be a battle of one school of thought against another," says Cyril Towers, the famous Australian outside-centre. Towers on his trip last year to South Africa was affofded special facilities for obferving the characteristics of the football there, comments a writer in the Sydney Referee. "The South Africahs localise their play round their forwards," he Says. "They realise that they have the biggest and most rugged forwards ln the worid, so they model their play so as to gain the best advantage from them. "It is useless for Australia to hope to select forwards to out-push the Springbok forwards. In the Tests they will average round about 15 stone, and if Australia were to choose meh of that weight, we would find that many of our best players would not be selected. "It would repay Australia to use her own type of play. Select those forwards who are absolutely the best on our own standards — fast, strong, and able to ke^) going for the whole game. "We must run the South African forwards of£ their feet, by keeping the ball away from them. If they are allowed to make a pushing match of it with our forwards they will tire us

UUti "It is the policy of the South African backs to bring back play irito the forwards a great deal, aftd thus allow them to form a battering ram against the opposing forwards. The five-eighth kicks often for the line, bringing play down to their oppopents' goal-line by degrees. Once there the aim of the heavy forwards is to force themsplves over.

Ofl-setting the Big Forwards "This policy of bringing play into a limited area in which their forwards operate can be off-set by the Australians. The Australian half-back must have a fast, long pass that will get the ball out quickly beyond the South African breakaways. The long pass out to the wingers from the forwards or five-eighth is a good method of getting the ball out away from the South African forwards. Once the South African forwards can be kept in" check the Australian team can use its own ways and means of scoring tries. Those will appeal ttr all as sound tactics. "Australia will need a five-eighth with a good pair of hands who will be a reliable link in the backs. We cannot afford to have a five-eighth who will be caught. For the tackling of the Springboks Will almost certainly make it so that the Australian forwards are offside when the five-eighth is tackled. Thus their own forwards will be in a position to take the ball through while the Australian pack is endeavouring to get back into position." The five-eighth inside and outside centres 'in the Australian team should provide some difficulty for the Australian selectprs, says the Referee writer. Not that the material is lacking, but because there are too many strong claimants in Richards, Rahldn, McLaughlin and Towers. Richard's knee injury may mean that Rankin would go to five-eighth, then McLaughlin and Towers as inside and outside centres would probably be ideal. Itis unlikely that any one will be preferred to Kelaher and O'Brien on the wings. Towers says that these tnen will be quite as fast as and probably more pollshed than the South African wingers. Scram Work Australians will not want to base their play entirely on scrum work, as though this department of the game was the sole basis of dampaign. Scrum work is rathei1 a means to an end — of galnlng the ball for the backs to exploit possession of it. The fewer the scrums the better it will be for Australia, for the South African wefght advantage will place Australia at a big disadvantage in the scrums. What is wanted is more than anything a reai team in which the whole fifteen players will have a similar team objective. As long as this is so Australia will have a fine chaiice of victory. They day of the complete individualist is gone. Team-Work wins matches to-day when first-class teams are ^ opposed. and provided that those who have the say in deciding what Australia's policy on the field will be can* come to their decision leaving ample time for the players to get used to it, one may feel confident that Australia will acquit herself well against the Springboks. '