COMING INVASION OF THE SPRINGBOKS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 111, 27 May 1937, Page 15

COMING INVASION OF THE SPRINGBOKS

WKat All Blacks Have Learnt Form Against Australians (By J. SADLER, Member 1935-30 All Black Team in Britain, 1936 All Black Team against Australia). (Copyright Reserved).

rpHERE has been much discussion of the question of the comparative form of the Australians and New Zealanders as revealed here last seasoa and whether the heavy defeat of Australia in the Second Test gives any indication of what the Springboks may expect this year. Personally, I do not think that too much. should be deduced from the record of the Australians in New Zealand. They did not impress me as a particularly strong side, they were very much boosted before Isailing but they did not reveal themiselves o« of fully international rank. It is true that when I saw them in action they had lost two star men — Hayes was gono from their back-line and Cerutti from the forwards. Hayes was a key man, it appears, and it is difficult to overestimate what a man like Cerutti can do in holding a pack together. Still, on what they did show ua, it appeared that they played a very open forward game, but lacked cohesion in fhe solid work and did not have more than three or four men who were prepared to scrummage. There was solidity wanting and in both Tests the Australians had a couple of forwards on the edge of the tight all the time. This meant that their forward play suffered. The backs also were without apparent ability to makje theif way past the New Zealand defence from a set scrum. They relied more on starting movements from the loose or on their own goal-line, and in halfto wing movements they were not particularly successful. Thus their coming out of the First Test with the score only 11 to 6 against them was due more to the play of the All Blacks than to the merits of their opponents. For some rcason or other the New Zealand team did not settle down in that gamej the forwards began on the wrong foot, as it were, and tbe backs did not link up at all well. Sometimes a team gets off to a bad start in this way and ncver recovered from it. That happened in the First Test at "Wellington. The second game at Dunedin, however, the football of the All Blacks was better and While the Australians appeared to be rattled by a couple of quick tries whiqh were scored in the second spell I think it ie

true to say that they were not overcome as easily as some have declared and that the first reason for their defeat was that they were out-manoeuvred by their opponents. The resultis of these Tests, then, give little, guide to what we may expect when All Blacks and Springboks meet for the first time in nine years this season. The contests are certain to be interesting and hard-fought and I think it likely that the New Zealand selectors will fiitet of all concentrate on meeting the weight of the Springboks in the forwards. That is not to say that we in New Zealand will expect the principal attack to be delivered by the vanguard, but the South Africans are famous for their heavy pack and it appears likely that the quest this year will be for big, solid men, who will be able to hold them. Possibly the ehoice will also rest on men who are both heavy and speedy, for if we can obtain this type of man (which we have possessed in the past) we may be able to wear down the resistance of the South African pack by the pace of the play. After the forwards' are chosen there remains the question of the New Zealand scrummage formation. It does not appear that the 3 — & — 1 pack is anywhere near idealj its disadvantages we have grown to understand, just as in England we learnt certain fundamentals of the play of the front-rank men in this type of scrummage. It seems' possible that ,

we will make some other use of the odd man. When we begin picking our forwards we shall have to find good line-out men. There were some useful men against the Australians last (season, King and Reid amongst them, but we did not get as much of the ball as there was reason to expect. We want a man of the type of Finlayson, a tall man who can use his h eight and hands and jump. We (shall also have to make up our minds what type of game we are going to play, whether we are going to pick, say, four solid scrummagers and four all-round ' forwards with speed and weight and the ability to perform well out in the open or whether our pacl? is to be scrummage™ first. The Springboks are famons for their use of the scrummage and linekick and it is unlikely that we shall try to rob them of these favourite weapons. Our men will have to be taught the lessons which piayers learnt in England in 1935 about the importaiice of vision to front-row men and the way to ensure it, and the methods and times of pushing — things which we had to discover when matched against men long-seasoned in the 3 — 2 — 3 and 3 — 3 — 2 packs and to test out until we were satisfied that they were right. The forwards chosen (and the trials will certainly bring some fresh ones to notice), the problem of the backs will have to be approached. We shall be playing under the old rules again and therefore it seems likely that M. Gilbert

will have a great chance of inclusion in the Test teams. Ie is perhaps a trifle slow for the fast game which we play under the amended kicking-into-touch rule, but under the old rules his sure tactics and sound kicking will make him a strong candidate for the , full-back position. Though of course he will have A powerful rival in B. Pollock, who played exceptionally well last year. Both men are goal kicks. and one problem confronting us is to get another goal kick to suppoft them should they be injured or momentarily c-ff form. I should (say that we will have little trouble in fiUing the centr« thiee-quarter position, as Mitchell will be with us for a long time yet. We need a second wing. however. for if Watt is available for one post Hart is retiring and will have to be replaced by someone of sufficient pace. The quest will be for a good attacking man. The five-eighth positipna aTe generally regarded als problem. po gte, it seems, and while we should be able to obtain a solid man to take the position of first five-eighth we need an attacking companion for his at second fiveeighth. Last season the piayers whb made the English tour were far from feeling their beist when playing for their third season in eighteen months. But I think that had, some of ou» people seen how J. L. Griffiths played in some of his games in Britain they would concede him to possess ability in attack als well as«in defence. Certain advantages will be owned by the Springboks when they arrive here, They will not find travelling as strenuous as.it is in some countries, and they wili discover playing conditions to be easier,v I think. The grounds are rarely hard and there are few problems of adaptation and acclimatisation. Also they will have the advantage which, it seems to me, is always possessed by a tourjhg side which can work together over a long period and get to know one another 's play very completely. In .other words they (should have combination. Their quality, of course, will not be revealed, until they take the field, but I have every hope that when they do so New Zealand will not lack good footballers to test that quality .thoroughly.