SPRINGBOK RUGBY MIGHT TO INVADE DOMINION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 125, 12 June 1937, Page 13

SPRINGBOK RUGBY MIGHT TO INVADE DOMINION

BIG TASK OVER More Difficult Than In Year 1921 rrHE job of the selectors has been infinitely more difficult than on the previous occasion of the British Isles tour, when the first fifteen automaticaliy selected themselves, and when anybody who knew anything at all about rugger could have named 20 of the selected players straight off the reel before the trial games. Who did not know that Brand, Van Niekerk, Gray, J. C. van der Westhuizen, Zimmerman, Osler and De Villiers would walk into the slde? The same was the case With. the forwards. South Africa has always been rich in fullbacks. As Mark Nicholls rpxharked to me on the All Black tour of this country, .with vivid impr'essions of the, great Gerhard Mprkel strll fresh in his mind from our 1921 tour, "You fellows seem to breed fullbacks; -you had Morkel in' 1921 and now you have Jackie Tindall." . "Cucumber" Qelrry . Yes, and now we have Gerry Brand, "Cucumber" Geriy, as he ,may well be called. for his coolness. Will I.ever. forget" that stirrirtg incident in th? internatlbnal game against Wales . at j Swansea in 1931 when Boon, the star Welsh winger, came tearing down. on Geriy with , an ojpen field- before him, to the delirious joy. of the Welshmen? The.crowd, with visions of five pbints before their eyes, were good-nafuredly chipping me .on" the' lin'e," 'as only Welshmen— and Australians— can do: "Watch our Ronnie," they shouted. And watch I , did— apprehensively. , Calmly arid sloWly Gerry moved upfield. . A feint to .the. left- tp keep Boon from. swerving infield, a swerve by Boon tb the right, a few 'buick steps by Gerry and a glorious . clivetackle, carrying both over the touchline. put an .end to a very dangerous situation. We need have no fears indeed with' Gerry Brand as our last line of defence. In Turner we have an excellent understudy. Although not so spectacular as Brand, he is fast, t.acides magnificently, handles surely and jkicks with both f eet, although not . as lengthily as - Brand. In addiuon, he is a versatile player, who can play in more positions than that of fullback, and may well prove to be a second Charlie Meyer, our most indispensable player on the 1921 tour, whom I pulled in from the wing to play at fly-half in the second test against the AllBlacks. ; Wings. and Centres Our wings should give a good account of themselves. Lyster and Williams on the right are both fast men, Lyster is powerful, and.tackles well. At tiiries he appears gomewhat lackadaisical or nesitant, as Ihough he cannot quite inake up his mind as to what he should do. This is more particularly the case cn attack. He is also inclined to o.verdo "cutting-in''; a wing's primary objective should be the corner flag. An infield swerye is an excellent thing, especially when it is followed by the outward swerve to catch the oppo'nents on the wrong foot, but it should be practised ' iri moderqtion. Williams is fast and.tricky. He uses his head and wo'rks well for position, especially when ciiiting in - from the touchrline inside his centre. What a, pity he so often nuIUfies his good work by dropping the ball at the crucial moment of taking the insjde gap. He also cross-klcks * beautifully, and can always be found co'vering his fullback or cutting across to the other wing on defence. Lawton and Broodryk do notappear to be as fast as the two right wingers, but they certainly do not. lack pluck or determination, although they may not have the flnesse of the other two. They can stand a gruelling and should proVe their worth in wet weather more especially,. when a "hammer-and-tongs" player who crashes into the oppositlon is of more value to his side than the more dainty side-stepper and swerver. Lawton also knows the value of the cross-kick. • If Broodryk has a f ault it appears to be an inclination to f orage on his own, . which may catch him out of i position if attack is suddenly changed | into defence. For all that, he is a j straight-' runner, ' reviving membries of the Stegmanns of old, dear to the hcarts of . the • crowd and difficult to stop.

Centres the "if" Part The centres, to ray mind, constitute the "if" part of the team. They may lose a game as easily as win it, for all of them, with the exception of White, are new to international football. But here psychology plays its part. They should remember that they are internations and, therefore, better than any of the provincial centres they are meeting, and just as good as, if not better than the international centres who are opposing them. Hofmeyr> with his deceptive change of pace and direction and his eye for the gap, can be a very dangerous man on his day. He has, however, a tendeiicy to wander out of his place, which makes combination with him somewhat difficult at times, apart from leaving gaps in the defence. His handling also can be improved. He seems to concentrate too much on taking the gap and too little on taking the ball' when the gap is there. And yet his very unorthodoxy has pulled many a game out of the fire for his side. . - Babrow, like his Western Province confrere, has a natural instinct for the gap. He can take a pass well but should concentrate more on giving pne, remembering to draw his opponent and to -watch not his opponent but the man to whom he is giving the pass, - When he does break, which he can do beautifully, he should not try to do too much on his own, as happened in the Transvaal match at Ellis Park last July. He (and Hofffieyr) should move up more quickly on defence. If one centre lags behind there is a bulge in the line with an autoriiatic opening, avidly snapped up by the opposition, which np flankforward on earth can cover. .. The tour should make Bester, who goes.hard and straight, and does not crowd the other backs, ho inean asset against the All Blacks. He is deter.mined and strong, moves up fast on defence, and certainly knows how to tackle. With experience he. should become a much-improved player, and it . would occasion no surprise if he becomes one.of the finds of the team. White was disappointing in the ' trials, but played up better on the last day. He can move fast, is powerful, can take the strain, and tackles well. But he must discard the habit of boring his wings into touch or running across the fieid. He used to run straight, and can easily get into the knack of doing it again. He should, on the whole, stiffen the threequarter line. The Fiy-halves The , fiy-halves who have been . chosen certainly will not letthe side down. We may have had more brilliant fiy-halves in the past, but these two should measure up to our requirements. Van der Vyver is tough, he can- stand up to any gruelling and always come up smiling. His defence is rock-like, while he has excellent hands aiid feet and an aptitude for kicking quicldy. He will never part with the ball to a man in a worse position than himself, and when he does pass makes sure that it will reach its. objective. His apparent care-free attitude hides a quick brain, while his physique will stand the unwelcome attentions of the wingforward. He has.a tendency, however, to lob his passes, and should try to throw a longer and a swifter pass. Harris is promising, has fine hands and feet, and can also stand the' strain. He defends well, but his attack is somewhat weak owing to inexperience. He will be an infinitely better back-when he returns. . ' Evans, I may say, was unlucky in not getting in, but who was to be left' out? Lochner was as fprtunate as Evans was the opposite. Still, Lochner as untility man ought to prove useful; he breaks well, uses hands and feet and head, but must speed up his passing very much. There is no snap about it, and too much of the marionette type of one, two, three. Both Van der Vyver and Harris should combine well with the scrumhalves, Pierre de Villiers and Danie Craven, who, fortunately for South Africa, have recovered all their old form. On the previous Saturday's form, Craven seemed to be a very doubtful choice, but keenness, practlce, artd natural aptitude have restored him to his old position. No less a person than Sid. Nicholls, Mark Nicholls' brother, one of the shrewdest Rugby critics I have met, told me that on his 1931 form Craven was the best scrum-half He had seen. And Craven has come right back to that form. None can be more pleased than ; I ' that Pierre de Villiers is the old dazzling Pierre again, the will-o'-the-

wlsp, the snapper-up of unconsidered trifles. Permit me to relate something about' Pierre. It happened on the 1931 tour. When I announced the team picked to play against Wales there was an audible gasp of astonishment when Craven's name was read out as scrum-half instead of Pierre's. After the announcement 1 asked whether anybody had anything to ask or to say. In a deathlike silence Pierre said he would like to sa. something. He came up to me, put out his hand, and said: "Shake, Mr. Manager, I am glad you have had the courage of your convictions; you have chosen the better man." That was the finest and most sportsmanlike thing I have ever seen- That was Pierre. Do you wonderTf I have a soft spot for him? To praise these two men would be to paint the lily and adorn the rose; to criticlse them, presumptuous. All. out for Weight And now we come to the forwards, the "P.B.I." of a. Rugger team. Will

the backs klndly remember to study the forwards, and try to save them by kicking towards the touch-line where their forwards are, instead of doirig the other ' thing of which I have seen so many instances during these trials — the very negation of the art at which Bennie Osler was such a past-master? Nurse your forwards is an excellent maxim for backs, especially fiy-halves and centres, to remember. '-•••• . The selectors have obviously gone all out for weight. Here I must break a lance with them on the question of policy. AH things belng equal, the heavy fotw'ard naturally should get preference over the lighter one; but there are other considerations such as, speed, : initiative, football sense, ability to use hands -and feet, and versatility. A sprinkling of lighter -men possessed of these attributes would not have come amiss. After all, the "Wallaby" forwards were not very heavy -as a, pack, and yet they certainly showed us a thing or two on their tour of our country. Their speed, anticipation and

| combination with the backs always spelt danger to our sides. Their hooker, Bonis, who is comparatively light, certainly had by far the better of the duel for possession with our hookers. Have some of our forwards the pace, and the intelligent anticipation to be up with the backs to take a pass or a cross-kick and so carry a' promising' movement to success? Several occa-' sions can be called to mind on the 1931 tour where critical tries were missed by forwards knocking-o'n because they could not just get there. But, this apart, the selectors have succeeded in picking a good pack which should weld together into a formidable scrurnmaging machine. The obvious choices were Fanie Louw, Boy Louw, Lotz, Bergh, Strachan, Sheriff, Van der Berg, Van Reenen and Watt. Previous Tour Recalled Lotz is an excellent hooker and a fine all-rounder, and, flanked by the Louw brothers, should get ' the ball with regiilarity. Boy and Fanie Louw.. require no recommendsition, for good vvine needs no bush. Fanie is as tough as you can make 'em and is still orie of the best forwards in the' country, a great-hearted player in every sense of the word. An incident illustrative of his toughness occurred in the ,Combined Services game at Twickeriham. One of . their forwards, in an e'ffort tp get in under Fanie's Chest in the'front rank, v started butting him. The • first tim'e Fanie * just looked at him, the second time he raised an admonitory finger, the third time he spoke to'him. When the scrum went down again Fanie' simply came at him head down like a • battering ram. There was a; dull thud. Fanie merely shook' his head, but the Englishman was knocked out stone-cold. ' ; - - Boy Louw can use hands, feet and brain, and is one of the best- feedprs; of his backs from the • line-out- tliat I have ever seen. He may appear, cluttisyand slow, but appearances are decep-. tive. Another Twickenham incident, abbut Boy this time. At the kick-off in the match against Combined .'Loddon clubs, Boy fell .back amohg . the backs. One of the spectators seated immediately in front of me remarked. to a companion: "What is that lum-. bering old camel of a forward doing. among his backs?" . As. luck wouldhave it, the ball came straight for Boy, who deftly . side-stepped three successive would-be tacklers, drew the fiy-half and , sent off our three-, quarUrs with .a dazzling run which ended when our wing was thrown out at the cprner. Leaning forward, I tapped the critical gentleman on the shoulder, saying: "What do you think of my lumbering old camel now?" He turned round, shook hands with me and said fervidly,. "By heaven, s'ir, what a forward!"As locks there are Sheriff, Van den Berg, Bergh, stalwarts of the best type. Bergh can also play flank veiry effectively, as he is much faster than people imagine. Sheriff took my fancy at Ellis Park last year, and is a' very fine forward * indeed. These three, with Boy Louw, should be able to provide a counter to the "smokescreen" tactics of the All Black forwards in the line-out, where the other forwards gather round the one to whom the ball is to be thrown and very effectively jjuard him from interference by the opposition. Bergh, however, must get out of that - bad habit of knocking tle ball back to his backis instead of taking Y cleanly. The All Blacks, with their penchant for dribbling, enjoy nothing better than to barge through at the line-out with the ball at their toes on to\the defenceless scrum-half. Van den Berg. is hard as nails, a man who can play football in the best "give-and-take" manner. Then there are Strachan, Van Reenen and Watt, all hefty and fast forwards who can stand up to it, and tackle with the best. They should form very effective flanks and eighth men, for they are interchangeable. Watt ls also a useful utility man with hands and feet. Forwards' First^Job All these loose forwards should, however, remember that a forward's first job is to shove, and then to shine in the loose. They are too apt to forget ; this at times. Boy Louw, be it said, is also a very fine back-ranker, and it is on the cards that Sheriff might take his place in front to leave him free'to pack at the back' where his football sense and great ' experience would prove invaluable. These men, therefore, ought to constitute a very fine pack. Of course, there are no Andre Macdonald's or George Daneels

amongst them, but they should prove good enough to hold the might of New Zealand and Australia. But there may be upsete of form, sucli as are experienced by any tour',ing side, when some of the second string may eventually prove to be among the mainstay of the team. 15 Backs ; 14 Forwards . Martin is a very powerful scrum.mager, whose general play will improv.e overseas. Bastard, whose play improved oji every occasion, is an honest worker, good with his feet, and tackles well. Philip.Nel has lost much of his speed and some of his dash, but pulls' hi's weight in scrum and lineout. Ben du Toit proved himself one of the best loose forwards inthe country and should be a very valuable member of the side, Jennings made the grade for allround play gnd, I should imagine, a reputation tliat he can hook, but per- 1 sonally I saw' little of the latter art. I niust say that I cannot agree with the selectors' policy Of taking 15 backs and 14 fprwards, for on the latter will fall the heat and the burden of the day, They are meeting some of the toughest forwards in the world. ' It is also a very definite error of judgment to take only one pukka hooker in Ldtz; .if heis injured heaven help us, for the Wallabies and the All Blacks. dre speclallste in this art. Had the selectors played Gordon or Van Blommestein against' Lotz they. might have seen the light but they persisted with" Van Niekerk, Who is not in the same class as the other two boys., I consider -that Apsey and Vaii Blommestein- were two very unlucky forwards; they must have just missed selectioh." ^ * But this pack ought to do well. There were soirte delightful dribbling' rushes down the field by the "Transvaal paqk, headed ,by. Lotz and Bergh. Lotz dribblqd like a Soccer forward. These boys must practlce dribbling and wheelihg; " they wiii reqtiire it, and they win find It Will pay them handsomely. That' this team of ours will have a hard rqw to.hoe is self-evident. They will be visiting countries. rich in the pride of sporting achievements, - who take their. sport very seriously. Theirs will be the privilege of playing rugger on the historic cricket grounds at Melbourne and Sydney. I only hope that they will not meet with a sticky pitch at Melbourne, where English and South African cricket teams have coine to grief! . The Sydhey cricket ground, with ife famous Bulli soil, can become. as hard as cement, and the New South Wales players e'qually so. When we were there 16 years ago, Australian' football was hardly on the ' international map, and- yet they gave us a good run for our money. We left for New Zealand with five crocks in the team! Sinee that time they have improved out of all recognition, and a tour of Australia before that of New Zealand cannot\be regarded merely as the hors d'oeuvres on the bill of fare. On the contraxy, there may be some very tough steak to be chewed, whioh at times may prove to be even somewhat indigestible to the Springbok palate. And then to New Zealand, that country of sirgmg forests, laughiag waters, siriling lakes, and mysterious mountains. How my thoughts go back to some of those football grounds ln their lovely settings, such as at Timaru ani New Plymouth. A feeling of nostaigia ccmes over me as I write,-a longing to revisit those scenes ox our defeats f-oid. our victories, ,the friends we n;adf— and, perhaps, also "a fi*w enemies, on the football field! Not Always Raining They wn! find many of fcae grounds heavy, and,- at times, even waterlogged, such as we experienced in our games at New Plymouth, at ' Canter • bury, and in wir.cy Wellington. B tt, let me reassnre them (an'd incidentally also an eviaentiy perturbed local ne wspa p crm an > ; it does not rain all the time in New Zealand. There are sunny days; whj . we hear of such days even in Manchester, England. That the All B'scks are going all out to retain their football prestige is common knowledge. With us rugger is our national game; with them it is a religion. They respect us as oppon-ents-wortby of their steel, and will leave no stone unturned to give us a thorough trouncing. If this team does at least as well as the 1921 side we can be thoroughly satisfied. It is difficult to say more about their ; prospects, in view. of the lack of definite mformation about the number of matches to be played and against which centres. r