RUGBY TEST DEBACLE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 6, 30 September 1937, Page 13

RUGBY TEST DEBACLE

\ "Magpie.' ')

Slowness Among Backs Cause of Failure AFRICANS' DEFINITE SUPERlORlTY

(By

for the first time in history New Zealand has lost a Rugby rubber in thfeir own couhtry. When one considers the invaders that have come from time to time and the coun tries they represented, the record is after all a proud one, but the thtousaxids that crowded Eden Park, Auckland, last Saturday have forgotten our record; aill that imyresses them at the moment is the immediate past. It Was a shock to see what WaS suppoSed to beihe flower bf New Zealand Rugby outplayed in every direqtion. Before goihg further I must say that in 34 ye^rs of Test Rugby I have riever sefen a I.^w Zealand side play so poorly and the sight I must confess was more upsetting than anything I have previously beheld on a sporting field. In explanation it is as well perhapS to go back to the Springbok-Gtago match.

In that game it will be remembered that our visitors' rearguard completely overran Otago in the second half of play. Simon and Trevarthan were the two Otago inside backs and they were at Eden Paik last Saturday. It is my opinion that the Springbok tactics for the Test were based on .Simon and Trevarthan, and they being selected, the only thing remaining was to :put them into practice. Part of the Springbok schemo was their sureness of gaining possession in the serums, and all that was required then was to send Harris and company away. The Springboks knew that Trevarthan was too Slow to get near Harris, and so with an overlap, tries just must come now and then — and they did. After all it was a simplo sclieine, but even the Springboks in their wildest dreams never imagined that th'e All Blheks would contribute to it as they did eventually. In line-out play the Springboks were by no mean3 sure of domination, so they took caro to eliininate line-outs as much as possible. Scrummaging was their ace, and they* led with it all day. When New Zealand found the touchline the South Africans took a scrum. Trevarthan, even when a long way behind in points, kicked for the line, and the resulting scrum generally sent play back to New Zealand territory. Trevarthan was obsessed with the touch-line, and even from 25 and half-way following force-downs or tries, he lauded the ball out on the full with the result of a scrum back and possession for the Springboks. In Rugby, tries should never come from set scrums for the reason that" when these take place bdth sides are set in position. It is thell that the game is 15 against 15, yet last Saturday three of the Springbok tries came from set scrums. This is, I thinli, unprecedented in Test Rugby. Slowness at Scrum. The primary cause of the debacle was our slowness close to the Scrum and the contributary cause, or the main one, Was the failure of the New Zealand side to appreciate the value of sound tack* ling. I do not mean to infer that South *Africa would not have won in any circumste&ces, but the margin should have been consiu§T3hJf*4^S*s_ ^ The New Zealand rearguaJfi!- "^,*3 woefully lacking, and by their in^ efficiency tKey ran their own forwards into the ground until the latter looked as weak as the backs. Mitchell, the strong man of the All Blaclts* reraguard, was early found to have feet of clay. He did nothing right, and lack of match play in recent weeks found him somewhat elo?* - ^ movement and very weak'^^'stopping hia opposite. Fairly A® suffered a broken finger, too, this, of course, did not help reco'ver the position, but before he/> suffered this setback .he had allowed /Locltner to run past him. i The All Black Tide-row forwards were s'Mgg-^a ^.iso, a^d Craven was never hampered ifeending the ball out. On the other hanyl when New Zealand hooked the ball Strachan and Bastard were oil top of Symon in a flash. As captain, liing for New Zealand did not prove a strategist. Speed was necessary close t o the scrum, and Sullivafi should have been brought in and Trevarthan senflfc to full-back. He should have taloen pains ,to cramp Craven 's style mven to the extent of taking a man clut of the pack. As a

player King wrs New Zealand'S best forward, but as a captain he was lacking. Craven 's Superiority. South Africans say that de Villiers is superior to Craven on the hard groUnds of their homeland, but * the superiority has been reversed out liere — that is, if it was ever real. Craven played a big part in the Springbok victory with his long dive passes to Harris who never once failed to collect them. Much has been written condemning the dive pass, and possibly there is inerit in the condemnation in a general sense, but it cannot apply when Craven is the demonstrator. He asserts that his dive pass has never yet been intereepted by an opponent, and after watching him in action I can quite believe it. The one superiority that is somewhat mystifying in the Springbok scrum is their ability to hook the ball out always to the same exit at the side "of the scrum. Personaily, I think that the half-back plays no little part in this success. Remembering how Williams was bottled up in the game against Hawke's Bay, it was strange to see him running over anybody in his way. Where Hawke's Bay succeeded New Zealand should have at least done equally well. The leadiug men in the Springbok pack were Lotz, .Yan der Berg, Strachan and Bastard. The whole pack realised that the New Zealand forwards, when engaged in loose rushes, Were to be fearcd, and loose rushes generally commence from the line-out, so these were eliminated by more than half. Loose rushes on the part of New Zealand were a rarity. Peculiarly enough, little play went Sullivan's way. He was without doubt New Zealand 's most dangerous back. This item is giveh as another instance of Springbok thoroughness. On th'e day the whole Springbok back-line was strong, with Graven, Harris and Babrow particularly so, Defeats May Do Good. The hope to be expressed ttow is that the visit of the Springboks and the long and consistent seties of defeats, will do good in this country. Certainly, if we can get back once more to ; sound Sacj^ling and intensive backing-up the visit WHFu£^J^ved Well worth while, but in that r e specc, -"will tell. Thev Springboks tr^ homewa,rd to-morrow well pleased wiu^ f of their tour. They havel fresh records for South Af^can aad^fione are bntxtlebv^--1firem, neither can it be denied that they are the greatest overseas side ever to visit this Dominion. Were I aslced to name the greatest in a great band of players I would mention Brand for his goat-kicking, Harris for his sure hands and speed off the mark, Babrow similarly, and Turner for real" wingthreeqiiatter strategy. Craven, prince of half -baclcs, is never off his game and untiring"1 with. his dive pass. Danie iplayed football for the fuli 80 iniiiutes in every game. In the forwards Yan der Berg is the best of them all, Bastard, Strachan, Bergh ahd, last but by no meansTeast, Lotz tho hooker, Who played in every game but two on the tour. YTes, the Springboks were a great side, ahd I hope that the lessons they have set us will be well learned and put to good practice.