THE FIRST TEST DEBACLE

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1928, Page 4

THE FIRST TEST DEBACLE

ALL BLACKS BEATEN FORE AND AFT. APPALLING DISPLAY BY THE BACKS. WELLINGTON, August 6. Following are the comments of Mr G. E. Beamish, the special correspondent with the All Blacks, writing from Durban on the first Test, which was won by South Africa by 17 points to 0: And so the strongest side that has ever left New Zealand shores has been soundly beaten by the Springboks in the first Test match of the 1928 tour of South Africa.

Seventeen points to nil is a firm trouncing, and one of the biggest defeats that a New Zealand international fifteen has ever had in the histoiy of the game. There can be no excuses. New Zealand, on the day, was beaten bv a far bettor side. The All Blacks wore actually never in the hunt. .South Africa had 80 per cent of the game, and that speaks for itself. It is doubtful whether a New Zealand side- lias ever played such appallingly poor football. It was distracting. The All Blacks could do nothing right. If they kicked, away went the South African backs. If they attempted to pass the Springboks broke through. The fates were fiendish, for they committed New Zealand to a dreadful chain of errors. At the same time South Africa, on the day, was an infinitely better side. Their forwards were a pack of masters, and with that brilliant trio, Kruger, Van. Drufen and Mostert in the front low to lead them, they overwhelmed the New Zealanders in nearly every scrum put down. The amazing part about it was the fact that when New Zealand hooked the hall they were pushed clean off it, and in a trice the South African half-back, De Villers. had possession and was sending his hacks away with his clever dive pass.

WONDERFUL DEFENCE. But in spite of all the opportunities that the Springboks had, they could not make a very great impression. Fourteen of their seventeen points were scored from the boot of one man. With all the hall they got from the scrums they could cross New Zealand’s line only once. That is a big tribute to the Now Zealand defence which, without a doubt, was brilliant. But in spite of the .soundness of that defence South Africa should have scored at least two more tries. Once after a fine hack movement Prinsloo, the wing man, was actually over the line and he bounced the ball instead of grounding it proper ly. Prinsloo, I tliink, has damned bis chances tor playing for South Africa in the next three tests. On another occasion the .selfishness of Stanley Osier lost a certain try. Osier bad only Lindsay to heat, with Prinsloo outside him. Osier tried to get through on his own, and was firmly downed by the New Zealand full-back. If Prinsloo bad been given the ball on that occasion there is not the slightest doubt that lie would have scored, for he bad five yards to work in and no New Zealander near enough to tackle him. Tt was surprising how really little good the Springboks did when it is considered the number of times they got the ball. ALL BLACK BACKS CRIPPLED. Unquestionably New Zealand luck was right out. In the first few minutes of the game the whole three-quarter lino was crippled. Grensidc in the first place should not have taken the field, for lie had not recovered from his injury to a knee which lie received in the previous match. In tackling a man his knee failed him, and he was practically done for the rest of the match. Carletoh bad a thigh muscle badly hurt, and could only limp like a lame duck. Robilliard received a nasty kick at the base of the spine which effected him so much that ho could hardly

throw the ball in from a line out. As for running, well be was so sore that he simply watched his vis-a-vis run past him. Even with all their hurtsthe three-quarter line stood up magnificently to the South African onslaughts tackling their men resolutely.

■ So much for the cripplicd three-quar-ter line. Had they been fit it is a question whether they could have done any bettor, for Dailey was playing eas- , ily the worst game of bis life. He jazzed behind the scrum like a marathon dancer doing a Charleston. He threw passes, on the few occasions that New Zealand managed to hook the hall, cleanly up to the heavens or down to the ground—everywhere except into the arms of Johnson. When Dailey kicked for the line tho ball usually landed in-the hands of the Springbok three-quarters. Dailey’s was an astonishing exhibition of futility. In consequence of his pitiful showing Johnson suffered considerably, but even Johnson, usually as sound as any man on the paddock, failed dismally. His defence as usual was brilliant, but bis attack, with the few chances he got, was useless. Strang, who can usually he depended upon to do something worth while dur- . ing the game, came to light with his flash far too late. In the last few minutes of the game he cut in cleverly and it appeared that New Zealand would score, hut Scrimshaw dropped his pass. I could not understand Scrimshaw’s play. He was the rover and he certainly roved, but lie roved always in the wrong place. He succeeded in tangling himself up among the New I Zealand five-eighths, and when South Africa got the ball he ran all ways, but always too late to get his man. In the second spell he played as ail extra centre three-quarter between Strang and Carleton. He did a bit better there, hut not much. * LINDSAY PLAYED BRILLIANTLY. The only player on the New Zealand side who showed anything like international form was Lindsay, the full-back. He was brilliant. He never let a man! pass him, he never dropped a ball, and lie kicked with admirable length and j judgment. Twice Lindsay made mag- j nificent saves. He raced across the field at all-out speed, took the ball in i his stride, and found touch well up the |' field. If Lindsay had failed to getthere on these two occasions, South | Africa would undoubtedly have scored. 1 In nine matches New Zealand has | been beaten on nearly every occasion in the scrums. There comes the ques- ‘ tion: Whose is the better formation ? ! Then comes the answer, as far as 11 am concerned: South Africa’s. If the j Rugby supporters in New Zealand had , seen the trouncing that their champions got on Saturday, they, too, would be satisfied that New Zealand will have to change her formation if she is to do any good in international matches , of this kind. , The whole course of the game on , Saturday went to show that, all things t being equal, South Africa’s scrum is infinitely superior to that evolved by the All Blacks. There has always been , something of a doubt in the minds of ? shrewd judges in New Zealand about ( the merits of the diamond shaped t scrum, mainly because of its deficiencies in the hobking department. Besides £ the fact that New Zealand’s front- g rankers have td face an extra man, the j. whole weight of the scrum lias to be e borne by them. This is not the case in the South African scrum. The j hooker has two flankers who have to trike the strain and give him freedom j to hook. He must shove, but he has £ not to bear the weight which is thrust s on the All Blacks hookers, l

SPRINGBOKS GREAT SCRUMMAGERS. At one stage the Springboks won actually sixteen scrums in succession. When analysed, the tactics of the Springbok forwards revealed no weak point—no gap on which the All Blacks could have seized to open up their fast attacks. They were a master pack, magnificent in their own work. They shone in the manner in which they wheeled the scrum. These South Africans are champion j scrummagers, whereas the New Zealanders know little about the scrummaging business. They have been trained in a very different school. Theirs is to play the fast, open game, and forwards in New Zealand are selected more for cleverness and speed in the loose than for their scrummaging ability. There lies a question which will have seriously to be considered by New Zealand selectors in the future. There is not the slightest doubt that New Zealand, if she hopes to win international matches, will have to settle down to a serious reformation in the scrummaging department. It must not be overlooked that South Africa played in the second half with only fourteen men. Duffy, their centie-three-quarter, was badly hurt towards the end of the first half and had to be helped off the field at the interval. Besides his injury, he had bad concussion. When the teams took the field again after half-time, Pretorious went from the pack to the centre three-quar-ter position. He is a versatile playei, and he gave a good exhibition at centre. So in the second half, with only fourteen men and playing seven forwards, the Springboks still had the better of the game. There is not a shadow of doubt that New Zealand was beaten fore and aft, beaten by a better side, and a better set of tacticians.