RUGBY CHANGE-OVER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 224, 16 May 1932, Page 6

RUGBY CHANGE-OVER

OF WHAT VALUE? TIS YEAR'S CHANGE IN SCRUMM AGIN G METHODS. EARLY EXPERIMENTS. Now that the recommendation from New Zealand Rugby football headquarters that a n~w scrummage formation, with three men in the front row, be adopted and the wing-for-ward abolished has been endorsed by representatives of a majority of the Rugby unions, it remains to be seen whether the advantages claimed for th§ amended game by advocates of the change are realised. This season's play will be closely followed with a view to determining whether it is really a fact, as advocates of the change claim, that the ' play of the five-eighths has deteriorated on account of the activities of the wingforwards. There will also be a keen watch on the scrummage, concerning which, it is claimed, the change will improve scrummaging, develop a better type of forward, give improved service in the matter of the ball, and give a greater share of the ball than in packing 2 — 3 — 2 against opposing 'sets with three in the front row, as well as bring about a general improvement in play. The new order, so far as New Zealand is concerned, must be given a reasonable chance of proving that it holds such advantages over the system followed with considerable success for many years. Not Encouraging. First efforts at the change-over are not very encouraging so far as the hope of a brighter and" better game is concerned. Where the change has been made much of the scrummaging falls a long way short of that with the forwards packing 2 — 3 — 2. The work of some teams adopting the change shows promise of good results, but this is due largely to the fact that the old system is being kept intact, with the extra man merely supplying a "loose head" in the front row. It is a matter of doubt as to whether that extra man will be of more service in his new position than in the role of wing-forward. It is also open to question wheth°* the new arrangement will bring about such a high standard of five-eighths play as was reached at times when the activities of the wing-forwards caused the five-eighths to sharpen up> their play, thus creating that snappy inside penetration which was one of the most spectacular features of New Zealand's game. By the order of things New Zealand Rugby is under a very severe trial. What the outcome will be, time alone will tell. An All Black's Statements. In support of the case for the aboplacing of eight men in the scrumlition of the wing-forward and the mage, Mr. M. F. Nicholls has cited the New Zealand team's experiences in South Africa in 1928. It is interesting to note, therefora, that in his hook, "With the All Blacks in Springboldand," Mr. Nicholls makes the following statement: "Personally, I would not dispense with the wingforward altogether; I consider he should be a utility man. His education should inelude a course of hooking so that he can go down in the pack, when required, without altering the packing of the scrum and if needs be, fill the wing three-quarter position should- his side find they are obtaining possession easily — and so make the extra man in the back line." Mr. Nicholls has also referred to the fact that against overseas teams New Zealand has not been gaining its fair share of the ball; in fact, he has stated that New Zealand has had only about 33 1-3 per cent. of ths ball from the scrummages. However, in his statistical record of the tour of South Africa Mr. Nicholls shows that in all games New Zealand won cleanly 491 scrums as against the opposing teams' combined total of 615. On those fig'ures New Zealand gained almost 44 i per cent. of the ball from the scrummages, and this in spite of the fact that New Zealand's scrum was not working satisfactorily. "This feature of the game — scrummaging — we lack- . ed most throughout the tour," Mr. Nicholls admitted. Of course, in a number of the matches the recognised New Zealand 2—3—2 formation was not used, the wing-forward acting as a "loose head" in the front row during the latter half of the tour . But in those matches in which New Zealand adopted the traditional formation, the percentage of ball gained by the tourists was much the same as that for the whole tour. "Not a Fair Thing." This season Mr. Nicholls is coaching the Petone sen'ior team, and no doubt acting upon his advicevthe Petone forwards have tried the 3 — 3 — 2 scrummage formation, as well as the 3 4 — l. The 3 — 3 — 2 arrangement seems to have an appeal with others, among them members of the Ne Zealand Rugby Union's management committee, which body had previously recommended the adoption of England's 3—2 — 3 formation. It has been observed in the experimental work now being carried out that in some cases the use of a 3—3—2 formation has meant nothing more nor less than finding a place for the wing-forward as a loose head in the front row of the scrummage. This is practically following the procedure adopted during the New Zealand teams' tour in South Africa. It was in making reference to this procedure, when- speaking at the annual meeting of the Wellington Rugby Union, that Mr. Nicholls remarked: "That loose head we evolved in Africa was not a fair thing to put on to any team." Yet the formation which provides for "that loose head" is now being recommended and employed. So long as the extra man in the front row under that system plays aecording to the. rules of the game, there should be no suggestion of unfairness. The same is to be said of players in other positions, even the wing-forward as he is known in New Zealand or the n'ew wing or winging forwards who are bound to appear, as they have done in othe countries, by the adoption of 3 — 4 — 1 or 3 — 2 — 3 formations.