STILL ON THE BALL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 733, 31 July 1953, Page 7

STILL ON THE BALL

Bill Wallace & Mark Nicholls: Discuss the 1953 All Blacks HAT is required of an All Black team to defeat the British Isles? This question, which will soon be exercising the minds of New Zealand’s Rugby selectors, players and fans, is to be discussed shortly in a_ series of NZBS programmes leading up to the first of the trials on August 25, First off the mark will be the ZB stations and 2ZA. On Saturday, August 1, they will begin broadcasting -a series of four weekly talks by Fred Allen, Jim Parker, Read Masters and Charlie Saxton. On‘ Thursday, August 20, at 7.30 p.m., 2YA will broadcast a discussion between two of the most famous All Blacks of the past. This will be heard later from other YA stations. The latter programme, which The Listener. was. able to hear in the making, features W. J. Wallace, star player of ‘the original All Black team and initiator of the disputed try against Wales in 1905, and M. F. Nicholls, an outstanding member of the, 1924 "Invincibles." In an interview with Winston McCarthy, the two eminent oldtimers gave some very definite views on the qualities this year’s All Black team must possess. Without harking back unduly to the "good old days," the pair made it quite clear they thought the game had fallen off in some respects. "I don’t know why they play football today,’ said Mr. Nicholls. "They don’t seem to think, and they don’t attack. We used to win by agility, trickery" and dodgery-feint passes and the like." Mr. Wallace thought New Zealand had suffered from a tendency to imitate the Springboks. "We have picked great fat forwards, with more weight than mobility." Speed, it seemed, was what New Zealand needed, particularly in the forward line. The two agreed that the three primary duties of the forwards were "to shove, to shove and to shove." But there was no reason why a "shover" should not be a fast forward. "Our. forwards in 1924 were fast," said Mr. Nicholls, "and after a few games against the English they soon learned how to shove." Mr. Wallace agreed. There was, he thought, not nearly enough loose play

in the forwards. They didn’t follow. up. "Three burly forwards. bearing down on a fullback can rattle him, I can tell you." ‘The best place for the fastest forwards, they agreed, was on the side of the scrum. There they were in the best position for offensive play. "Most of our scoring in 1905 was from quick rucks," said Mr. Wallace. "You can only do that with fast, loose forwards." For the most part, the pair agreed, New Zealand’s backs had what it takes. The first five-eighth, though, could with advantage go back to where’ he came from. "He could.stand where he used to," said Mr. Wallace. "Behind the half." In that way, the pair agreed, the fiveeighth had some speed by the time he met his opponents. He was not left standing "flat-footed" as frequently happened when he stood shallow. It took longer to agree on the tactics of the fullback, Mr. Nicholls thought that, when the fate of the game demanded it, the fullback should come up into the back line and provide the extra man needed to defeat modern defensive play. "Well, I scored a couple of tries that way in England," said Mr. Wallace, "but I was called to order about it." He thought the tactic dangerous, and few backs would be able to do it successfully. "Still, if he has the ability. . ." Both considered the fullback should be fast-a ‘"ten-second" man in fact. Broadly speaking, the pair agreed that the greatest needs for this year’s team were speedy forwards with the ability to follow up and to pack quickly, a first five-eighth with the speed and cunning and agility to "set the back line alight,’ and a fullback who could, if necessary, supplement the back line. New Zealand, they thought, had the players. With these views J. H. Parker, a member of the 1924 All Blacks and second speaker in the- ZB series All Blacks in Britain, is in substantial agreement. "Now that we know it -is

possible to obtain a quick heel from a threefronted scrum," he says, "IT should like to see some forwards with more than average pace in our team-forwards who can cover the field and effectively take part in attacking movements, as well as cover quickly on defence." Like Messrs. Wallace and Nicholls he considers the. backs sound: "Given a fair share of the ball at speed from scrums, the New Zealand backs have always held, and_ still can, I believe, more than hold their own with any opposition." The first programme in Al] Blacks in Britain will be broadcast from the four ZB stations and 2ZA at 6.0 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, Fred Allen will be the opening speaker. The other three talks will be heard at the same time on successive SaturdaysAugust 8, 15 and 22. Following the talks the five commercial stations have scheduled a series of reviews of the All Black trials. These quarter-hour progratnmes will include a review of each match by Winston ° McCarthy and an assessment by a_ prominent Rugby authority of the form shown by players. Broadcast dates and times for these programmes, as well as for National stations’ coverage of the trials, will be published in- a subsequent issue.